You’re wandering through the stunning ancient hilltop village of Les Baux de Provence, your Pernes la Fontaine apartment just a scenic drive away, when you stumble upon something that transforms your understanding of art itself. This is exactly what happened to long-time UnTourists, Warren and Helenka Wiscombe, during their 2019 UnTour in Provence—a discovery that perfectly captures the magic of traveling the UnTours way.
A Journey Into Living Art
“We love surprises in our travels,” Warren reflects. “We had one such during our Untours week in Provence (Pernes la Fontaine) in 2019: the Carrieres des Lumieres, in Les Baux de Provence, a little hilltop town of great antiquity.”
The Carrières des Lumières isn’t your typical art gallery. Housed within the dramatic limestone caverns of an ancient quarry, this immersive experience transforms the very walls, floor, and ceiling into a living canvas. “It is an art show unlike any we had ever seen,” Warren describes. “They illuminate the interior of an old quarry with art images that move and dissolve, accompanied by appropriate music.”
A Canvas Carved from Stone
The Carrières des Lumières exists within the cathedral-like chambers of former limestone quarries, where for centuries stonemasons extracted the pale golden stone that built much of Provence. These vast underground spaces, with their soaring 14-meter-high ceilings and naturally sculpted walls, lay dormant for decades before being transformed into one of France’s most innovative cultural experiences.
Les Baux de Provence itself perches dramatically on a rocky spur in the Alpilles mountains, its medieval fortress ruins commanding sweeping views across the Provençal countryside. This hilltop town has been inhabited since around 6000 BC and was once the seat of powerful medieval lords who claimed descent from one of the three wise men, Balthazar.
The Magic of Immersion
What makes this experience truly extraordinary isn’t just the technology—it’s the feeling of being completely enveloped by art. “You wander through the huge quarry, surrounded on the sides, floor, and ceiling with these moving images,” Warren explains. “It has a hypnotic quality, like a deep meditation trance.”
During Warren and Helenka’s visit, the main exhibition featured the vibrant works of van Gogh, his swirling sunflowers and starry nights dancing across the limestone walls in ways the artist himself could never have imagined. The accompanying show highlighted Japanese prints, including “the famous one of the breaking wave”—Hokusai’s iconic “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”—reimagined in this otherworldly setting.
The UnTours Advantage: Freedom to Discover
This serendipitous discovery perfectly illustrates what sets an UnTour apart. From their carefully selected base in Pernes la Fontaine—a charming Provençal town known for its historic fountains and authentic local life—Warren and Helenka had the freedom to explore at their own pace. They could follow their curiosity, take spontaneous day trips, and allow the region to reveal its treasures naturally.
“The town above is also worth a visit,” Warren notes, referring to the medieval village of Les Baux de Provence itself. This flexibility to explore both the main attraction and the surrounding area, to linger where something captures your interest, is at the heart of the UnTours philosophy.
Practical Magic: The Local Knowledge Advantage
Even magical discoveries require a bit of practical planning. “You do have to reserve in advance, and you need to allow time to find parking and walk to the quarry,” Warren advises—the kind of insider knowledge that UnTourists naturally share with each other and that your UnGuide would have helped navigate.
This blend of spontaneous discovery and thoughtful planning exemplifies how UnTours creates space for both structure and serendipity. You’re free to chase that interesting road sign or follow a local’s recommendation, but you also have the support system to make it happen seamlessly.
A Connection That Lasts
The impact of this unexpected discovery has stayed with Warren and Helenka long after their return home. Warren mentions that “the show has a mailing list and I still get (rare) news from them about the current show.” These are the kinds of lasting connections that transform a vacation into a meaningful part of your life—the newsletters from a small French quarry that arrive in your mailbox, carrying you back to that moment of wonder. Now, Warren and Helenka share their experience with fellow UnTourists, helping others immerse themselves in the wonder of traveling differently.
The Art of Slow Travel
This story captures something essential about the UnTours approach to travel. When you’re not rushing from checkpoint to checkpoint, when you have time to truly settle into a place, you create space for the unexpected. You might stumble upon a medieval quarry where van Gogh’s paintings dance on ancient walls, or discover a tucked-away bistro where the locals gather each evening.
Warren closes by sharing, “Untours is a great concept… we have been to almost all the current locations,” exemplifying what makes the UnTours approach so special—it allows for the kind of organic discovery that makes travel truly transformative. There’s more to travel than seeing the sights; slow travel allows a place to surprise you, to change your perspective, and to create memories that shimmer as vividly as those projected masterpieces in a Provençal quarry.
Thank you, Warren and Helenka, for sharing your story and your feedback as loyal UnTourists! If you are an alumnus and would like to share your UnTours experiences, please contact us to collaborate on a blog post just like this one. We would love to hear from you!
Ready to discover your own unexpected treasures in Provence? Our Provence UnTours offers the perfect balance of guidance and independence, allowing you to uncover the region’s hidden gems at your own pace. We also offer small group travel in Provence, including our Provence Food & Wine UnTour and our Provence Art UnTour (coming soon!).