Where to Stay in Provence: Mas 9 Romanin

It was 2018 and Romain Avy was living in the UK, working as a mechanical engineer, when he got the call to come home to Provence. 

After farming the same land for four generations, his family had made the extremely difficult decision to give up on agriculture and convert the buildings on their vast St. Remy property for tourism.

This month, Romain (now 35), his brother Laurent and his dad Remi will put the finishing touches on the sixth (and probably final) cottage on this idyllic, historic domaine. Provence is filled with fantastic places to stay and year to year it’s impossible to keep up with all the new ones. But I recently visited the Avys' place for the first time and knew immediately I wanted to tell you about it!

Mas Neuf Romanin (aka Mas 9 Romanin) consists of six houses and apartments of various sizes, five of them with private pools, all built in and around the enormous old farmhouse and its outbuildings. Surrounding them are 50 hectares (120 acres) of farmland that once produced vast quantities of apples, pears and wine grapes. Back in the day, the Avys also made and sold their own wine.

But as the years passed, it became clear that, for a number of reasons, farming here was no longer sustainable, at least not for this family. Today virtually all their fields are laying fallow.

As far as family farms go, 100-plus years is a very-good run…but still. 

Although no one quite knows when the big mas (farmhouse) was originally built--there’s a Roman fountain on the property--Romain’s great grandfather Roger starting farming here around 1910 or 1920. Later, when Romain’s grandparents decided to move off the property and into the village, grand-père Robert was still at the farm every day. Romain grew up in a house across the street, where his mom now lives. He remembers playing hide and seek in the gite that’s now called Mamy, in honor of his grand-mère.

Romain earned his engineering degree in Toulon, then took himself off to the UK at age 22, primarily to improve his English. His three-month stay became five years and he was happily working in the auto industry when that call came beckoning him home. With help from a small crew of local artisans, he and his dad set to work and the first gite, called Papy, had just been finished when Covid hit France in early 2020. Tourism came to a screeching halt but construction did not; by the time people could travel again, a few more pretty gites had been finished…just about one every year. The sixth will be ready for renters next month.

Ranging in size from one to five bedrooms, they’re bright, warm and inviting…blending rustic charm with relaxed elegance while grounded in the farm’s rich history. Old materials were repurposed when possible. For example Romain fronted new kitchen drawers in one gite with wood from the old building itself, while wood beams from an old roof were transformed into a dining table. One set of bedside tables was crafted from a massive fallen plane tree branch; another was made from Romain’s grandmother’s travailleuse, which stored threads and needles for sewing.

Each gite is unique but common elements include art-glass lighting, splashes of color, pretty wallpaper accents and natural materials such as stone, rattan, terra cotta, leather and wood.

Sandrine Chabaud, a family friend, helped with interior design.

All the gites have modern kitchens, dishwashers, washing machines and convertible air conditioning/heating units which means they can be rented year round. The largest gite, which sleeps 12, has a grand fireplace.

With the exception of one on the second-floor of the mas, the cottages all have private outdoor terraces with dining tables and a barbecue or plancha. And all but one have a private pool.

While other family members are involved in the business in various ways, it’s Romain who runs the show. He’ll confirm your reservation, answer your questions and probably be there to greet you and get you settled. He’ll be happy to suggest restaurants and the best sites to visit, around St. Remy and across Provence. While the lodgings here are marketed as “self-catering,” Romain will do whatever he can to make sure you have a wonderful stay.

Guests are welcome to wander into “the museum”: an open barn filled with relics such as a pre-war Caterpillar D2 (hidden successfully from the Nazis by Romain’s grandfather) and a boat motor that the family says was used during the debarquement, in either Normandy or Provence. Romain also remembers hearing that the pétanque pitch was originally dug out by German POWs. A huge old scale that weighed fruit-filled tractors sits in the forecourt.

The artist Christian Manoury has his studio at one end of the property and is happy to show his work and talk art with interested visitors. (To reach him: +33 6 75 09 72 89, insideout13@wanadoo.fr, @christan.manoury).

