A French friend sent us to her fathers vacant apartment, off season. The Chateau was in the…read moreneighborhood so we went. I've seen enough castles but this was cool. And not too crowded in late Oct A walk up the streets through the historic village. 1200 years of variations of this place made it interesting Castle life at the top looked a little sparse and isolated but still magnificent. Olives ad vineyards within view A much better day than I'd thought, good choice

This little town has Great views! There is plenty of great sight seeing and walking but it can get…read morea little windy. Parking is also a little tough at times so I would recommend going early or late.

This is one beautifully preserved castle. It's impressive from the outside, but once you go explore…read morethe interior, you get a really good picture of how life must have been like back when it was a king's castle. The gardens are really beautiful and they use a few of the rooms near the entrance as gallery space. My friends and I must have spent a good 2-3 hours here going into all the chambers and climbing up to the top, which is a must. You get a breathtaking view of the town and river--make sure you hang on to your phones and cameras, it's a long way down. It was also fascinating to learn that after its life as a king's castle it became a prison for a time, and there are a ton of amazing carved graffiti from various prisoners over the years. Even if you're not a history buff you have to be amazed by the architecture and sheer scale of the place. Definitely worth a visit. STEPH JUDGEMENT: Absolutely stunning castle that whisks you away to true medieval times.

From the owner: Le château forteresse des Comtes de Provence Ce château du 15ème siècle des Comtes de Provence est…read moreune forteresse. A l'intérieur y sont exposés une apothicairerie et une dizaine de tapisseries du 17ème siècle. Le visiteur peut ainsi découvrir la Cour d'honneur, les chapelles, les appartements du Roi René, les salles d'apparat et les appartements de la Reine Jeanne. La terrasse offre un large panorama sur la vallée du Rhône.

Did you ever feel like you have fallen through the mirror to another time and place? Place where…read moretime of the past and present interlocked in forever harmony, no hassle, no rush of modern world? Where you can open shutters in the morning and see flowers in a window box reaching for the sky, and birds bathing in town square fountain? Where you can spend whole afternoon catching on local news in line to mail postcards at post office, and get late lunch at hole in the wall next to church? Walk the castle wall and look down at the towns and fields below? Welcome to the Village of Saignon. Life is slow here. Do not rush. Stop by the centuries-old trees that frame the entrance to the village like elven gates, turn around and look at Apt below - little houses around the hillside. Visit Notre-Dame de Pitié, and walk to town square to relax by the fountain. (if you going to dinner at the restaurant around the corner and ask for tap water, don't be surprised to see waitress walking straight to that same fountain to refill your pitcher). It's a great place to be your central point if you want to take lavender drives - there are several routes around the area that will take you around hillsides and to the best lavender fields in the area. Fair warning: most of local roads are very narrow - barely one car wide, winding and have no safety railing even as you get to higher grounds, so be careful out there. There are several lavender oil distilleries nearby as well, worth visiting. Saignon is a place that will forever charm your heart.

Château d'If is an old island prison off the coast of Marseille. It was made legendary by Alexandre…read moreDumas in his classic novel, The Count of Monte Cristo. It's where his hero was wrongly imprisoned for years,

Terrific boat ride over, peaceful grounds. Even a great beer before the tour. Buy tickets online…read morefirst if you can. I'm a Conte buff but I still didn't want to spend more than about an hour here. Small but interesting.

Couldn't psss up the chance to visit THE "my mothers castle"…read more The interior of the building itself is mostly a museum now. Dedicated to movies and a little but to pagnol. Somewhat interesting. But it's really the exterior and the grounds that make this place. Perfectly peaceful in the hills. We drove up on a Sunday afternoon and there were many families enjoying a gorgeous afternoon picnic. But not crowded at all. Just a beautiful example of the wonderful French countryside

From the owner: La Maison des Cinématographies de la Méditerranée Le " Château de ma mère " construit en 1867 et…read moreacquis par Marcel Pagnol en 1941 dans l'espoir d'y créer une " Cité du Cinéma " a été racheté par la Ville de Marseille en 1995. Deux ans plus tard, le Château de la Buzine est classé aux monuments historiques. Le Château de La Buzine, après trois ans de réhabilitation par le Cabinet d'Architecture et d'Urbanisme Stern International, devient aujourd'hui la Maison des cinématographies de la Méditerranée. Situé au coeur du Parc des 7 collines, dans le 11 ème arrondissement de Marseille, le Château de la Buzine, lieu culturel, cinématographique et touristique ouvre ses portes au public au printemps 2011. Avec ses 4000 m2, la Maison des Cinématographies de la Méditerranée, lieu unique dans le paysage culturel régional, allie tradition et modernité, histoire et avenir, culture et nature. Cette " cité du cinéma ", dotée d'une salle de cinéma de 350 places, de salons de réception donnant sur les

La Sabranenque is a place that offers volunteer work experience restoring parts of the medieval…read morevillage of Saint Victor La Coste. You learn traditional stone building and maintenance as you repair and uncover parts of the village. It was such a wonderful experience to participate in this program. The people are so welcoming, the food amazing and the setting was just beautiful. If you are looking for a place to do a little bit of hard work (you have afternoons off and a day or two off as well depending on the length of your visit), unplug from the fast paced world and really savor a unique experience, this is where you need to be. I was here for a week and wish I could have stayed longer. Avignon is about an hour or less away by bus. Many other beautiful towns nearby can be reached by bus, bike or train like Orange, Uzes, Arles & Nimes. The website for La Sabranenque is - http://www.sabranenque.com/eng/index.html

My wife and I went here several years ago for a week session. It's a very memorable experience. I…read morehighly recommend it. It's like stepping back in time. Not back breaking labor. It's a totally rebuilt hillside village with a castle! You get board and 3 meals a day. Work until noon and then have the rest of the day to yourself. Lots of buses go through the town. You can very easily get to Avignon which is lovely. You take a bus from there to the village. Go early and stay a couple days there. A lot of bike trips start from Avignon also. La Sabranenque also has a FACEBOOK page that is very informative too. People have posted a lot of pics. GO. You won't regret it.

