Provence-Holidays with Style

CORNILLON-CONFOUX, ST. CHAMAS, MIRAMAS-LE-VIEUX This is an easy „warm-up“ tour to some nearby beauties which you rarely find in travel guide books. It takes you back to mediaval times, nicely restaurated, and with great looks into the area, and on the L‘Etang de Berre. The villages invite for a stroll around to enjoy the beautiful scenery, at St. Chamas also the waterfront, clock-tower and yacht harbour, and for the closing at Miramas-le-Vieux we recommend the ice-cream at „Le Quillé“ and the meals at „Le Misto“ (who also offers nice ice cream). On the way to Cornillon-Confoux you can also have a stop at the old town of Lancon (directly at the castle).

LOURMARIN, CUCURON, ANSOUIS, GRAMBOIS Whilst Lourmarin is almost like a must, the other three villages are a bit more unusual yet also very pretty, and each of them very pretty. Much less touristic than the „big names“ buth each offers a lot to explore and just stroll around to engage into their special atmosphere. At Cucuron the market square is quite unique with a large pond (and some nice shops), in the pretty old town is an impressive church, and remnants of the castle. Ansouis has a very pretty yet kind of steep old town, a massive castle and church, offering beautiful views. On our route you pass the Etang de la Bonde for a stop. Grambois, a tiny village on top of a single mountain, is a deep dive into old times, and we found it very charming.

LOURMARIN, LACOSTE, GORDES, ROUSSILLON, BUOUX Almost a standard tour to discover our side of the Luberon. Of course you can try to build in some more villages into the tour, but then it quickly ends in an overflow, and not enough time to discover the beauties. Passing through Bonnieux provides you with a beautiful view (and a great terrace café), but we prefer to go on to Lacoste to take some time to dive into the specific flair of this place. From there it is a quick drive up to Gordes where you again need some time to really explore the beauties. On the way back you can stop at Roussillon and spend again some time there to enjoy the views from the bridge, and from the top church. Further on, don‘t miss the lavender fields at the crossing before Buoux.

CASSIS, ROUTE DES CRÊTES, LA CIOTAT Cassis is a really beautiful place to go; beyond the port and the boat-tour through the Calanques there are a few more hidden yet even nicer spots. Leave very early, park the car at „Mimosas“, walk into the village, buy your boat tickets first, and then indulge into a breakfast at a restaurant at the port. When finished with cruise and shopping-tour take the car and drive over to the remote calanque parking of Port Miou - don‘t park too early as the real place to go is at the very end (see map). This place offers many new perspectives on the calanques and the entire bay. Also good restaurant La Presqu‘île or the brasserie de Tennis. For the way back, take the Route des Crêtes and enter the motorway at La Ciotat for heading home.

LES BAUX, CARRIERES DE LUMIERE, ST. REMY This is a one hour drive, and takes you to a wonderful combination of mediaval living, a fantastic animated light show, and a beautiful romantic village which even features some old roman ruins nearby. The photos at the individual destinations speak for themselves; the tickets for Carrière de Lumière you should buy online beforehand. We often first go into Les Baux (min 2 hours), then enjoy the coolness in the caves, and let the day swing out with a meal on the market square (at the Mairie, not at the parking) of St. Remy. Glanum is also interesting for the enthusiasts but takes some time, so we leave it your preferences going there.

VERNEGUES - VIEW FROM THE TOP This is a nice warm-up to get acquainted with our area. It is only a 20 min drive away from the house, and we often get us some stuff from the bakery, take the mount up to the castle with beautiful views if you take a small trail on the left. Further on, on the top, is a large plateau which invites for a little hike to the watch tower to enjoy the views, and have a picknick. For the way back, passing the castle, you can take some steps down to the old (broken) church, and afterwards step back up to enjoy your rewards (drinks, food, icecream, views) at the café Le Repaire - best Crêpes in the area!

VILLAGE D‘AUTOMATES - FUN AND PLAYTIME The closest place to go to, and have a whole day of fun if you are travelling with kids! They will love it with all the many different activities, and the parents can enjoy to see the kids engaging and having fun! We noticed that it is often overlooked as it is a bit hidden behind trees and hedges, and people don‘t know what it really is. It is a real paradise; there are animated puppets to watch, grouped in many different themes (the origin of the park), and over time many more interactive attractions have been realized including climbing on dinosaurs, a massive slide, karting venues, walking through a whale, waterplays, and lots of picknick grounds. Next door is also an indoor park if it‘s too hot, or rainy.

ISLE-SUR-LA-SORGUE AND MONT VENTOUX The „Venice of Provence“ is a very pretty town in the middle of many streams of the river Sorgue, lots of water wheels, and besides that the capital of antiques and curio. Worthwhile to spend a day there, you should combine it with the tour to the summit of the Mont Ventoux if the weather conditons are favorable. The views from the top are more that stunning as it stands free over the basin towards the Rhone. On the way back Le Barroux and its castle invites for a provencal whisky tasting, featuring a large collection, and some distilled on-site. Also some nice restaurants. Take it easy for the way back, take the motorway.

DINOSAURS, ARCHAEOLOGY AND BEACHES AT L‘ETANG DE BERRE The L‘Etang de Berre offers many interesting spots to discover; a proposal for a full round trip is described in the Region section. Here we want to point out a discovery of the very old times at the Dinosaur Park with many full-size models (they look real, but don‘t bite), and not far away the historic site of an old Settling, Saint Blaise. There are also some inviting beaches for some leisure time, each offering a fascinating perspective on the Etang and its surroundings.

BEACH TOUR WITH DINNER: CARRY-LE-ROUET, NIOLON At the southern coast behind the L‘Etang de Berre are some beautiful beaches. The best ones are Plage du Verdon at La Couronne (in the west) and Carry-le-Rouet Plage. Of course you can only chose one of these… For the late afternoon and evening we recommend a stop at Niolon for a wonderful view on Marseille, and if you follow our directions and a very short climb at the left hand side before getting down towards the village (opposite of the large parking lot) you can have a wonderful view on the bay with the railway bridge in front, the Marseille bay, and over the Niolon bay. Above the harbor are three cliff restaurants (so don‘t get stopped at other places before) with a wonderful evening view over the entire bay.

EXCURSIONS In the Region section you find details for many attractive destinations to put together your own individual tours. Here we want to give you some recommendations to explore our area without burdening yourself. All cities are worthwhile their own full day trip (Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, Nimes, Arles, Avignon), as they offer so much to see and enjoy. Others can be grouped into nice roundtrips to explore the region. Click on a tour for a map with the most scenic route