10 Perfect Provence Souvenirs You Won’t Regret Buying

Finding the perfect souvenir anywhere is a tricky task, and Provence souvenirs are no exception.

Spanning from Avignon to Nice, let’s just say, the Provence region in the South of France is known for many things.

Although today, they’re most famously known for their extravagant lavender fields, as the biggest producers of rosé wine, and home to some of the most renowned artists over the years.

So that you have no regrets, here is the ultimate guide for what to buy in Provence.  

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

What Makes The Perfect French Souvenir From Provence?

The Provence region in the South of France is known for quite a few unique things…

So Provence souvenirs should be related to something uniquely Provence so they’re not just any souvenirs from France.

So what’s uniquely Provence France? Lavender, beaches, and you can’t forget about rosé wine!

On top of that, when you look at your Provence souvenirs, you want to be immediately transported back to your trip. So you want to make sure you don’t buy French souvenirs that you can easily find back home.

Let’s take a look at which Provence souvenirs you should keep an eye out for!

10 Best French Souvenirs From Provence France

1. Dried Lavender Sachets

Lavender fields are hands down one of the top tourists attractions in Provence, so if there’s only one souvenir you have to bring back, it’s lavender.

Dried lavender sachets are surprisingly useful for different things around the house. It’s perfect as an air freshener in any room, but did you know that it can also be used to induce peaceful dreams if placed under your pillow! Read more about lavender uses here!

But the best part about this souvenir from Provence is how inexpensive it is – only costing about €1.00 – €2.50, making it also one of the best gifts from France for friends and family.

Where To Find Dried Lavender Sachets In Provence?

You’ll be able to find lavender sachets in tourist shops and markets throughout Provence.

Although lavender fields are only in bloom from June to July, dried dried lavender sachets are sold all year round.

2. Herbs De Provence

Herbs de Provence is a local seasoning blend used in traditional Provencal cooking. It’s usually made up of herbs grown in Provence like marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano.

If you love cooking, or know someone who does, you cannot find a better souvenir from Provence France to bring back than herb de Provence.

You can find herb de Provence in most markets, tourist shops, and even grocery stores.

To know what to make with your new herb mix, you can also pick up Provence recipe book, (or just send it straight to your home from Amazon).

3. Honey From Provence

When you’re thinking of what to buy in Provence, honey probably doesn’t come to your mind. But, Provence honey is actually very different tasting than the honey you have at home.

Honey flavours drastically change based on geographical region. That’s because the flavours come from the flowers the bees pollenate. So the different flowers that grow in Provence result in different tasting honey.

In fact, I tend to dislike the taste of honey but reluctantly tried some while in Provence and LOVED IT! It has such a unique floral taste that I wasn’t used to from honey. 

You can buy regular honey from Provence, or make it the ultimate Provence souvenirs and opt for the lavender honey.

You can also find Provence honey in markets, grocery stores, and tourist shops!

4. Provence Wine & Accessories – Souvenirs From France

France is wine country after all, and the Provence region is no exception to making delicious wines!

But Provence is best known for making Rosé wines. So that’s what you’ll want to be looking for while visiting!

The best place to find a truly local, non-grocery store wine, is of course at the source itself! Visit wineries to find your favourite local wine! And most places will even give you free samples to try before buying it.

There are of course a few things to watch out for when buying and bringing back wine…

First, the downside to visiting the wineries is that they’re only accessible by car as they’re outside the cities. Unless you have a designated driver, I recommend going on an organized tour (like this one on Viator). This way you’ll also get information about the winemaking process in Provence.

Another thing to watch out for when buying and bringing back wine from Provence is your home country’s alcohol allowance. Before purchasing any wine as a souvenir, double check what the limit is.

Keep in mind, you also have to put any wine bottles in your checked luggage where there’s always a risk of it breaking.

And finally, see if you can buy any wine back home first and see how much it costs. You’d be surprised what’s exported these days, and the price isn’t always that unreasonable. In fact, we went to a winery where not only could we buy it back home, but it was cheaper! It’s good to know instead of having to worry about bringing it back in your checked bag.