Mas Neuf Romanin is located on one my favorite roads in St. Remy: gently curving, heavily wooded, very agricultural and very beautiful. When heading home from anywhere east of St. Remy, I often turn off the D99 and take this old road, the Ancienne Voie Aurelia, instead. Beautiful horses graze in pretty pastures to the north; farms and old homes, framed by old plane trees and towering cypress, line the road on the south…the Alpilles Mountains in the distance. The light, particularly just before sunset, is stunning.

This is a beautiful area for hiking and biking. The 12^th-century chapel Notre dame de Romanin is a stone’s throw away.  At the Aérodrome de Romanin, our tiny airport, the Aeroclub de St. Remy offers “baptismal” glider flights and a flight school for beginning and advanced glider pilots. On days when the wind and weather are just right, you'll see the planes circling gracefully over the mountains.

All around Mas 9 Romanin, other farms are still producing apples, pears, olives and wine grapes. In fact the Avy’s neighbors include two of the finest wine producers in the region: Domaine Hauvette (not open for visits, tasting or sales) and the historic Chateau Romanin (very much open for all three things and more). Not far away in either direction you’ll find the wineries Domaine Milan, Domaine d’Eole and others.

And even though his family is no longer farming, Romain still has his hand in, through a side business he launched last year. Called Mon Petit Market, it’s designed to promote the products of local farms and food producers, mostly within a 30 km radius. Paniers (baskets) with different themes can be delivered to guests on the property and elsewhere. He plans to give back a portion of proceeds to local producers.

What will happen to the Avy family’s fertile farmland in coming years remains to be seen. It sits in the Alpilles Natural Regional Park and, as a result, is highly protected, with strict rules about what it can and can’t be used for. Romain and his partner Amandine welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Eloi, in February, but Romain says it’s very unlikely that the fifth generation will ever end up farming here.

In the meantime, the agritourism business is thriving: bookings are strong and reviews are great. So if all of this sounds appealing to you, check the website and reserve soon! And please tell Romain I sent you! I’m so happy he shared his family’s touching story with me…and I wish him much happiness and success in the years to come! 

Mas Neuf de Romanin 
Mas9Romanin.fr/en

contact@mas9romanin.fr
+33 (0)6 17 61 40 62
13210 St Rémy de Provence, France

Photos: Old Farm, New Tricks! (1) The gite called Evasion. (2, 3) The old family mas from the garden, Romain in front. (4) Romain at the fountain, which dates to Roman times. (5) The gite called Papy. (6) Kitchen counter in Evasion. (7) The gite called Fontaine. (8) Living room in the gite Alfredo. (9) Bedroom in the gite Mamy. (10) Bathroom in Evasion. (11, 12, 13) All the gites except one have private terraces and all but one have private pools. (14, 15, 16) In "The Museum," relics from farming days gone by include a sign for the Avy family's wine business. (17) View of the farm from above.

Journées du Patrimoine is Sept 21 & 22

It's that time again: The 41^st annual Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days) takes place Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, in cities and villages all over France. The program was launched by the French Ministry of Culture in 1984 and has since spread all over Europe; this year 50 countries will take part.

Officially it's called European Heritage Days or JEP, (for Journées Européennes du Patrimoine) but everyone just calls it Patrimoine.

Roughly 20,000 sites or so across France are expected to participate. This is one the biggest events in the country and one of my favorite weekends of the year.

The idea is that a wide range of monuments, religious sites, estates, gardens, museums, workshops, galleries, ateliers, factories and more are open for special visits, including many that are normally closed to the public. Most sites are offering free entry and will have a guide on hand; some host special tours and events (mostly in French). Some of these events may require you to sign up in advance, for others you just show up. Some villages will have events on Friday Sept 20 as well. 

Every year, Patrimoine has a loose theme but this year there are two that overlap. The first is  "Heritage, Routes and Connections" which pertains to planes, trains, cars and boats...but also roads, paths and other routes used for spiritual or commercial purposes. The second is Maritime Heritage, including seaside architecture, shipbuilding, aquaculture and more.

