We are staying in St-Remy for six nights (Mas des Carassins) and St-Paul de Vence for six nights (Le Hameau) in late June/early July. I am looking for a charming hotel somewhere in between those towns for one or two nights. Thanks!

Is your objective to find a charming hotel and then stay in the area close by, or to find a charming area and stay in a hotel close by.

There many, many options for places to stay between these two areas.

Just to name a few:
Aix en Provence
Moustiers
St Tropez
Tourtour
Lourmarin
Cassis
Lorgues
Meyrargues

All of these are in interesting places, and obviously, many of them are totally different types of areas. Do want to be in a big city, seaside community, countryside?

Stu Dudley

I am open. We plan to daytrip as far as the Luberon from St-Remy and would like to stay away from cities. Basically, I was looking for a place in a picturesque setting in the country somewhere.

OK.

In the very cute & small village of Tourtour in the northern Var, there are several hotels and many restaurants - even a Michelin 1 star. I would stay at the Bastide de Tourtour. Restful place, pool, nice veranda with views of the mountains, non-smoking section of the restaurant. We've never stayed there, but we've walked around the property several times. Tourtour is one of our favorite small villages. We stayed in a Gite close to there for 2 weeks in '03, and 2 weeks in '00. There are lots of places to visit to keep you busy for 2 nights. It will be a nice "quiet" departure between St Remy & St Paul. They have the worlds smallest market on their market day. However, my wife bought some wonderful Provence fabric there. The farmers markets in nearby Lorgues, Aups, and Cotignac are quite nice, as are these towns. Villecroz (very close by) is a ceramic tile center, and also has a nice Sunday market. You will see lots of vineyards in this area, and lots of poppies in late May. Aups is also the truffle capital, although the truffle season is in April, I think.

I prefer this village & area over Moustiers, Lorgues, and Meyrargues, which are all "countryside" locations.

This area is covered in my Provence & Cote d'Azur itinerary. e-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy.

Stu Dudley
San Mateo (San Francisco) Ca

for something rather special you could spend the night at the chateau owned and operated by a French count and his Scottish wife. the location is about 20 minutes south of moustiers-ste-marie in beautiful country near the town of esparron de verdon. nearby is a huge man-made lake that offers many water sports.

the count and his wife speak impeccable english and are charming hosts. rooms are large and decorated in period style; a lavish breakfast cooked to order is served in the old kitchen.

we loved the place, and it's very convenient for both moustiers and a fine old abbey to the south.

here's the information:

Bernard de Castellane
Château d'Esparron de Verdon
F 04800
Tel: 04 92 77 12 05
Fax: 04 92 77 13 10
http://www.provenceweb.fr/04/ukEsparron.htm
[email protected]