If you don’t want to bring back wine as one of your Provence souvenirs, pick up a wine accessory like a bottle opener from your favourite winery instead.

Or a neat DIY Provence souvenir is to save all the corks of the wines you tried. Once you’re back home, turn those corks into magnets! You can make them the same way as my bottle cap magnets from Belgium!

5. A Copy of Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) In Your Language

The Little Prince is one of the most translated books in the world. It’s such an iconic book that can be enjoyed by both children and adults. Growing up, Le Petit Prince (as I knew it) was a big deal, but I never owned my own copy. 

Little did I know that the author of Le Petit Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, is from the South of France! More tragically though, he was also lost at sea along the coast of Marseille. 

Needless to say, while visiting Provence in the South of France, I thought it was only fit to finally buy my own copy of the Little Prince. 

Of course, bringing back books while travelling might not be ideal depending on how big they are. They can add a lot of extra weight to your bags (which might put you past your weight allowance).

Thankfully, an original copy of The Little Prince is very small paperback book. But if you would prefer hardcover, I found a beautiful edition of the novel at Book in Bar in Aix-en-Provence, and they also sell it on Amazon here, if you’d rather ship it directly to your house. 

6. Marseille Souvenirs: Traditional Marseille Soap

Now for some more specific Provence souvenirs for Marseille in the South of France.

For over 600 years, Marseille has been known for making good quality soap known as Savon de Marseille.

Nowadays, you can find Savon de Marseille sold all over Provence, but you have to be careful which one you buy…

Savon de Marseille is meant to be an eco-friendly hard soap using all-natural ingredients, oil (at least 72%) with seawater (or salt with freshwater).

But some companies started using animal fat instead of oil, AND chemicals to add fragrances and different colours to the soap.

You should only buy Savon de Marseille that’s either a white or a green. That means it’s made with either vegetable oil (white) or olive oil (green).

P.S. Savon de Marseille is also one of the best gifts from France for someone with sensitive or dry skin, or lives in a cold climate as it hydrates the skin.

If you’re stuck not knowing which one to buy, I know Fer à Cheval is a good brand.

7. Marseille Souvenirs: Pastis de Marseille

Being on the Mediterranean coast, Marseille was originally a Greek colony and because of that adopted a lot of Greek recipes and traditions, including an anise liqueur.

So another Marseille specific souvenir is Pastis de Marseille, an anise liqueur similar to Greek Ouzo.

If you’ve never tasted Ouzo, it tastes like liquid liquorice, and Pastis de Marseille is exactly the same! I recommend trying Pastis de Marseille at a bar before buying an entire bottle it to bring back home.

There are many versions of Pastis de Marseille, but the main brand is Ricard. You can find it in supermarkets, and you’ll probably even be able to buy it at the Duty Free in the airport (making it even easier to bring back).

8. City Specific Provence Sweets (Perfect Gifts From France)

We found out during our stay in Aix that the Provence region has quite the sweet tooth.

Both Aix and Marseille have local sweets to enjoy which also make some delicious gifts from France!

8a. Calissons From Aix (Calissons D’Aix)

Aside from the artist Paul Cézanne, Aix is probably most proud of producing Calisson. They absolutely love them!

People in Aix describe Calisson as candies…. although I’m not sure that’s what would compare it to. I got into many heated discussions with my partner over what they are because they actually reminded us of quite a few different desserts.

So we finally agreed that they deserve their own category. Honestly, you’ll just have to try them, and decide for yourself what exactly Calisson are! 

Traditional Calissons d’Aix are made up of only three ingredients: almonds, candied fruit, and sugar. But tooday you can find several different flavours of Calisson.

So even if you don’t like the original, try other flavours because one of them might surprise you. I’m not the biggest fan of the original Calisson d’Aix, but really liked the lavender and fig flavour.

You can find Calisson in markets around Aix, or there are Calisson stores (like Roi René).

