L’Occitane en Provence Factory Tour

With a cold wind nipping at our faces we took refuge at the L’Occitane en Provence factory tour assuming it would be inside and provide us shelter from the cold. It turned out to be fun for the whole family. The boys were endlessly amused by the machinery, Jeff was enthralled by the company’s inner workings and I was in love with one of my favorite brands. L’Occitane factory tour for the win!

L’Occitane makes all its products, with the exception of the soap, at this factory in Provence. The L’Occitane factory has been continuously expanded to meet their growing market demand. Just take a moment to think about how every hand cream or hotel shampoo bearing the L’Occitane label emerges from this small-ish factory in Provence. It is a sight to see.

Free guided tours of the L’Occitane factory are conducted 7 days a week but reservations are required. You’ll need to book your English language factory tour well in advance. You cannot show up and get a tour. When we called there was only one English tour available for the week of our visit. There are no photos allowed on the tour.

The tour starts outside the museum and leads you into the factory. You peer down on the factory floor from windows while the tour guide tells you what is going on. The tour is dynamic so you will spend more time at rooms with things happening, only pausing at empty rooms. Strollers are easily accommodated on the tour.

You make a brief stop to try out some of the products. You’ll also learn about L’Occitane’s product sourcing and charity efforts in which they are involved.

At the conclusion of the L’Occitane factory tour you are given a small hand cream and dropped off at the store to browse. The store has all their products and is fun to browse. You can sample all the hand creams and smell all the lotions.

If you don’t have a factory tour and still want to stop by there is a small museum you can browse along with a garden you are free to enjoy. Unless you were close or a huge L’Occitane fan, it’s not worth it to stop by unless you have the tour. You will find L’Occitane stores in every town in Provence with similar offerings. If however you can book yourself on a tour this is a great way to learn the story of L’Occitane and see the factory at work.

Find current hours and more info about the L’Occitane factory tour here.