Ok, allons-y! What to see and do?

The main Journées du Patrimoine website is here and the department-by-department listings are here. But keep checking back because details continue to roll in as Patrimoine weekend draws closer. Local tourist offices will have Patrimoine info on their own websites and over the years I've found that their info tends to be more comprehensive and up-to-date than the nationwide Patrimoine website.

Every year, my village (St. Remy) publishes its own terrific map/guide to all its Patrimoine sites and activities. You can see the 2024 version in PDF form here. Or, grab a hard copy at the St. Remy Tourist Office.

And here are the programs for Avignon, Aix en Provence, Arles, Marseille, Nimes and Nice. The large Luberon region is here. But don't forget about our hundreds of smaller villages which sometimes offer fantastic tours and visits as well.  

Then there are listings for the six departments of PACA (Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur): Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches du Rhone, the Hautes-Alpes and the Var. For the Vaucluse, try here and here. And here's the Gard (which is not technically in Provence but never mind…we love the Gard anyway!). 

Up in Paris, there are more than 1,500 sites participating this year. See a great listing of events and some highlights here.

Throughout the weekend, some activities will happen at specific times, on one day of the weekend on both. (You can expect tours to be in French but a translator is sometimes provided or the guide may speak some English or someone in the group might offer to translate.) For example:

*In St. Remy, enjoy a 1.5 hour guided tour of the old village at 9:30 am on Saturday (to reserve: +33 4 90 92 05 22, meet at the Tourist Office). Or, join a guided “discovery” of the Canal des Alpines on Sunday starting at 2:30. The canal hike is an easy, flat 6 km and includes a visit to the Domaine de Lagoy (rendezvous in the parking of the College Glanum).

Also in St. Remy, the architectural site of Glanum is offering free entry all weekend with guided tours (no registration needed) on both days at 10 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 3 pm and 4 pm. See all the Patrimoine activities at Glanum here.

The Jewish Cemetery in St. Remy, created in the 15^th century and normally closed to the public, will be open Saturday from 10 to noon and Sunday from 10:30 to noon and from 3 to 4 pm, with guided visits available both days.

*In Nimes, go behind the scenes of the Arènes (the Roman amphitheater), and visit the areas usually not open to the general public (including where the bulls are kept before bullfights and bull games), the chapel where the matadors pray before entering the ring, and more. Or climb the scaffolding on the façade of St Castor cathedral for a once-in-a-lifetime close-up glimpse of  the medieval frieze depicting the Old Testament, which is currently being painstakingly restored by stonemasons and restorers. Also in Nimes, there's a free organ concert on Saturday from 2:30 to 3 pm, at the United Protestant Church, built between 1714 and 1736…on an organ built in Avignon in 1814.

*In Marseille on Friday night at 7 pm, take a special nighttime double-decker bus tour of the city (10€) and see the famous Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica, which will be exceptionally open this evening. (For info and to book, click here.)  

Or, take the "Marseille Liberated" Tour on Saturday at 3 pm and retrace the journey of the fighters who liberated the Garde Hill and the sanctuary on August 25, 1944...10 days after the Allied forces landed in Provence (book here).

Or, sign on for free guided tour of Marseille's Vieux Port on Saturday or Sunday, from 10 am to noon or 2 pm to 4 pm. Reservations are required; call +33 8 26 50 05 00 or marseilleexperience.com. 

Or take a tour and sketching workshop at the port L'Estaque quarter of Marseille (info here).

