Fodor's Expert Review Jardins de Salagon and Priory

On a site occupied since the Gallo-Roman period, this picturesque 11th- to 12th-century priory—a rich archaeological site classed as a Historic Monument by the French Ministry of Culture—presides over 10 acres of themed gardens. The restored priory, with well-preserved Gothic and Romanesque flourishes, now houses an ethnological museum, a testament to the various cultures and peoples in this part of Provence. The garden functions as both a visual delight and a preserve for 2,500 species of plants and flowers native to the region, from ancient times to the present, organized into five themes—like "simple gardens and village plants," which includes field and cultivated plants that were both consumed and used medicinally. There's also a medieval garden, a fragrant garden with benches under the roses and honeysuckle for maximum sensory effect, and a modern "exotic" garden that crosses five continents.