Provence is different from the rest of France, not just in scenery. It has been justifiably famous with the British since the aristocracy started to arrive here en route to Italy in the late 18th Century. These days things are a little different. Every August the South fills up as the rest of France arrives. Motorways can be horrible and the traffic near the beaches even worse. But the reputation, while sometimes deserved, is overdone. With a little homework, even in August it is still possible to find your own place in a villa with a pool in the sun far from the crowds.
A quick geographical tour of some of the areas of interest:
The Cote d’Azur: is the area stretching West as far as Menton. Beautiful scenery: it is here that the foothills of the Alps fall off at the coast. This dramatic combination of scenery and sea views is one of the things that makes the area so famous. Villas that are a little way inland are generally the best value for money in the area: here are some very comfortable holiday villas for about half of what one pays closer to the coast. The area is for most an ideal combination of pretty villages and accessibility of the sea when one is so inclined. Villas in the area are in the areas around Valbonne, Opio and Tourrettes-sur-Loup. A little further West, in the areas around Grasse are the villas with the most spectacular views in the South of France.
Villas in the area East of Nice: The stretch including Monaco, Cap Ferrat and going as far as the Italian border is the home of serious money. One of the reasons for this is of course the beauty of the scenery and the quality of the building. Rents for villa holidays are similarly breathtaking, either impressive or wasteful depending on how you see the world.
The Var: a very popular spot for vacations in the area around the Gulf of St Tropez. St Tropez proper is a stylish suntrap which came to prominence in the 50s when Brigitte Bardot and others graced the then undeveloped sands. The development of the town has come on some way since then and it is packed in the summer, but it retains a certain exclusivity – celebrity spotting is not hard in St Tropez. Villa holidays in St Tropez proper are not cheap, but as you get further inland so the scenery improves with spectacular views over the Gulf of St Tropez, and the villa rents go down. Around the Gulf at Beauvallon are a number of charming villas for about one third of what one pays a few kilometres closer to the so-called ‘action’. There are also a some attractive and realistically priced villas near the charming village of Grimaud. The style of villas in the St Tropez area is dictated by local government, and must be in a Provencal style. Further West, towards Grasse, a more modern style of villa can be found alongside the traditional Mas Provencal.
Some practical considerations: Tradition in France dictates that some villa owners insist on minimum two-week bookings in villas during peak periods. The airports for the areas mentioned are at Nice and Toulon.
Tags: beautiful scenery, brigitte bardot, cap ferrat, dramatic combination, geographical tour, holidays in the south of france, south of france villas