Overpriced and underinteresting (except in July-August, maybe)
Written: Jun 28 '08 (Updated Jun 28 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: many copper stills, if that interests you
Cons: not much else in the way of exhibits
The Bottom Line: lavender blooms May-August, old techniques can be seen July-August at this very minor museum
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| Jiahong's Full Review: Musée de la Lavande/Lavender Museum, Luberon |
There are so many places of interest in Provence in general, in the Luberon in particular. The Lavender Museum (Musée de la Lavande" -- which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, officially in Lagarde d'Apt, 7 kilometers southwest of Gordes, 20 kilometers southeast of Avignon on N100, the road to Apt at the intersection of D2-- is one that I would advise skipping. Pretty much, "there's no there there," as Gertrude Stein famously said of Oakland (, California, the birthplace of her partner, Alice B. Toklas).
Of course, there is a boutique selling products (perfume, massage oil, soaps, bubble bath liquid, gels and creams of various sorts) made of "100%-pure and natural fine lavender essential oil" (that is, oil that has been distilled from lavender, not squeezed out!) and sachets/potpourris of dried flowers.
Lavender/Lavandula are a genus of purplish flowering plants in the mint family (order) Lamiaceae. There are about 25 species within this genus. The one most cultivated in the south of France is Lavandula angustifolia. It takes about 40 kilograms of flowers to distill a liter of lavender essence (lavender oil).
Many claims -- most of them spurious -- have been made for positive effects of lavender/lavender oil. During the Middle Ages, some European people believed that it warded off the plague. I'd guess as many of them died of it as those who did not scent themselves. Some suppose that it reduces the itchiness of insect bites. I am told there are many mosquitoes in Provence during the summertime, but they had not hatched yet in April. I'll stick to calamine lotion or my own cure-all, Tiger Balm. I also have my doubts about lavender as an insect repellent.
What is scientifically proven is that linalool, the active ingredient in lavender oil, is cytotoxic and increases photosensitivity -- which is not a good thing in a sunny region like Provence! Many people are and more can easily become allergic to lavender oil. The one good effect for which there is some evidence is decreasing inflammation. (This suggests that it might have some effect on insect bites.)
I have digressed from the museum to lavender. There are field upon field of lavender in Provence, yielding millions of tourist photos. The Lavender Museum is located on a lavender-cultivating estate of 80 hectares called "Le Chateau du Bois" (which means the mansion of the woods -- the Luberon Forest (of cypress) is on a hill ("montagne" in the local view) nearby. The farm t has been in the Lincelé family since 1820. They hit on the scam -- OK, "tourist trap" -- of having a museum during the early 1990s.
From the first of July through the 25th of August (except on Saturdays!), visitors can From July 1 to August 25, you can watch the harvesting (reaping with sickles) and distillation in a copper still dating from around 1900. During the rest of the year, there is a 10-minute video showing the processes.
There are ("free" -- with museum admission) audioguides available in Chinese, English, French, German, or Spanish that can stretch looking at the relatively few exhibits to 45 minutes. Without being slowed down by an audioguide, the museum exhibits can easily be viewed in 10-15 minutes.
The museum is closed in January.
I don't think that museum admission is worth 6 euros (5 for students and retired people; free for those less than 15 accompanied by two adults), especially since one may see pretty much everything plus more at the free Fragonard Museum in Grasse -- which is the perfume capital of the world (and the primary setting of the movie "Perfume"). And one can see old copper stills in Avignon and throughout Provence.
(The website -- in French -- with some photos is http://www.museedelalavande.com/.)
Recommended:
No
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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