Roussillon

One place not to miss in Provence is Roussillon and Le Sentier des Ocres for some striking natural beauty. There's evidently a rather violent legend explaining why the earth is colored with vibrant reds... it entails love, a blood bath, and now we can all appreciate the beauty of the iron hydroxide 110 million years later.

The contrast between the orange and red tones and the green trees and foliage is beautiful. I'd be curious how much it changes during the Autumn and Winter months.

Roussillon is another of "Les plus Beaux Villages de France" and it's as if the entire city has been splashed with terracotta paint. If you visit, make sure you stop at the ice cream shop right near the entrance and try the lavender ice cream - it's fantastic!

The vibrate colors are incredible and stained everything from the feet of several children who were running through to canvases of tourists who could purchase the pigments at nearby shops.