Quick answer
Sault is about 102 km from Uzès, 1h35 by car according to a route planner (given for the direction Sault to Uzès); public transport takes about 3h55. Fine lavender flowers in July and lavandin runs into mid-August, but the first and last weeks differ from source to source and from year to year.
Good for: a July day among lavender fields on a high plateau, with a free driving route.
Not for: a fixed-date trip: a single week cannot be promised, and Sault is a long day by car.
Lavender is the picture people have of Provence, and the plateau of Sault is where it is grown at scale: wide fields of lavender and of petit épeautre, a high plateau and a road you can follow free of charge. For the mountain beside it see Mont Ventoux and the Gorges de la Nesque, for the classic Luberon villages Gordes, Roussillon and Sénanque, and for the east of the Luberon Apt and the eastern Luberon.
| What | What to know | Check before you go |
|---|---|---|
| Drive from Uzès | Sault is about 102 km and 1h35 by car (a route planner, Rome2Rio, for the direction Sault to Uzès). Public transport takes about 3h55 by bus and train. La Valette is five minutes from Uzès. | A live map on the day. |
| When it blooms | A Pays de Sault publication puts fine lavender in the first half of July and lavandin from mid-July to mid-August; another document of the Pays de Sault says the lavender begins to flower at the end of June. The Routard guide gives the first days of July to early August, and a Provence guide says the high zones such as Sault keep flowering lavender until the end of July or early August. The harvest on the high plateau is around 15 July. | The dates move from year to year, and there is no official calendar for 2027: check with the tourist office in late June. |
| Lavender or lavandin | Two plants share the fields. Fine, or true, lavender grows at altitude, from 800 metres according to Luberon tourism and between 600 and 1,400 metres according to FranceAgriMer, and gives a fine essential oil. Lavandin is a hybrid of fine lavender and aspic, grows lower, is more productive, about 100 kg of oil per hectare against about 15 kg, and has a stronger, more camphor scent. Only fine lavender can carry the AOP "Huile essentielle de lavande de Haute-Provence". | Sources differ slightly on the altitude, and we say nothing about the farms or distilleries by name. |
| The lavender routes of the Pays de Sault | Two driving loops of 40 km and 63 km, free, both leaving from the tourist office of Sault (Ventoux Sud). The plateau is a landscape of wide fields of lavender and of petit épeautre, a spelt, and the racecourse of Sault is described as the highest in France, at 800 metres. A walking site lists a loop called Chemin des lavandes of about 5.5 km. | The 5.5 km loop is a single mention: check it on a map. |
| The lavender festival of Sault | An article counts the 2026 lavender festival of Sault, held in mid-August, as its 39th edition. | That article carries affiliate links and the date is for 2026: ask the tourist office for the 2027 date. |
| Sénanque and the other lavender photographs | The abbey of Sénanque near Gordes is the lavender image of the Luberon; our Gordes and Roussillon guide records the conflicts among sources about it and the opening, which is why we do not repeat them here. Valensole, the other famous lavender plateau, is much further away and we have no drive time for it. | See the Luberon guide for Sénanque, and plan Valensole only with a live map. |
In season
Plan a window, decide in late June
For summer 2027, July is the safe month on the plateau, with the first half for fine lavender and mid-July to mid-August for lavandin. Hold the day loosely, ask the Sault tourist office in late June how the fields stand, and keep the fire-risk map for the Vaucluse in mind on hot days.
A day
One loop, one early start
With 1h35 each way, choose one loop of 40 or 63 km from the Sault tourist office rather than both, and leave Uzès early. We give no drive times between the fields and the Nesque gorges because we did not find any.
Combine
Add a mountain or a village
Mont Ventoux and the Gorges de la Nesque stands beside the plateau, Gordes, Roussillon and Sénanque and Apt and the eastern Luberon are the Luberon days, and Grignan and the Drôme is the other long day for fields and old stones.
Frequently asked
Seeing lavender from Uzès
July is the month sources agree on. A Pays de Sault publication gives the first half of July for fine lavender and mid-July to mid-August for lavandin; others start at the end of June or run to early August. The dates change every year, so ask the Sault tourist office in late June.
About 102 km and 1h35 by car according to a route planner (Rome2Rio, given for the direction Sault to Uzès). Public transport takes about 3h55 by bus and train.
Lavandin is a hybrid of fine lavender and aspic. It grows lower, gives about 100 kg of essential oil per hectare against about 15 kg for fine lavender, has a stronger and more camphor scent and flowers later. Only fine lavender can carry the AOP for essential oil of lavender of Haute-Provence.
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