A year in Provence.....

Advantages: Great views, great food, great dink, historical and artistic attractions
Disadvantages: Those Roads, Expensive generally

........if only! Just back from one of the best holidays of my life. Two weeks in Provence, and how I wish it had been a year as in Peter Mayle?s book?.. We booked our hotel, car hire and accommodation independently. We found our cottage by leafing through a Blake?s Cottages ? France book, and we were actually able to book on line, so we instantly knew which cottages were available for what weeks. However, we booked six months in advance and many of the cottages which we liked were already gone, so my advice is to book as early as you can, not that we were disappointed with our accommodation at all, quite the contrary. Our gite, which would have slept four, was a tad over £800 for two weeks, although the prices rose quickly after this, as is the norm for accommodation of this kind. We booked flights through British Airways...

helencbradshaw 26.05.2003 (27.05.2003) · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

Two weeks in Provence

Advantages: Fantastic scenery, hot weather, 'interesting people'
Disadvantages: Hard work to organise, a very long way to drive

...! Oh, one other thing to remember while driving on French motorways are the tolls... these sort of surprised us at times with a mad scrabble for a few Euros - they arent too hot on letting you know about these things in advance, or indeed how much they are likely to be! Ours ranged from 1.50 euros up to 20 depending which stretch of road you are on... they do take credit cards though so no need to panic if you dont have the cash. But you soon get used to all the French ways, expecially after 12 hours of driving!!! This is not for the faint hearted I tell you... on our journey we drove over mountains and went from sea level up to 3000ft! **ACCOMODATION** On the way to Provence we stopped off for the night to break the journey. We chose to stay in one of the Formula 1 hotels.. this is a huge chain in France with one in pretty much...

miniloopie 26.09.2002 · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

Mas de L Hermitage apartments Provence Beautiful

Advantages: great views and fab food
Disadvantages: a bit isolated

...In September I went on holiday to the Var region of Provence, France for two weeks with my partner. We found a place to stay by searching on the net and didn’t know anything about it before we went so we were pretty pleased with what we found. Our criteria were as follows:- - somewhere with a pool not shared by many people - a good base to explore the region (near cote d’azur) from - near vineyards - somewhere fairly quiet i.e. not a large apartment complex - not outrageously expensive - nice, tidy apartment The apartment The apartment itself was very nice. We had a 2 person apartment in the main building which comprised large double bedroom with en-suite, kitchenette with dining area and a balcony with seating. The apartment was adequate for us. The only minor point was as we were in the eaves...

EmmaJ 07.11.2001 · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

Three trips to Provence

Advantages: sun, great food, scenery, wine
Disadvantages: cold in Winter, hard to get around on local transport

...or resistance. From the ruined walls of the chateau the view of the valley and mountains beyond is magnificent. Vineyards and rows of fruit trees are laid out in orderly fashion in the land below. We spent each day exploring the region and beyond and have great memories of visits to Apt, Gordes, Bonnieux, Menerbes, Lacoste (Peter Mayle country) the beautiful city of Aix-en-Province and the busy but fascinating city and port of Marseille. Property prices are high in an area also populated by film stars, movie directors and authors, so we did not bother with our usual holiday fantasy of "oh if only we could live here". There are lots of rural Gites for holidays, many with the Gites De France logo. Also campsites seem plentiful. We loved the way of life, the friendliness of the Provencal people and the only downsides I can think of are...

cpwill 15.05.2001 (19.05.2001) · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

Viens In Provence

Advantages: Great Area
Disadvantages: Long Journey

...Every summer for the past 7 years my family and me have been making the trip to a little village in Provence called Viens. Viens is a peaceful little town, which is an hour?s drive from Avigon and Marseille. We are lucky enough to have relatives that live in Viens Who own a large amount of land, which has a house with 7 bedrooms and a poolside bungalow, which can sleep 10 people at one time. Viens has little to do but in the surrounding area there are lots of activity centres and in the nearest town there is a market, which is held on a weekly basis on Saturdays. I would recommend this little village as a great summer holiday getaway for anybody of all ages as it is a little jem....

barnetboy 06.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

GORGED OUT in PROVENCE

Advantages: Stunning scenery
Disadvantages: Can be quite hair-raising

......

proxam 30.08.2003 · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

Birthday in Provence

Advantages: Friendly people, gorgeous scenery, lovely red wine :-D
Disadvantages: Too hot at times

...This summer (August) my partner and I went to Provence for 6 days to celebrate my birthday and loved it. The plan was to see the lavender fields and the sunflowers but unfortunately we were a little late as the majority of lavender was harvested in July but we did manage to find a few fields at a place called Sault and it was beautiful to see, it looks like lakes of rippling purple water and smells gorgeous. Even more impressive though was an enormous field of 6ft high golden yellow sunflowers and of course being a total child I had to run and stand in between them all and have a 'photo moment' with my head surrounded by sunflowers.......will possibly regret this when I see said photos! If you're a wine lover (like we are) then I recommend you go to Chateauneuf-duPape to indulge in some wine-tasting, great fun and possibly quite...

spookysooo 05.10.2005 · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

St Paul-de-Vence

Advantages: 300 days of sunshine per year
Disadvantages: hard to get there

...I recently went to St Paul-de-Vence for my holiday. I am lucky enough to have a friend who owns a beautiful 5 bedroom house with a large swimming pool, so accommodation wasn't a worry for me. I was quite happy to sit by the pool and soak up the sun, but I also enjoyed going down to the village to look in all the lovely small shops and local markets. I thought I would write this review and share it with you. I hope you enjoy it" St Paul-De-Vence. Dating back to the 11th Century, St Paul-De-Vence lies between mountains and sea, overlooking the Mediterranean sea on the world renowned French Riviera. It stretches over 1,700 acres and is home to over 3,000 inhabitants, 300 of which live within St Paul village. St Paul de vence is one of the most visited, best preserved and well kept medieval towns in France. No cars are allowed...

keak123 26.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

Le Pont du Gard

Advantages: Steeped in history. In easy reach of the UK. Stunning scenery.
Disadvantages: Weather sometimes disappointing

...of Provencal prints; the smell of lavender and rosemary are ubiquitous; the landscape is often equally dramatic. This beautiful area of France is also easily accessible from Nimes airport (also with Ryanair) and there are many other attractions in the area, including: Uzes: Delightful medieval town. The film Cyrano de Bergerac with Gerard Depardieu was filmed here. Saturday market to die for. Les Baux de Provence This village is officially classified and labelled as "one of the most beautiful villages in France". Its cultural heritage is exceptionally rich, with 22 architectural treasures classified as "Historic Monuments" (including the church, chateau, town-hall, hospital, chapels, houses, doorways... without counting items of furniture and a collection of paintings). Les Baux has been painstakingly restored and is now one of the most...

SuzanneW 24.06.2002 · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

THE PARADISE IN LUBERON

Advantages: A LOVELY PLACE
Disadvantages: ONLY FOR SUMMER TIME

...decides by 1170 to give up his possessions to preach the gospel. Declared heretical because they denied the existence of the purgatory, Vaudois was severely repressed and scattered in Europe before settling from 1490 in "bass" Provence, where they will undergo numerous persecutions. The village of lourmarin is going to undergo the consequences of the plunders and the plague which go affected his(her) population Much later in the XIIe-XIIIe centuries, it will be the notions of franchising(frankness) and freedom that will have strength of law.. In the XIVth century, after the plague of 1348, comes along with an intellectual revival with the presence of the Popes in Avignon ., The XVth century a short era of prosperity precedes the fastening of Provence with France. Religious wars in the Revolution The religious wars as a result...

ilveusavoir 09.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)