*In Aix, there's a free guided tour of the 14th-century Hotel de Ville (Town Hall), on Saturday or Sunday at 10 am, 10:45, 11:30, 2 pm, 2:45 or 3:30. Or, if more modern architecture is your thing, take a backstage tour of the music hall called 6MIC on Friday (5 pm to 6:30) or Saturday (10 am to 11:30). To sign up: billetterie@6mic-aix.fr

*In Arles, the LUMA Foundation is offering special events by reservation on both Saturday and Sunday…see them here. Also in Arles, there's a guided tour of the show “Antoine Raspal, from Réattu to St Trophime” on Sunday from 2:30 to 4 pm, celebrating the reinstallation of two monumental paintings by Antoine Raspal in the Saint-Trophime church. The tour is free but register before Friday Sept 20 at 4 pm please: +33 4 90 49 37 58, reattu.reservation@ville-arles.fr

And really, that's just a fraction of the fun stuff you can do during Patrimoine. There's a beach clean up on Corbieres Beach in Marseille, a kayak trip on the canals of Martigue, a treasure hunt for families in Roquebrun-sur-Argens, a horse show in Pertuis, 8 or 17 km runs and a gourmet walk in and around Oppede, a 32-km tandem bike ride around the Mont Ventoux...and much more.

As the Patrimoine weekend gets closer, the organizers will continue to update the clickable nationwide map, which you can see here. It's all a bit clunky but you're smart and you'll figure it out!

And for additional updates, follow the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine on Instagram and on Facebook. 

Vive le Patrimoine de France! 

Photos: Get out there and explore! A few of the thousands of sites hosting Patrimoine events include: (1) The ancient village of Glanum in St. Remy. (2) The Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde in Marseille. (3) Fondation Vincent Van Gogh in Arles. (4). LUMA Foundation in Arles. (5) The Saint-Trophime Church in Arles, to learn about the career of eminent Arlesian painter Antoine Raspal. (6) Carpentras and other villages of the Vaucluse; join a tandem bike ride here.(7) The Roman Amphitheater in Arles. (8) Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on the Cap Ferrat (info here). (9) The Jardins du Roy René and the Musée du Calisson in Aix. (10) Villa Roche in Nimes. (11) Norman Foster's Ombriere at the Vieux Port in Marseille, on a guided walk from the Ombriere to the MUCEM Museum. (12) The port of L'Estaque in Marseille. (13) The Théâtre Antique in Orange. (14) The Jewish Cemetery in St. Remy. (15) The 6MIC Music Hall in Aix (16) The Chateau d'Aulan in Aulan, 8 km from Montbrun-les-Bains, in the Drome Provencal. (17) The Maison Carrée in Nimes. (18) This year's Patrimoine poster.  

Fontenille Opens a Gorgeous Hotel in St. Remy

For a couple of months in spring 2020, during Covid lockdown in France, we were all forbidden from going further than 1 or 2 km from home…unless our work required it or there was an urgent reason, such as helping a sick relative. Writing that now, it sounds so wild and remarkable that the government was able to make 60 million or so people stay home for weeks on end.

Whenever we did go out, we were required to fill out a form saying who we were, where we lived, when we left home and what we were up to. Grocery shopping and dog walking were ok; running or biking were okay as long as we weren't gone longer than hour...and didn't go further than 1 or 2 km. Virtually all local businesses except for "essential" stores were closed (yes, wine shops were considered essential!) and for a while we even had a 6 pm curfew. With few exceptions, the French borders were closed to non residents and the EU borders were locked up tight.

So anytime the weather was nice I grabbed my bike and went out and did 1 and 2 km circles around town. It sounds ridiculous but I loved it. There was virtually no traffic in St. Remy, either in the village itself or in the countryside, and the stillness was breathtaking. I remember thinking Jules, you will never see Provence like this again in your lifetime. 

One of my favorite routes took me past a large, elegant estate, with an enormous front lawn and--just barely visible down a long, platane-shaded drive--a magical-looking bastide. A couple times I stopped at the foot of the driveway to enjoy the beauty of it all...and took some photos discreetly. So intrigued, I went home and Googled the address to see what I could learn about the house and its history.

Turns out the Domaine de Chalamon has existed since the 16^th century, when it was called Mas le Tor. After it belonged to the lords Mistral de Mondragon, it was Pierre de Chalamond who gave it its current name, in 1663. The Chalamond family kept it until 1738; it then passed through the hands of seven families until, in 1996, the 20-hectare property became the summer residence of a noble London-based family.

