shelleyandjohnny

I have the idea in my head that I'd like to get an airbnb (or similar) place in the South of France. My window of opportunity is end of Jan early Feb 2017, I know it will be cold but I'm ok with this.

Looking for suggestions. I'm hoping for a pretty town, I want to walk around, get food from farmers markets and just enjoy two weeks of relaxation. Do we have any suggestions of where I might find such a place?

StCirq

The South of France encompasses an enormous area with "pretty towns" everywhere, although they won't be at their prettiest at that time of year. The days will be short, and some small businesses closed for the season. Have you read any guidebooks or done any research to narrow down your search? You could literally throw a dart at a map and come up with a couple of hundred places.

Whathello

Pretty towns will be very quiet at that time of the year.
Coast itself is 901 kms long.
http://france.fr/fr/a-decouvrir/sur-...-mediterraneen

annhig

what is it that you hope to see and experience in the SoF? As St C and What suggest it may not actually be on offer at that time of year.

Tell us what you are looking for and we may be able to come up with some suggestions.

Lois2

Suggest Antibes old town..because Antibes is a city with year round population there will be activity as opposed to shutters everywhere..good train access for day trips..further inland Valbonne has some charm and is much smaller..I would get bored there long term.

susanjuillet

We were in the Carcassonne area around Christmas a few years ago. Since the big fortress is there, tourists are always there and the hotels/restaurants are open. We were in the Trebes/Beziers area and they were open (Beziers is medium-sized; Trebes is very small). The weather was not bad (but we are from Chicago)--maybe 40 degrees. If you want a big city, consider Montpellier.

grandmere

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue; pretty little town with marvelous Sunday market. Big enough to have a life other than tourists so will not be desolate in winter. Lots of VRBO and airbnb apartments right in the center, which I would recommend. I was there for a week in June and loved the location.

suec1

Well I'd locate in Nice - way more than a tourist town and great public transportation connections for sites that are open.

bilboburgler

farmer's markets... in France you mean "markets"

bilboburgler

Friends of our live in the South in the summer and leave in the winter as it gets so quiet.

I'd look at Nimes/Arles/Avignon as a good base or two centre base

annhig

I don't know Nimes or Montpellier, but Perpignan struck me as a nice place to spend a couple of weeks - lovely countryside nearby, the coast, and a vibrant Catalan city to boot.

Having recently visited Arles and Avignon, I think I preferred Arles as it seems more compact and "unified" [whereas Avignon was definitely old city and new town] but either would make good bases and Avignon has the TGV for swift day trips to other places, even Paris which can be reached in under 3 hours.

Sassafrass

No idea what it is like in winter, and transportation is not as good, but for a week or two, I would choose Aix. It is really pretty, lots of squares and markets (in good weather, at least), great food and things to do. We rented a little Airbnb apt and got up every morning to walk about a block for fresh baked goods and coffee. Many students give it a youthful vibe. Hope others can tell you about winter there. We like sitting outside, and I doubt you could do that.

Arles is well located for day trips and has a great market. It has the best bakery we found anywhere. We got food from it every day. We rented a little house right by the Roman arena. Heaven. Felt I was living in a Van Gogh painting. However, Arles is a bit gray and less vibrant than Aix, but really quick trains to Avignon and bus to other places.