I%26#39;ve read that the second half of July and all of August should be avoided. I%26#39;ve also read that June and September are the best months to go but I want to see the lavender and sunflowers. How would the first half of July be? Was thinking of splitting 10 nights between Provence (? where stay, probably more country-like setting) and Cote d%26#39;Azur (probably stay up from the coast in a village like St. Paul de Vence, Grasse or Eze). This would be for %26#39;07. Thanks.
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If you want to see the lavender in bloom, late June through August (depending on where you go) should be safe. The Luberon is good place to view the lavender, particularly around the Abbaye de Sénanque, and that%26#39;s a nice area to stay.
Seeing some of the Côte d%26#39;Azur --actually in the eastern part of Provence-- cou ld take half of your ten days. As for staying near one of the hilltop villages, the problem is the volume of tourists. Instead of Eze (which is rather isolated) you might think of somewhere like Tourrettes-sur-Loup, up in the mountains above Vence (also a nice place to stay) , or the charming small town of Valbonne, just a bit above Mougins. I%26#39;d be inclined to avoid staying in Grasse, and our French friends caution about wandering in parts of the town in the evening.
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Message to underhill - Hi there! You seem to kow a lot about the area. My husband, 2-year old son and I would like to spend the first half of September in Provence. We really would like to hire a little house near the sea but don%26#39;t want anything too touristy. Could you reccommend any specific villages please? We would like to be no more than 10 mins drive away from the neares beach, but a small rocky beach would always be preferable to a huge massifies sandy beach. We would like to be reasonably near a town where we can get supplies and visit. We will be hiring a car.
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Non-touristy will be difficult, as that%26#39;s pretty much everywhere in the south of France, especially along the coast. House rentals are outside my area of expertise--we haven%26#39;t tried that yet--but I think someone else here might be able to help you.
Since you have a young child, you might check out rentals near Fréjus and St-Raphael, both big favorites with French and other European families. In September the crowds will be smaller, as children will be heading back to school and parents back to work after the big summer vacation . If you start hunting now you might be able to nail down something for September (this year?).
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Non-touristy will be difficult, as that%26#39;s pretty much everywhere in the south of France, especially along the coast. House rentals are outside my area of expertise--we haven%26#39;t tried that yet--but I think someone else here might be able to help you.
Since you have a young child, you might check out rentals near Fréjus and St-Raphael, both big favorites with French and other European families. In September the crowds will be smaller, as children will be heading back to school and parents back to work after the big summer vacation . If you start hunting now you might be able to nail down something for September.
The one village I can think of that would be only a short drive to the Coast is Bormes-les-Mimosas, which is just a 5-minute drive from the lovely beach at Le Lavandou. There%26#39;s a good-sized supermarket right on the way, too. Most other villages I can think of aren%26#39;t close to the beaches in terms of driving time...the traffic adds a good half hour to the actual distance.
Another town to check out is Villefranche-sur-Mer, just a bit east of Nice. It%26#39;s a nice little town with a beautiful bay.
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Hi Lopez
You might like to have a look at this web-site www.provenceweb.fr to get some ideas of places you might like to stay. For rentals try www.holiday-rentals.co.uk.
Small and non touristy is a little tricky but as Underhill states Bormes might be worth looking at. By September the tourist hoards are getting smaller. Then anywhere along the coast from Le Lavandou to Ste Maxime would be suitable and great for a small one. There is sand all the way along not pebbles. If you wanted a small village inland a bit have a look at Plan-de-la-Tour which is just outside Ste Maxime. I have a place in Cavalaire which has a year round population so makes it less touristy but with a good range of food shops.
Frejus merges with St Raphael and forms a large town so for my tastes is a little too large.
If I can help any more please let me know.
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We went in late June, and both the sunflowers and lavendar were in full bloom --- wonderful!! In some of the villages you could smell the lavendar by just strolling through the streets. We stayed at an absolutely fabulous Inn -- the Chateau Talaud outside of Carpentras, in small village of Loriol du Comtat. Highly recommend it. They have both spacious rooms and a couple of cottages, all set within the beautiful grounds of their vinyard.
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