Les Baux de Provence is a picturesque village about 46 miles southwest of our house in Sablet in the Vaucluse. The town sits on an elevated site with ancient dwellings and ruins of a castle perched on top overlooking plains to the south. The village is classified as one of …

Blessed with many picturesque villages, there is only one place in France with a dedicated star overhead – Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. Moustiers-Sainte-Marie Flanked by towering cliffs, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie resembles a Provencal nativity scene protected by a 150kg gold star suspended between the bluffs. In 1981, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie joined the ranks of the beaux villages …

Discover the Pays de Fayence The Pays de Fayence is only a 30-minute drive from Saint-Raphaël. The area is a quiet contrast to the busy Mediterranean coast. With its perched villages and unspoilt natural setting, this region of Provence remains anchored to the past. There are nine (9) hilltop villages …

I thought it was time to revisit something I did soon after starting this blog to do an A-Z of the Luberon and Vaucluse. I started it all those years ago, before we had bought the house, and with much less knowledge than we have now. Also, I never actually …

France is full of enchanting villages, and among the approximately 30,000 communes, there are undoubtedly thousands of beautiful ones. However, officially there are exactly 159 Plus Beaux Villages de France – 159 most beautiful villages of all. But how can there be such a precise figure? Easy! This is not …

Every time we come to our home in Sablet, in the Provence region of France, we head toward the Luberon mountain to visit one or more of the small hilltop villages in that area. Many times, Gordes is one of the villages we visit, especially if we are touring first-time visitors …

Contributor blog post by Caroline Longstaffe: Continuing our tour of Provence’s beautiful Luberon hillside villages; last time we took the D943 from Lourmarin, through the dramatic gorge to Bonnieux, Lacoste and Ménerbes now await. Lacoste, a tiny, sometimes forgotten perched village has breathtaking views across the sweeping Luberon landscape, Mont Ventoux and Les Alpes. …

Perched above the Luberon Valley, Ménerbes deserves its classification as one of the 172 prettiest villages in France. With old stone facades, pedestrian-friendly streets, tempting boutiques, and lively cafés, Ménerbes exudes Provencal charm. Ménerbes is also home to a thriving art scene, including an artist residency program inspired by Dora …

It’s not a dream. Outside your window, the cicadas are chanting as the sun moves higher in the morning sky, warming the Provencal countryside. You are in Provence during the lavender season and learning about photography. Now that is a dream! On holidays, you want to immerse in the local …

At first blush, many visitors may not realize that the Alpes-Maritimes department expands from the beaches of the French Riviera to the ski resorts of the southern Alps to the Italian border. Surrounded by the Var and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the Alpes-Maritimes has densely populated urban areas, famous Côte d’Azur cities, …