Contributor blog post by Liz Gabay: Hiding away in southern French blends, Carignan is often unnoticed by wine drinkers. However, an enthusiastic trend amongst a few growers in southern France, Spain, Chile, California and Israel to produce this variety in all its glory, has captured my imagination. The more I …

Contributor blog post by Access Riviera: If I had a euro for every time someone asked me ‘Is Monaco cheap to visit?’ I’d probably be able to buy a penthouse apartment there myself. There’s no doubt about it that Monaco is a destination of legend – luxury everything from hotels …

The quality of the produce is impressive here in Provence. However, all produce is not created equal. The first year I was here, I grew many of my own vegetables. I later wondered why I went through all that trouble. There are some producer’s markets where farmers sell their pickings …

This book, with an initial print run of 10,000 in September, sold out in two weeks. It would normally take three years to sell such a number. It sold like hotcakes at Christmas and Hachette have printed 300,000, a record. So what is this phenomenon? It’s Simplissime, the brain child …

We’ve recently painted our upstairs with chaux/lime wash. We wanted to apply a wall covering that respected the age of the building. It’s important that old walls breathe in order to reduce trapped moisture. We quite liked the texture of the traditional lime wash (peinture à la chaux). We knew …

Van Gogh was so incredibly productive that, while in Arles and in Saint-Remy, he produced some 500 works; so it’s always seemed sad that there was, until recently, only one of his paintings in Provence (in Avignon). Two more have arrived (one in Aix and one loan in Arles), this …

Bilingual guide Chiara Orlandi grew up in the heart of Italy, in Umbertide, a place that she still holds dear in her heart even after several years away in the United Kingdom and Edinburgh, Scotland. Orlandi studied event management at Edinburgh’s Napier University, her second Masters (her previous degrees are …

France has so many amazing places to visit it’s hard to decide where to start. If you’re a Roman history buff, you must visit Nimes. It’s a city where you can see, touch and experience life in France during the days of the Roman Empire. …Continue reading here for the Barefoot …

recipe from Provence combines onions that have been cooked for so long they are almost melting, anchovies and olives add design flair and a slightly salty edge to this pizza-like dish. Pissaladière is often served as a snack with an apéro (think chilled rosé) or as a light meal with a green salad.

Just about every village in Provence has a weekly market. Some villages have markets that occur twice a week or even daily! Markets are absolutely my favourite part of living in Provence. We can easily spend a day wandering through the stalls and people watching as we sit at a …