What is the most worthwhile place to visit in Provence?

Speaking of Provence, lavender, which represents sweet love, may first appear in the mind of modern romantic China. In fact, not only in Provence, but also on the roads with green belts in many French cities, purple lavender can always be seen swaying with the wind. The aroma of Provence can't be summarized only by purple lavender, because there are so many things that can make the sense of smell pleasant. Even if you can't fully appreciate the fragrance of Provence, it is necessary for you to go to Provence to personally appreciate several special flavors here. When you travel between cities in Provence, especially in Marseille, you will soon know a local specialty: Marseille soap. This unusual soap can be said to be the city of la cité phocéenne (in the 6th century BC, a group of ancient Greek phocée sailors landed in Marseille, and Marseille began to build a city. Marseille still retains some architectural styles and customs, just like the ancient city of Fossett along the Aegean Sea. Therefore, Marseille is also called "Foces City", which is the pride of its industrial production. Today, only a small amount of Marseille soap is preserved here, and it is handmade. It takes at least three weeks to make a piece of traditional Marseille soap. The main raw material is vegetable oil. It can be said that Marseille soap is the witness of Provence people's love for fragrance.

The exploration and understanding of the fragrance of Provence cannot be limited to lavender, Marseille soap or olives-no one who has been here will forget the fragrant and delicious olives here. However, we can't help talking to you about fennel (also called "star anise" in some areas of China), a pearl of Provence. This Mediterranean plant has long been famous for its multi-purpose medical effect and its cooling and thirst-quenching effect after being added to drinks. Because of its wonderful use, this plant quickly took root in the hearts of Provence people. Soon, people all over France fell in love with it. Fennel was once the main ingredient of the famous local absinthe. This alcoholic beverage is now banned because of its high alcohol content. The main reason why this kind of wine is banned is that it will make drinkers lose their minds and become crazy. However, this famous mugwort wine is still remembered and admired by people today, because it was once the best lover of some great poets or artists, such as Wei Erlun, Rambo, Picasso or Van Gogh. Just after this strong mugwort wine was banned by the authorities, anise became one of the raw materials for making another famous alcoholic beverage "Pasti" that is still on sale today.

This yellow alcoholic beverage has brought endless glory and wealth to a brewing workshop, and the name of this brewing workshop has been permanently combined with this famous alcoholic beverage. In France, Ricard, a yellow wine, has established its position in the French brewing industry because of its long history and amazing reputation, and its bottle body and label have also been included in the French cultural heritage list. If you haven't heard of Ricard, you may know Pernod Ricard, the second largest wine and spirits group in the world. If you don't know Pernod Ricard, have you at least heard of Pernod Ricard's famous brands Chivas or Martell? As for "Pasti", in the fierce competition with other famous French champagne and wine producing areas, Provence won a seat in the famous wine camp, which is enough to make it proud. Up to now, Pasti still retains its old function of relieving summer heat and quenching thirst.

Provence's mild climate generously accepted a large number of exotic fruits and vegetables to multiply in the local area. Among many exotic plants, lavender has always been the queen of the native plant kingdom. This plant from ancient Persia is famous for its elegant fragrance. With the change of time, this lilac from the Middle East has now become an important symbol of Provence in France. It adorns the fields and roads, courtyards and bedrooms of Provence with its unique blue-purple and elegant fragrance. In addition, harvesting this seemingly mixed fragrance plant is also a rare phenomenon. This is because from the19th century, lavender completely adapted to the mild climate of Provence began to spread all over the fields of Provence, that is, at that time, people began to make some famous brands of perfumes with lavender. This has led many family-owned flavor wineries to move their industries to Provence with their families. They use lavender to make less famous cologne. Due to many crises in history, this family business has almost completely disappeared in Provence, but lavender still insists on playing its role in perfume manufacturing with its tenacious vitality.