3 Best Sights in Provence, France

Through eight generations on the same premises, the Brun de Vian-Tiran family has created France's most beautiful and luxurious woolens from fibers sourced throughout the world, including baby camel, cashmere, merino wool, alpaca, and baby llama. Housed in one of the company's old warehouses, this state-of-the-art museum takes you through the manufacturing process, from fiber to fabric, with interactive exhibits that are fascinating for kids as well as adults. The on-site boutique carries the entire range of luxury bedding and blankets, scarves, slippers, and other items, all of which are usually found only at high-end department stores in Paris.

The great Renaissance poet Petrarch, driven mad with unrequited love for a beautiful married woman named Laura, retreated to this valley to nurse his heartache in a cabin with "one dog and only two servants." He had met the woman in the heady social scene at the papal court in Avignon, where she was to die years later of the plague. Sixteen years in this wild isolation didn't ease the pain, but the serene environment inspired him to poetry, and the lyrics of his Canzoniere were dedicated to Laura's memory. The small museum, built on the site of his residence, displays prints and engravings of the virtuous lovers, both in Avignon and Fontaine de Vaucluse.

Owned by one of the original lavender families, who have cultivated and distilled the flower here for more than five generations, this chic museum sits at the edge of 80 or so acres of prime lavender fields about 3 km (2 miles) outside of Gordes (take the D2 southeast to the outskirts of Coustellet). Not only can you take in well-organized displays (note the impressive collection of scythes and distilling apparatus), see a fascinating movie, and play with interactive screens, but you can also participate in lavender workshops that are fun for adults and kids alike. The boutique sells a top-notch selection of sophisticated lavender-based cosmetics and essential oils.