P.S. There’s also a very cute story behind why the Calisson were first made, you can read more about it in my post about Aix en Provence!

8b. Navettes From Marseille

Unlike Calisson from Aix, Navette from Marseille are very easy to describe.

Navettes are hard cookies traditionally made with orange blossom. But just like everything, you can now also find them in several other unique flavours.

The exact history behind these orange flavoured cookies is a bit unknown. There are a few theories circulating, but my favourite is that one year they replaced crêpes with these at Candlemas. Still unsure how Navettes could possibly ever be a replacement for a crêpe though…

You can find this Marseille delicacy around Provence in grocery stores and markets.

9. Art From Provence – French Souvenirs

Provence is beautiful, and I’m not the first one to notice. Artists have been taking inspiration from this French region for YEARS!

So it’s not wonder that art is the ultimate Provence souvenirs to bring some of that beauty back home with you!

You can find specific Provence inspired artwork from both renowned or new artists…

9a. Aix Inspired Cézanne Prints – Provence Souvenirs

Paul Cézanne and Aix have a long history together. He was born in Aix and he fell in love with his surroundings. Up until the day he died, Cézanne only wanted to spend his time painting the yellow buildings, green trees, and blue skies.

You can find many paintings of Aix and the surrounding areas by Cézanne. His favourite was painting the Carrière de Bibemus and the Mont Sainte-Victoire.

You can read more about Cezanne and his connection to Aix en Provence in my post here.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Cèzanne, I love This is Cèzanne, it’s well written and beautifully illustrated. You can even buy on Amazon here, so you don’t have to lug it back with you!

9b. Provence Inspired Van Gogh Prints

Cézanne wasn’t the only one who noticed the beauty of Provence early on.

Van Gogh, although not from Provence, or even from France, came to live in St. Remy-de-Provence and Arles.

In fact, it was during his time in Arles that he cut off his ear, and painted some of his most famous artwork. Read about Van Gogh’s time in Provence. 

9c. New Art! Provence Souvenir

If you want to bring back some original artwork, there’s no shortage of new local talent either.

Shop around in the markets to find your favourite artist. We fell in love with Grigore Dontu in Aix, who’s style is actually very similar to Cézanne’s.

Fabienne Verdier also does some incredible abstract artwork. She followed Cézanne’s inspiration and made her own works of Carrière de Bibemus and the Mont Sainte-Victoire. Visit her website here.

10. Tea Towels With Provence Art From Aix Market

I will admit though, my favourite of my Provence souvenirs is a tea towel!

Although it’s just a tea towel, it’s probably the nicest tea towel I own and I actually framed them (yes, I needed more than one!).

These tea towels have scenes and landscapes from all over Provence printed on them. Find one with the lavender fields, markets, the Côte d’Azur, or even a group playing petanque (a favourite game in France). But there are also Cézanne or Van Gogh prints on the towels. 

Made in France, these towels are a pieces of art in themselves. You can either use them as a towel, or you can also frame them (which is what I did!). I’m always nervous to bring back artwork (in case I bend it…) but there’s nothing to worry about travelling with a tea towel!

The only downside is that you can only find these gems in Aix (if that’s even a downside, you should be coming to Aix anyway while in the South of France!). You’ll find them at a booth at the Cours Mirabeau market that’s held every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. 

I hope you find many perfect Provence souvenirs to bring back even a little bit of this beautiful region back home. 

Are you planning a vacation to Provence? Here are 27 day trips you can go on from Aix-en-Provence (just make sure to read my post on what it’s like driving through Provence first!). 

I also highly recommend visiting Aix-en-Provence, I was there for a month and fell in LOVE! If you need some more convincing, check out my post on this true South of France hidden gem!

More South of France Guides

• Honest Review: What Marseille is Really Like
• How To Spend One Day In The Côte D’Azure
• Road Trip: Avignon, L’Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue, Gordes, and Roussillon
• Why Spend One Day At The Pont du Gard

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Last update on 2024-11-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API