River Kayaking in Provence 2023

While the days dwindle down to a precious few (as Willie Nelson says) and back-to-school lurks just around the corner, Provence is still crazy crowded...and hot! In fact, they're saying that this will be the hottest week of the year in France. River kayaking is a fabulous way to while away a few hours, get deliciously cool, have a swim if you want one and see some amazing scenery. Luckily, river kayaking in Provence is super easy and the local outfitters will be open for at least another month or two. I encourage many of my clients to try it and no one has told me they didn't love it. Get out there!

You can kayak (and stand-up paddleboard) on the Rhône from Avignon (with views of the ramparts, the Pont St. Benezet and the 14th-century Palais des Papes), but whenever I get the chance, I love kayaking on the River Sorgue, from the village of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse in the Luberon. You can also kayak on the River Gardon from Collias, a fantastic way to experience the 2000-year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Pont du Gard. 

Another outfitter I've just learned about is AFDA Canoe, which offers canoe/kayaking on the Durance River, from the village of Lauris in the Southern Luberon. An 8 km route takes you from Cadenet to Lauris (75 minutes) while an 18 km course links Puy Sainte Reparade to Lauris (three hours). Can't wait to kayak the Durance! 

If you've never kayaked before, not to worry! You'll get a short tutorial, there are usually staffers on the river to help (at least on the Sorgue there are), the kayaks are very open (meaning, on the off chance that you tip, you're not trapped) and these are not fast-running rivers. Below you'll find the details on everything.

But the four places mentioned above (the Sorgue, the Gardon, the Durance and the Rhône) are by no means the only places for kayaking in Provence; you can do it in the Camargue, at the Gorges du Verdon and in sea kayaks up and down Mediterranean Coast. If you have a favorite kayak place and want to share the info, please leave a comment below.

KAYAKING ON THE SORGUE

Fontaine-de-Vaucluse is 15 minutes from L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and if you hit the big Sunday market or smaller Thursday market there (in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue), kayaking from Fontaine is a great way to spend the afternoon. Then again, it's great fun any day, morning or afternoon. It’s an easy trip (about five miles) on clear, cool shallow water and you see lots of lovely, lush countryside. You leave your car in Fontaine and they bring you back by bus (usually with disco music blasting, but in a good way). There are two companies that do it: Kayak Vert and Canoe Evasion. Both are outside town with big signs so they’re easy to find. I prefer Canoe Evasion for a couple small reasons but either is fine! If you go with Kayak Vert, there's sometimes a wait at the beginning of the route where you have to go over a dam but there's always someone there to help. Both outfitters have small snack bars (cold drinks, ice cream, etc.), bathrooms and lots of parking.

With Kayak Vert, you can go at your own pace; with Canoe Evasion you’re sort of encouraged to stay with a group of boats but you don’t really have to.  The trip takes 2 to 2.5 hours and there’s a little break in the middle for swimming or just chilling on the river banks. And don't miss the rope swing! Whether you swim or not you’ll definitely get wet so plan accordingly and have a beach towel with you. Also, definitely wear water shoes or grippy sandals because there may be a few places where you have a little walk on slippery rocks. 

Both companies give you a watertight container for your stuff and life preserver vests...and there's staff here and there on the river to help if you need it.

Here are the two outfitters for kayaking the Sorgue and reservations are definitely recommended.

Canoe Evasion: 2023 prices:  €26 pp adults; €13 for kids under 14. Groups of 10 or more: adults pay €20 each, kids (6-14) pay €13. Payment is by cash, French check or credit card. There’s no minimum age per se, but the company prefers kids be five or older; they must be able to swim at least 25 meters and submerge themselves (meaning, not panic if they go under water).  Open every day from May 15 to September 30 (but closed the third weekend in September).  Open daily from 9 am to 3:30 pm, with departures every 40 mins or so. Bookings must be made by phone: +33 (0)4 90 38 26 22  or online:  canoe-evasion.com, contact@canoe-evasion.net.

Kayak Vert. 2023 prices:  €25 pp adults, €13 for kids (6-12). For groups of 15 or more, please inquire. Kayak Vert’s age minimum is six and kids must be able to swim 25 meters. Payment is by credit card only (but no Amex). Open May 15 to October 15. Reservations by phone:  +33 (0) 4 66 22 80 76 or online at kayakvert.com.

