While living and working in dynamic Hong Kong, Tom and Paul were hooked and began visiting Antibes and Cote d’Azur. Leaving behind Asia’s intense lifestyle and demanding jobs in luxury hotel design (Tom) and financial markets (Paul), they moved to Antibes in 2012. It’s been a decade, and Antibes is …

Shelley and Riccardo are both Americans who have lived in Villefranche-sur-Mer for 21 years. They initially arrived in this charming seaside town to visit a friend, then returned for an extended stay and decided that they never wanted to leave the French Riviera. In 2004, they launched a holiday apartment …

Martine and George Greenlee arrived in Provence for a one-year trial – several years ago! It took time to decide that Reillanne, in the Luberon Valley, was the place that they wanted to live. Reillanne ticked all the boxes, and they bought a home in 2016 – it’s close to …

Helen Bates and her husband, Niall, have lived in the South of France for 15 years after leaving their finance careers in London. They run a small property rental business in the heart of Cannes, offering affordable, stylish properties that offer everything you need for a holiday on the Riviera. …

Church Bells of Bonnieux Recently, we stayed in the hilltop village of Bonnieux in Provence’s Luberon where we were treated to a singular sensory experience. We reached out to Vincent Gils, the only carillonneur (bell-ringer) left in the Vaucluse area and one of few left in France. Vincent’s father, Bernard, …

Armchair travel never replaces the real thing, so you’ve decided to spend some holiday time in Provence. Whether this is your first trip or you are fortunate to have visited many times, booking the right accommodation should be at the top of your planning list. Ending up in a place …

Make Apt Home Base Apt is one of the larger centres in the Luberon and a great place from which to explore the hilltop towns, lavender fields, and vineyards of Provence. The weekly Saturday morning market in Apt is popular all year, it’s one of the biggest ones with stalls …

Finding work is one of the primary causes of concern for expats. What makes it even more challenging in this region, is that much of that work is given by word-of-mouth. Establishing a few contacts before the move helps enormously unless you have time (and savings) to build up some …

Provence in Autumn Bizarrely we sense and feel the changing seasons more in Provence than we do in Devon. Back in Exeter, the proximity to the sea seems to soften the edges of summer as it shifts into autumn and likewise, autumn into winter. That’s not the case here. Today …

When imagining Provence, perhaps you think of three-star Michelin restaurants serving snails with white truffles, paired with decades-old Bandol rosé. Sure thing, but regular French people also live in Provence and don’t have that much money to spare on a meal. Smart tourists will follow the local’s lead and can …