Getting to this place on a bicycle wasn't easy, but it was worth it! We knew it was going to be at…read morethe top of the toughest climb yet during our weeklong Provence bike tour, but since it was described as "one of the most beautiful villages in France" we had to check it out. Most of the town part is very touristy but still very charming and beautiful, nonethless. Lots of little windy streets everywhere, and that amazing view from all sorts of lookouts. We had lunch at one of the many fine restaurants, and then we realized there was this huge ancient castle ruins! We had an awesome time exploring the Chateau and learning a lot about medieval castles. And the VIEWS from the top of the castle walls were just beyond words. One of the most amazing sites my friends and I got to see during our trip. STEPH JUDGEMENT: Gorgeous mountaintop village oozing with history and charm.

From the owner: Au coeur des Alpilles Situé dans le massif des Alpilles non loin d'Arles, le village des…read moreBaux-de-Provence (qui a donné le nom à la Bauxite) perché sur son rocher de calcaire, tel un éperon entre deux-vallées, est une halte incontournable pour le visiteur en Provence. Un joli village, une vue splendide sur la campagne voisine et les Alpilles. A décourvir : son château féodal, son huile d'Olives, ses vignes (une AOC de Côtes de Provence), son Festival de Musique et de danse en Eté, sa Cathédrale d'Images unique en son genre, ses Relais & Châteaux...

I loved it here. Jerome, who runs it, was perfect. Always a wonderful attitude, solution or…read moresurprise. He served breakfast every morning and asked when we wanted it served. We needed somewhere to hang some laundry to dry, it was immediately provided. Need more towels or toilet paper, ask and it appears. Want to be offered wine and say yes, it appears, poolside. I tell him my wife is sick and he takes us to the doctor himself, then the pharmacy and back. I asked what kind of cheese he had served with breakfast, because I liked it, and he bought me a whole log of it. His son Axel was very friendly and willing to help with luggage or cleaning the pool, or just a chat in my broken French. Sometimes he would play Chopin on their grand piano. Jacqueline, Jerome's mom, was the first person we encountered on arrival and was welcoming and sweet. I kissed her goodbye and enjoyed gazing upon her lovely, passionate paintings as we ate breakfast. The pool was just the thing to cool down on hot summer days and had a design that made it very clean despite being surrounded by ants and trees that shed a bit of pollen. All of that stuff goes into the hot tub area attached to the pool, which was my only complaint about any of the amenities, but they (amenities and hosts) were so awesome I didn't even want to voice that out loud, so how can they fix what I don't mention? The hot tub appeared heated by the sun and needed a good cleaning before each use, but was still not bad. If I lived there I would either paint the bottom of the tub black to absorb more solar heat, or install a heater for year round use. The rooms had so much personality. Part of the house is 500 years old, where the hosts lived, and part was 200 years old, where the rooms are rented out, but the track lighting, good plumbing and power outlets all felt like very modern, well maintained stuff in a beautiful room with stone walls, timber beams and beautiful polished brick floors. I am a large (6'4", 240lbs/192 cm, forgot my kg) man and the bed in the downstairs room was still quite comfortable. Would totally come back in a heartbeat and miss Jerome and his family already.

Absolutely amazing experience. Jérôme, his mother and Son made our four day experience absolutely…read morememorable. This beautiful, secluded, mini castle like house was filled with history and ambience. A great relaxing spot way off the beaten path, but close enough to Ax to have a wonderful time. It's very serene, and laid back. The breakfast in the morning was great. Local bread and treats with excellent coffee, fruit and juice. All hosted by Jérôme and the occasional welcoming's by his mom really made this a family feel experience. We started off with the La Romantique room, it was our honeymoon so we thought this would be a nice two story room for us. Going up the three story tower with little stairs, and lots of luggage, the option to get the room on the bottom was a great alternative. Everything was clean and fresh. Linens changed daily and little things like wine offered upon our arrival and throughout our stay, complimentary drop offs into Ax and when I got sick with the flu, Jérôme knew a doctor, took us there, picked us back up, went to Pharmacy and drove us back to the B&B. I have never had such wonderful service anywhere. If you are looking for a great little spot to stay, that's affordable and gives you the relaxing feel of really being on vacation, this is your spot. Being here has made me truly consider them possibility of moving to France. Absolutely wonderful. Hope to return again.

Loved it...I didn't read about it ahead of time as I usually do so we went to see the film about…read morethe site. It was very interesting and informative. It was in French with English subtitles. It was a nice place to walk around in afterwards with plenty of shops and restaurants to eat at. Its a must see if you are a fan of the crusaders, castles, etc.

Fine dining at Château des Fines Roches. An exquisite 3- to 7-course dinner experience with unique…read moredécor, refined flavors, and perfectly balanced combinations of delicate ingredients that come together for a truly supreme culinary experience. Service is professional, attentive, and seamlessly complements the elegance of the evening.

This was quite the experience. The chateau is located on a beautiful hill surrounded by vineyards…read moreso you get an amazing view. We stayed in one of the larger rooms and it def was super spacious even by American standards. Room was nicely decorated and bathroom looked new and modern. Our room overlooked the pool which we sadly didn't get to spend much time in. We ate at the restaurant one night and what a meal! Delicious! You can sit out in the patio for dinner and watch the sunset. Def bring some repellent however as the mosquitoes also got quite a meal out of me. Not a single complaint can be made of this place. If you are in the CDP area, def stay here for a few nights!