A Bit About Fontaine-de-Vaucluse

Fontaine-de-Vaucluse is an interesting village so leave some time before or after kayaking to explore. This pretty little town (population 600 or so) is best known for its deep-water source or spring at the foot of a steep cliff 230 meters high. It’s the biggest spring in France and the fifth largest in the world; it's where the Sorgue River begins and when the water is high and running strong, it's truly a gorgeous site to see...actually its pretty gorgeous all the time.

In 1946, Jacques Cousteau and another diver were almost killed searching for the bottom of the spring, at about 100 meters down. (As it turns out they weren’t even close: the bottom is at 308 meters.) The spring is the only exit point of a subterranean basin that collects water from Mont Ventoux, the Vaucluse Mountains and Lure Mountain. People have lived in the area since Neolithic times (you know, back when you could still find a parking spot here easily). Archaeological digs have turned up more than 1600 coins from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD. 

Fontaine has an interesting museum in an old paper mill (with a cool shop selling all types of paper products, diaries, puzzles, handmade books, stationary and other goodies based on the same theme), a museum about Petrarch and one filled with Santons (traditional Provencale figurines). Plus, the village has plenty of cafes and restaurants right on or near the river and some cute shops.

Not far from Canoe Evasion is a "parc accrobranche" that families love. This is one of those ropes courses where you swing from trees on zip lines and such. It's called La Passerelle des Cîmes and friends who’ve been say everyone loves it...all ages. As you approach Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, you’ll see the signs.

KAYAKING ON THE GARDON

To kayak the Gardon River and see the Pont du Gard, the two main outfitters are Canoe Collias and Kayak Vert; both leave from the town of Collias, between Uzes and the Pont du Gard. You can keep the kayak all day if you like but most people like the basic two-hour paddle, taking them 8 km up to and under the Pont du Gard. What a fantastic way to experience this 2000-year-old Roman aqueduct, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. All along the river there are little beaches and places to picnic, swim, sunbathe, etc.  The two-hour time frame is calculated on paddling from Collias to the Pont du Gard non-stop, but you can keep the kayak as long as you like for the same price. As they do on the Sorgue River, the outfitters bring you back by bus. Reservations aren't required but they're definitely recommended and booking is online only. In high season definitely reserve at least a few days before.   

Canoe Collias, canoe-collias.com, or +33 (0)4 66 22 87 20 or +33 (0)6 23 65 51 32. Prices for 2023: €25 for adults, €19 for teens (13-17), €13 for kids (6-12).

Kayak Vert Collias/Pont du Gard, kayakvert.com or +33 (0)4 66 22 80 76, contact@kayakvert.com. Prices for 2023:  €25 for adults, €20 for teens (13-17) and €13 for kids (6-12).

KAYAKING ON THE RHONE AT AVIGNON

Operated by an association (Canoe Outings Comite de Vaucluse de Kayak) rather than a private company, this experience is extremely popular with river-cruise passengers, locals and groups, who often bring their own translator or request one because not all the staff speaks English. That said, they're currently the only outfitter offering kayaking in this gorgeous city, their prices are low and they have solid reviews on Trip Advisor . I've never canoed here but I see no reason that paddling around the 14th-century Palais des Papes and the famous Pont St. Benezet wouldn't be great fun. Canoe rentals in July/August are by the half hour: 30 minuntes is €8 pp, 60 minutes is €12 pp, 90 minuntes is €16 pp and so forth. Open daily from 2 pm to 6:30.  There are also three different “river discovery tours” in July and August – check the website for details. Questions? Call +33 (0)6 11 52 16 73 or +33 (0)6 51 60 13 59. The office is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm and can be reached at: +33 (0)4 28 70 27 27.  canoe-vaucluse.fr, contact@canoe-vaucluse.fr.

Photo Credits: (1, 2) Kayaking on the Sorgue, photos courtesy of Kayak Vert and Canoe Evasion. (3) The famous source in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. Photo courtesy of TheLuberon.com. (4)  Kayaking at the Pont du Gard, courtesy of Canoe Collias. (5) Kayaking the Rhône at Avignon, courtesy of Avignon Tourisme.