One day I bumped into a friend on her bike who said she had heard it had been sold and that it was going to become a guesthouse…or something.

And sure enough two weeks ago, Frédéric Biousse and Guillaume Foucher, the team behind the gorgeous, five-star Domaine de Fontenille (in the Southern Luberon region of Provence), opened the property as the 19-room Domaine de Chalamon, their first hotel in St. Remy and their 9th property overall (seven in France and two on Menorca).  

Once the purchase was complete, Biousse and Foucher turned to Alexandre Lafourcade of the St. Remy-based Lafourcade Architecture, to handle the transformation from private home to chic country-house hotel.  Alexandre knew the house well, having worked on it in years past with his architect father, Bruno. And of course he knew the clients well, having created two hotels for them already: their very first, the Domaine de Fontenille (in 2015) and the Domaine de Primard, in Catherine Deneuve's former château in Normandy, in 2021.

Biousse and Foucher like their properties to retain the feel of private homes…in fact they often refer to them as "friends houses” rather than hotels.  They strive to keep the soul, roots and charm of each estate intact…each one “telling a story in harmony with its environment…a story that respects the identity of the site and enhances its character and uniqueness.”

The partners also believe that the feeling of experiencing rare moments in an exceptional place is as important as the refinement of the decor. “The challenge,” they say, “is to convey the emotion one experiences when discovering these houses for the very first time.”

Hidden behind cypress hedges, Domaine de Chalamon extends over nearly 20 hectares with one of the most beautiful gardens in the region. Beyond that double avenue of 100-year-old plane trees, the home and its terraces are surrounded by pines and cypress. Various gardens follow one another along the streams that wind through the estate, including parterres of boxwoods and fields of olive trees formed into topiaries. There’s also a heated pool and a tennis court.

“We both come from farming families,” the owners say, “and have a very strong relationship with the land. We fell in love with this house, in the heart of a wild and disciplined nature. These gardens are remarkable…at any time of the day.”

Domaine de Chalamon has a 40-seat indoor/outdoor restaurant run by chef Rémi Falsquelle, who says his Provencal cuisine will be based heavily on produce that’s either grown on the property or sourced from nearby organic farms. Originally from Martigues (not far from Marseille), he worked at the Bristol in Paris (under Michelin three-star chef Éric Fréchon) and in other top kitchens before joining the company in 2022, to train with chef Michel Marini at the Domaine de Fontenille in preparation for the opening of Chalamon. The menu has been described as gastronomic, bistronomic and bistro…so we shall see!

But wait, there's more! Since Chalamon opened two weeks ago, the Fontenille folks have actually unveiled yet another jewel in their growing hotel collection; the Bastide du Mourre soft-opened in Oppède le Vieux (in the Luberon) just a few days ago. And on its heels comes Fontenille Toscana, slated to open this month in Chianti. 

To see all 11 hotels in the Fontenille collection, click here. 

Domaine de Chalamon
291 Chemin de Chalamon
13210 St. Remy de Provence
+33 (0)4 87 83 10 10
Domainedechalamon.com
reservations@domainedechalamon.com
Instagram: @domainedechalamon

Photos: The 19-room Domaine de Chalamon opened two weeks ago in a 16th-century bastide in St. Remy. Alexandre Lafourcade and his St. Remy-based team did all the architectural work while Guillaume Foucher, one of the two owners, handled interior design. The guest house (or "friends house" as the owners like to call it) has a heated pool, a tennis court and a restaurant helmed by chef Rémi Falsquelle, who worked in top Michelin kitchens before joining the mother ship, the Domaine de Fontenille, to prepare for this opening. All interior and exterior photos taken in May 2023 by Gaelle Le Boulicaut, except #4 and #5 (from 2020) and #6 (by Yann Deret). Food photos by Sadik Sans Voltaire. Last photo courtesy of Bastide du Mourre.