Nyons is a town in the Drôme Provençale, known for its olives and olive oil and its market. But there’s more to do than just browsing the stalls: think a centuries-old bridge, the last scourtin factory in France, and getting hands-on with olive oil yourself.

The Drôme is full of picturesque villages, but only a handful of them officially get to call themselves one of the most beautiful villages in France. I visited three: Mirmande, La Garde-Adhémar, and Grignan.

I wind my way along a French country road toward Grignan. Wildflowers along the roadside. Tractors working the fields. Rolling hills. Big bales of hay scattered across the land. I haven’t even arrived yet, and that lazy vacation feeling already kicks in. Then Grignan appears, perched on a hill surrounded by lavender fields. On top, the castle rises up triumphantly. I spend a day here, and honestly, I could’ve easily stayed longer.

For 33 years, a mailman with zero training in art or architecture builds his palace, undisturbed, in his own backyard. At night, by the light of an oil lamp. A madman? Or a genius? More than a hundred years later, you can still admire his life’s work in Hauterives.