40 The Essentials: Provence, France

The EssentialsEurope
Written By Whitney Shindelar

Provence is often treated as one destination, but the geography tells a different story. Avignon to Nice is over two hours by car, and clients who want both the lavender country and the Côte d'Azur need a split stay, not a single base. Ece Armanet, Head of Marketing at Découvertes DMC France and a resident of Aix-en-Provence, walks travel advisors through how to structure it by zone: wine touring in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, full days in the Luberon, and matching clients to Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez, or Monaco by what they are actually after. She also pins the lavender window at late May through mid-July, the one detail that locks the season before everything else can fall into place.

Key Takeaways

  • The case for two hotel bases in Provence, and what each one unlocks

  • Why the lavender bloom window (late May through mid-July) needs to be the first question

  • What to ask before placing clients in a wine experience, from interest level to prior tastings

  • Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez, Monaco: what separates each client profile, and what to ask first

  • Ece's route through Oman, the UAE, Kenya, and Mauritius, and her 5-star hotel marketing background

About the guest: 

Ece Armanet is Head of Marketing at Découvertes DMC France, a luxury destination management company specializing in bespoke, tailor-made itineraries across France for international travel advisors. Originally from Istanbul, her career took her through Oman, the UAE, Kenya, and Mauritius before she settled in Aix-en-Provence four years ago, where Découvertes is also based. Her marketing background spans 5-star institutions including Accor Hotels and Shangri-La. That combination of luxury hospitality experience and daily life inside the region she works means travel advisors get a grounded, firsthand perspective on how to build and position Provence itineraries for high-end clients.

Links and Resources:

Whitney Shindelar

Undiscovered Sunsets was a long time in the making, even if I myself didn’t realize it. During my time at the University of Northern Iowa, I studied abroad in New Zealand. Upon graduating, I bought a one-way ticket to France, lived with a French family and studied with classmates from Turkey, China, Russia, Germany, Italy, and everywhere in between. In 2010 I began teaching English as a foreign language. This job quickly took me to China, where English teachers were in high demand and within three years, I began working in a 5-star hotel, speaking Mandarin throughout most of my day. In total, I lived abroad for 7 years.

I consider Undiscovered Sunsets to be the perfect mélange of my personal experience traveling the world and my professional experience working in the hospitality industry.

I look forward to designing your next adventure!

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