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'Belvoir' is an elegant, spacious Luberon villa looking onto the fabled village of Menerbes, framed against the Luberon Mountain. This is where Peter Mayle gave up the rat race to write ‘A Year in Provence,’ and after staying here you may want to join him.
The house faces the sun to the south, and sleeps ten in great comfort, with air conditioning in 4 of the bedrooms. The views are not spoiled by neighbours - you cannot see any. Just the lush landscape of vineyards and cherry orchards. There is a big sunny garden for children (and grown-ups) to run around or picnic in, surrounded by woods of green oaks.
This is a dream location - at the very heart of the Luberon, two miles from Menerbes, in the middle of all the picture-postcard, medieval hill-top villages like Gordes, Roussillon, Goult, Oppede-le-Vieux, Lourmarin, Lacoste and Bonnieux - each of them officially one of The Most Beautiful Villages in France, and each a few minutes drive or a cycle away.
Eating all your meals outside is one of the pleasures of Provence - here you have a choice of spots, according to the time of day. We like to have breakfast among the flowers of the southern terrace, and lunch and dinner on the western terrace, under the shade of the vine-clad pergola and the kiwi tree. Between meals you may find time to wander down to the flower and vegetable gardens and pick your own.
As the owners live here in the winter months, there is no compromise on quality of fixtures and furnishings. The decoration is a mix of contemporary with some furniture from the 1700s and 1800s. Beds and mattresses are all very good quality (no hand-me-downs here!), pillows are hypo-allergenic, cotton sheets and towels are included. Four bedrooms are air conditioned.
The kitchen is very well equipped as the owners are cooking fanatics. The big American refrigerator even dispenses ice in different sizes. The villa sleeps ten, but you can entertain for up to 18 - all the equipment you would find at home is here, as well as several hundred cookery books in all languages to inspire you.
The dominant colour of the ground floor is a vibrant yellow and creamy white. The first floor is white and blue, for calm and serenity. All rooms are spacious and have good proportions. On both floors, large windows and glass doors open onto the garden or loggia. In spite of the many openings, the rooms remain cool on hot summer days.
The pool is not the usual bright blue eyesore, it is a subtle shade of dark which makes it blend in with the surrounds and also helps keep it up to the low 80s in the summer. The pool is chlorine-free, which children love "no sore eyes" and has a rigid electric cover for security. By the pool is an outdoor kitchen with sink, refrigerator for drinks, and barbecues. You spend all day outside in Provence, so these little extras come in very handy!
Menerbes is the heart of one of the enchanted corners of this world. Close your eyes and think of Provence and this is what you see: the lavender-scented landscapes; daily markets overflowing with local produce that actually tastes of something; the charming Provencal people; hilltop villages rising above the sea of vineyards and sunflowers; outstanding food and wine; and the sensational quality of light that has always brought painters and poets here. In Provence, everything simply tastes, smells, and looks better than at home. And it’s all right on your doorstep.
Here are some of the many things you can do using Menerbes as your base:
* Go to the local markets and rediscover what food used to taste like.
* Long, lazy lunches (and dinners) outside.
* Lose the extra calories by cycling round the famous hilltop villages: Gordes, Bonnieux, Lacoste, Roussillon, Lourmarin, Oppede-le-vieux, etc.
* Antique and bric-a-brac hunting at Isle-sur-Sorgue - France’s antiques capital.
* Choose from an endless number of walks in the 120,000 ha Luberon Natural Park, starting from your doorstep.
* Explore Fontaine de Vaucluse - the extraordinary source of the crystal-clear Sorgue river (or ride a canoe down it).
* Visit the Marquis de Sade's castle at neighbouring Lacoste
* Bump into Princess Caroline at chi-chi St Remy.
* Learn to paint sunflowers.
* Picnic in the cedar forests outside lovely Bonnieux.
* Drive to the top of Mont Ventoux (cycle if you're mad) and let the Alps and the Med take your breath away.
* Marseille, one hour away, is France's most exciting city, and home to the world's best bouillabaisse.
* Avignon, half an hour away, is a fascinating medieval city small enough to walk round in a day.
* Go wine-tasting at the local vineyards or venture just beyond Avignon for some great Rhone wines - Chateauneuf du Pape, Cote Rotie, Cornas.
* Day trips to Monte Carlo, Cannes, the Camargue, Arles, Aix, Orange, Gorges du Verdon, Rhone wine trail, even Spain if you leave early.
'Belvoir' is an hour from Marseille and Nimes International Airports, 45 minutes from Avignon train station, which itself is two hours and forty minutes from Paris CDG airport. Within an hour's drive are Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Arles, St Remy, Nimes, Orange, and the Rhone wine trail. The Mediterranean is an hour away, the French Riviera two hours away, Italy and the Alps two and half hours.
Included in the rates are a cleaning lady three times a week for three hours. She can provide extra services on request. Satellite TV has hundreds of channels, including CNN and BBC World. Please note that regrettably we cannot accept children under six, smoking in the house, or pets. The four upstairs bedrooms are individually air conditioned. |
