The walled towns continued their building stages
into the 12 Th and 14 Th Centuries while many
rulers came and went including the Popes who
impressive castles. In recent years, these towns
have been home and motif to Cezanne, Van Gogh,
and Picasso.
Renting a House In Provence
The people of Provence work the land and cherish
their traditions; the coliseum at Arles still features
bullfighting two times a year along with its other
Camargue bull spectacles. A movement is underway
to teach the ancient language of Provencale in the
schools and many of the villages hold festivals
throughout the year that include ancient music,
dance, horsemanship, and bull fighting.
The southern region of France from to the
Saintes Maries de la Mere in the Rhone
River Delta is called Provence. This region,
rich in Roman ruins, Medieval walled cities,
and Renaissance art, offers fabled towns like
Roman-built Arles and the one-time capital,
Aix-en-Provence, along with Solon de
Provence, home of Nostradamus,  and St.
Remy, haunt of the Impressionist painters.
The walled cities of Provence ooze history ;
Roman aqueducts, coliseum-like arenas,
Roman theatres, and Gothic and
Renaissance castles are everywhere.
Although rich in history, this area had been largely
overlooked by international tourist except those that
and St Tropez: the Cote d' Azur to French
speakers, the French Riviera in English.     
Celebrity chefs like Julia Child then put Provence on
the American cooking vacation circuit with her
cookbooks and her praise for the bouillabaisse of
based on fresh produce and olive oil.
Renting In Provence Provence: renting a house or
villa for a culinary vacation and hiking,
biking,horseback riding, kayaking, and sight seeing in
Provence the South of France.
Vacation  In
The South of France
Tradition
of early settlers. Later, nomadic shepherds built
corbel vaulted beehive-like structures of stone
called bories with an estimated 3000 still standing  
around Gordes and Saignon.
Germanic Celtic tribes and Italian Ligurians
inhabited Provence before the Greek (600 BC) and
later Roman settlers (100 BC) built permanent
dwellings of stone.
From the first century BC to the third century AD
the Romans built an extensive road system
throughout Provence, the best example perhaps,
the first century Julian Bridge on the road between
Gordes and Lacoste that, until recently, carried
automobile  traffic over the Coulon River, a feeder
of the Durance River.  
History
Cooking Vacation
Continuing interest in the cuisine, a love affair with
the Impressionist painters, and the discovery of
Provence's hiking, climbing, kayaking, and biking
opportunities had generated a wave of American
tourist keeping the rentals full nearly year round
until the Euro became so much stronger than the
dollar. Even with the dollar discounted around 30
May and June, and in September and October, the
months when the European travelers are back to
work and not on their six-week July/August
vacations.

Many of the villages in Provence are storybook
quaint, full of ancient stone buildings with tile roofs
and narrow cobble streets open only to
pedestrians. Lavender fields of rich purple color
the hillsides in June and July and 12Th Century
villages. Farming of rice in the south and wheat
and lavender in the north along with raising of
sheep and the practice of viticulture and olive
production are the primary industries in largely
rural Provence.  
Hiking Biking Kayaking
for a brief period of living the village life, shopping
for the daily provisions, and cooking with the locally
grown produce. Others home base in a convenient
village and make day trips by rental car to
surrounding hill towns of stonewalls and Medieval
castles and for reaching the hiking, biking,
horseback riding, kayaking, and cliff climbing.in the
hills and river valleys.
Renting a house, even if it just for a week or two, is
a good and economical way to enjoy all that
Provence has to offer.
Renting a House
Rentals can accommodate  several families or just
two people. When your search begins on the web,
start first with the number of people that you will
accommodate.
How Many People
The regions of Provence are called departments
Provence, Alpes Maritimes, Bouches du Rhone,
Var, Vaucluse, and the Drome Provencale.

Start a search with either the region you desire or
the price range you seek. Some villages are more
expensive than others but the area is well served
by good roads so that you can base in one place
and reach many villages and walled cities in an
hours drive.  
Provence Rental Houses and Apartments

Transportation will be of crucial importance. Will
you have a rental car? (30-60 USD per day and
plentiful in the major cities and TGV stations) If not,
lodging in one of the larger towns or cities would be
a better option unless you want the solitude and
isolation of a country villa or retreat.

Provence Rental Cars     

Transportation: Local buses make trips between
major cities stopping at towns and villages along
the way.  Schedule.

prices for rentals will list in Euros or the British
Pound.
What Region
Medieval Castles
Next came English writer Peter Mayle's "A Year In
Provence," a book that prompted a herd of
Europeans to fan out in the countryside of the
Luberon and Vaucluse looking for distressed
cottages and old farms to buy as fix-up vacation
homes and rentals. Otherwise the countryside of
Provence has changed little in five hundred years.
No massive development, no malls, and just a few
high-speed TGV train; with top speeds of 180 MPH
it puts Avignon two and a half hours from Paris   it
puts Avignon two and a half hours from Paris.
A Year In Provence
A Villa or Vacation rental
A Villa or Vacation rental
could accommodate up
at the foot of a walled city
to 15  or more and give
good access to
recreation, culture,
shopping
Saignon  on the hilltop
overlooking Apt is
postcard perfect and
near enough to the larger
city to offer transportation
Arles was a Roman city in
the first century
mom and pop style
restaurant in the Village of
Apt, La Manade on Rue
Rene Cassin should not be
missed
Avignon
Plain Trees
(Sycamore)
Non-lethal bull fighting
Markets in Arles
Season: High, Mid, Low
High: July August
School Vacations
Low: November,December, January, February,
March
The Palace of the Popes in Avignon
still hosts bull fights
The Roman Theatre in Arles
Cooking Vacation in Provence, Healthy Eating,Low Fat Cooking
Check out Auto Europe's liberal
return policy.  
Check  Auto Europe's prices and
availability, gas or diesel models
Information for those renting a vehicle in Provence
Language Archaeologist Guided
Tours of Oaxaca Ruin Sites
Custom Search