Where is provence located

Provence seems to be nearly everyone's favorite bit of France. The natives are friendly, the summer weather is superb, the wine is good, and a pastis before dinner is delightfully numbing as you sit in the shade with little more to do than plop tiny, clear, and perfectly formed ice cubes into a cloud of anise-flavored liquor. With landscapes often exceeding the expectations of frequent travelers, the rural good life can get no better on the eyes. But the traditional territory of Provence is a bit smaller.

You get there by lopping off the Hautes Alpes, the northern part of the Vaucluse above the Luberon, and the bit of the Alpes-Maritimes east of Nice.

These two departments are generally what tourists think of when they think of Provence. To further muddy the waters, Peter Mayle's books refer to Provence but usually are written about just a part of it, the Luberon, which is mostly in the Vaucluse.

The Luberon has as its backbone a mountain range that forms a sort of climate wall, a boundary between the warm and dry Mediterranean climate of the south and the cooler alpine influence on the north.

Still, many people consider the Luberon to be the heart of the "real" Provence. Expanding a bit, the most appealing parts of Provence are found in the triangle between Avignon, Arles, and Salon de Provence. Here you can drive your car to practically any small town and find a charming and inexpensive hotel.

Well, you can in the off-season at least. Here are places we find compelling:. Notes: It is an easy 5-mile walk between St. Remy and Les Baux. The Pont du Gard is between Orange and Nimes just off the A9 and is easily visited if you have a car. Provence typically has dry summers and cool, wet winters.

May, June, and September are good months to travel to Provence. France's second largest city is hot in June and July but cools rapidly to a comfortable high temperature in September. Spring has less rain than fall. Summers aren't blistering hot as a rule, but Provence gets quite crowded in July and August. Remy is a reasonable value, although the rooms seem less charming than some hotels in the area.

Get a room by the pool to stay away from street noise. A double room is about 60 Euros. The area is one of the best for French olive oil and is central to the places discussed on this page.

The charming little towns of Provence make it a perfect place to explore by car ; thus, it's one of our recommended Rural Self Catering suggestions. HomeAway lists vacation rentals in the area.

A week in Provence isn't nearly enough to see everything. If you'd prefer to leave the driving and the planning details to someone else, you may enjoy a coach tour to see the main sites of Provence, like those offered by Viator. Smaller and focused group tours are offered by such companies as Provence Escapes and The Luberon Experience. You've come, of course, to see the Palais des Papes, the Palace of the Popes, which confronts the visitor with a sort of gray austerity which fails to hide its glorious excess as the world's largest Gothic palace.

A short walk from the palace takes you to the second big attraction: the 12th-century Avignon Bridge called the Saint-Benezet bridge after the young shepherd who heard divine voices instructing him to construct it.

By the time you've explored the Palace interior with your audio guide and walked across the bridge a few times, you might feel like sitting a spell and just enjoying some shade in one of the lively cafes. You're in luck.

The town's squares are shady and welcoming; have a glass of the famous Tavel or Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Using an interactive map, you can check out the neighbourhoods, towns or villages in which you might decide to live and work. The site also highlights videos of testimonials from people who have made the leap and come to settle in our region.

In connection with the support for a foreign investment project underway in the territory, by risingSUD or one of the partner infra-territorial agencies:. Contact Annabelle Leroy: aleroy risingsud. Each member has several areas of expertise. This network represents more than Tech champions generating an annual turnover of 5 million euros and employing 70, people.

Located at the crossroads of the North-South and East-West axes, it enjoys a strategic position on the Mediterranean arc. A very dense road and motorway network. The climate and the south feel are no longer to boast. An important ancient and religious heritage with no less than monuments classified as historical monuments. Back to Homepage. Disclaimer: This article may contain compensated links, meaning we get a small commission if you make a purchase through our links.

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