September is a spectacular month in Provence. Often it’s sunny and warm—without the scorching summer heat—with blue skies and nights that are cool and refreshing. The days are shorter and the leaves on the vines start to change. It’s also when most of my friends arrive back after avoiding the …

Contributor blog post by David Taylor: I am continuing to train for a further ascent of Mont Ventoux in the coming weeks so my Tuesday ride took me over the hills past Javon and down to Sault. As ever the first glimpse of Ventoux with the lavender in full bloom …

Contributor blog post by Vaucluse Dreamer: Where do I start? This last week has been lovely – the house has been full (a great test of the temporary fabric walls & open plan bathroom!) Not only has my eldest son been visiting with his girlfriend, but also my mum, so …

Cantilevered to a Luberon hillside are the striking remains of an ancient oppidum and its defensive dry-stone walls; Gordes can rightly boast about its ranking among les Plus Beaux Villages de France. However, at the height of Provence’s tourist season this town, with its single thoroughfare, becomes a ghastly traffic …

Contributor blog post by Vaucluse Dreamer: Over the years that we’ve been coming to the Vaucluse we have often ‘popped’ across the hills that sit between the Luberon & Mont Ventoux. This has always been done by car and I’ve seen people on bikes riding it and thought to myself …

On July 14, 1789, an angry mob stormed the Bastille in Paris, a prison that housed only seven inmates. To incensed crowd, the medieval structure represented a landmark which symbolized all of their frustration with the reigning monarchy, a weak economic environment, high taxes and a lack of personal financial …

Nestled in the heart of Provence, you will find a true Hidden Gem – Château de Mazan. The former residence of the Marquis de Sade, an 18th Century French aristocrat, politician and writer who was infamous for his outrageous, libertine lifestyle, this stunning Château is an ideal destination for a relaxing …

Provence’s pine forests, Mistral winds and the summer symphony of the cigales fuel Tracy Rawles’ creative writing. Rawles published her first book Charlie’s World of Glittering Powers, in November 2015. Charlie is a cigale, a cicada (or at least inspired by the cicadas), this is a description of the book’s central …

Mathieu Schillinger hails from France’s Alsace region with its fabulous white wines. However, he tells me that it was only when he moved to England that he gained an appreciation for food and wine. An Epicurean paradox? In 2007, Mathieu and his wife returned to France to open a B&B …

Barbara Schuerenberg says, “I always joke that I learned to cook out of self-defence as our mother was a terrible cook.”  Clearly, she was successful in that pursuit as she enters into her sixth year of running her cooking school Cuisine de Provence in Vaison la Romaine. German-born Barbara’s journey …