Second last stop on the honeymoon, and the one that we had been looking forward to the most by far, was Provence. I had done extensive research, and knew the area that was of most interest to us was the Luberon region, but I had also seen some pretty beautiful towns and places on the French Riviera, so we decided to start there, and make our way inland.
Provence at a glance-
Where we stayed
Food recommendations
Must-do Activities
Saint-Remy-de-Provence markets
Explore the hilltop town of Gordes
Visit Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
We flew into Nice and picked up our hire car, and drove about 45mins north to Menton, a colourful coastal town with a heavy Italian influence, given its proximity to the border. The whole town was in the throes of a summer holiday swan song celebration when we arrived, and there were so many people out and about in the streets, belly dancers, carnival rides etc, it was a wonderful atmosphere. We spent the following morning exploring and wished we had the entire day or two to do it justice, but by lunch we were off to Villefranche-sur-Mer by way of Eze.
Driving around the French Riviera, especially for an Australian, is no easy task. Not only do the French drive on the right side of the road, but the roads themselves were incredibly narrow and winding, and we often came around a corner only to find a vehicle barrelling straight for us and well over the middle line. The first time we found this incredibly overwhelming was when we were trying to find parking for Eze. It was so difficult that we ended up giving up, and driving straight into Villefranche-sur-Mer.
This was such a cute little town on the very outskirts of Nice, and if I was looking for a family vacation spot, this would be my pick. Like Menton it is colourful, and small enough that if you had rented a place, you’d easily be able to walk into town. That afternoon, we headed to Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, a heritage listed mansion sitting on Saint-Cap-Jean-Ferrat. The villa was built by heiress Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild as her winter residence, with her inheritance from her father. The gardens, which are organised into themed rooms and include dancing fountains, several statues, and took seven years to complete, are beautiful, as is the attention to detail in the villa.
The next day we got an early start and headed to St Paul de Vence. Finally, this was the quintessential Provençal town I had been reading and dreaming about. Little towns like this are filled with little shops and locally-owned restaurants, are small enough to walk around in a couple of hours, and have charm by the bucketload. After lunch we drove south to Grimaud, which I was excited to visit after seeing photos on social media of the entire town in bloom with hydrangeas and bougainvillea. Unfortunately, we were too late in the summer, and not only were there no flowers to be seen, but the town was so sleepy and lacked the vibrancy and charm that we had loved in St Paul de Vence. That afternoon we drove inland to stay at a very charming Bed and Breakfast near Oppede called La Bastide de Mourre.
So now we were in Provence proper, which is basically a collection of charming (in some cases tiny) little towns interspersed by farmland. I chose the towns that we would prioritise visiting by social media, and also checking which towns had Les Plus Beaux Villages de France status. Les Plus Beaux Villages de France is an independent association that promotes small rural villages with a rich cultural heritage and tourist appeal. There is rigorous selection criteria- think of it as a Michelin Star for villages rather than restaurants.
Although we were charmed by so many of the places we passed through, we were disappointed to find so many of them so quiet, and devoid of even local shop keepers. We have since learnt that in August, many locals pack up and go on their own vacation, so if we planned another trip it would definitely be around May/June. These little towns included Ménerbes*, Oppede and Bonnieux. The towns that we felt hit exactly the right note between quaint and bustling, and thoroughly enjoyed were Gordes*, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Saint-Remy-de-Provence and Villeneuve-les-Avignon. Had we had time, I also had Roussillon*, Saint-Saturnian-les-Apt and Saignon on my list.
After the one night at La Bastide du Mourre, we moved to Chateau de Varenne. This was the first accommodation I booked when planning our honeymoon. We had really splurged in the hopes of a special experience, and it lived up to everything we were hoping for and more. The rooms were so beautifully decorated, our hosts were so incredibly friendly and helpful (in fact we found everyone we encountered in Provence to be like this), and to top it all off, they had a gorgeous gentle giant Groodle named Woody who was on hand for a cuddle at any time.
One of the things I was so excited to do in Provence was to go to a local market. They are famous for the abundance of produce and wares such as woven basket bags and colourful hats. I was disappointed to learn that we weren’t around on the day that the markets are on in Apt, which seemed to be the best for fresh produce. I did read that Aix-en-Provence, quite a cosmopolitan city, had not only a farmers market, but a flower market and a flea and antiques market all on a Tuesday, so we headed for that. To say we were bitterly disappointed would be a huge understatement. There were three buckets of very sad looking flowers, a few fruit and vegetable vendors, and a long street of cheap clothes that definitely didn’t excite us.
Feeling pretty despondent, we decided we’d go to Saint-Remy-de-Provence for their markets the following day. This little town is where Van Gogh spent time in an asylum, and painted one of his most memorable works “The Starry Night”. As soon as we drove into the town, I let out a breath of relief. This was exactly the kind of market we had been hoping to experience. Stalls of olives shining like jewels, spices of every description, baked goods, punnets of berries, baskets of zucchini flowers, it was all there. The town of Saint-Remy is incredibly charming by itself, with busy little boulangeries and clothing boutuques lining the streets. My hot tip would be to get there at 8am, when the market opens. We could see as we were leaving that many people were struggling to park, and the heat of the day would make it far less enjoyable.
In our last night in Provence, we wanted to go out to a special dinner to celebrate our honeymoon and the impending arrival of Baby B. Once again I thoroughly researched restaurants around Provence, and ended up with this shortlist:
We ultimately decided to go with L’Orangerie, swayed by the photos we saw of the vine covered terrace overlooking the Luberon Valley (you may also recognise this restaurant from Season 3 of Emily in Paris). It was such a beautiful night. Impeccable service, plus exquisite food made for one of the most special meals we have ever had, and we both felt like we needed to be wheeled out of there and back to our car.
We absolutely loved our time in Provence and will definitely be back. Next time we would aim to rent a house for two-three weeks, right at the end of Spring or beginning of Summer.
Heidi xx
* Towns with Les Plus Beaux Villages de France status
The Professional Cinderella 
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