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.

Action! Ridley Scott's Winery is Open

Most people know that Sir Ridley Scott (he was knighted in 2003), is one of the top film directors in the world; his movies include Gladiator, Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Black Hawk Down and scores of other hits including House of Gucci (2021). His latest, a historical drama called Kitbag—with Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon and Vanessa Kirby as Empress Josephine--begins production this month.

What many people don’t know is that Ridley has lived part time in the Luberon region of Provence--and owned a vineyard here--since 1992, when he bought a pretty mas (farmhouse) planted with 11 hectares of vines.

I first interviewed Mr. Scott in 2006, for articles in Wine Spectator and Conde Nast Traveller UK. For CNT, we discussed A Good Year, the movie he had just shot based on the 2004 book of the same name, written by his dear friend Peter Mayle.

For Wine Spectator, we talked about his passion for wine and his burgeoning wine-maker hobby-turned-business. “The vineyard was in place when I bought the house...” he told me. “I grow syrah, and I sell to the co-op, the Vinicol. They come with their machines and take it away. Now we're deciding if we want to start doing our own pressing, our own bottles and labels; I'm on the threshold of taking that step.”

He crossed that threshold just a few years later, launching his own label in conjunction with the nearby Cave de Lumieres. From 2009 to 2017, a wine made only from Ridley’s grapes (as opposed to a blend from multiple farms), was bottled there under the Mas des Infermières label. He also expanded his property considerably. 

And now, finally, Ridley has taken the next very-big step and opened his own beautiful 1500-square-meter winery, cave, shop and tasting room, just across a large plot of vines from his historic Luberon home. Surrounding the winery are 30 hectares of grapes: large plots of grenache and syrah and a few smaller plots of carignan, clairette, vermentino and roussanne.

Located on a road called the Chemin des Infirmières, Ridley’s house was once owned by General Robert of Napoléon’s Army, who planted vines there (from 1810 to 1830) and made wine.  At one point the house became a hospital for injured soldiers and when there weren’t enough nurses to look after the patients, local farmers were enlisted to help.

Eventually the historic home became the Mas des Infermières, a play on the words for nurse (infirmière) and for farmer (fermier).

My friend Celine grew up down the road and calls this sun-drenched stretch of Luberon land “the most beautiful place on earth.”

Located half a kilometer from the village of Oppède le Vieux and not far from Menerbes, the new winery was designed by Bonnieux-based architect Andrew Corpe, an Englishman who has worked in Provence for more than 30 years. 

“The vineyard is a sanctuary of silence and sunshine,” Ridley says on the back of every bottle, in what’s meant to look like handwriting. “My family and I came here to paint, read and above all to enjoy the magical life that can be found here.” 

Another nice touch: Ridley illustrated all the distinctive labels himself.

The winery is still in soft-opening phase and will officially launch later in spring. It’s a wonderful addition to the wine scene in the Luberon and a fantastic visit for film fans thanks to the memorabilia on display: a helmet from Gladiator, space suits from Prometheus, Alien: Covenant and The Martian, gold coins from The Last Duel and the bicycle from House of Gucci, to name a few. More items are on their way.

Posters and blown-up movie stills line the walls; you’ll see Thelma and Louise in the rest room and a large poster for A Good Year in the tasting room.  Much of that 2006 movie, about a London stock broker who inherits his beloved uncle's Luberon vineyard and run-down 18th-century chateau, was filmed just down the road (“eight minutes from my house,” Scott has said), at the real-life winery Chateau La Canorgue. Other scenes were shot at the Marseille Airport, the Avignon train station and in the Luberon villages of Bonnieux, Gordes and Cucuron, where a fake moon was hung for a date-night scene and the large rectangular village bassin was filled with floating candles. 

The tasting room and shop at Mas des Infermières is modern and inviting, with soaring ceilings, lots of light and vineyard views. A dramatic spiral staircase leads down to a conference room, private cellar/wine library and the vast cave itself, where Bordeaux-sized (225 liter) oak barrels are lined up in perfect rows, doing their thing.

Back upstairs, you can buy the first wines made on site (the 2020 vintage), plus a limited supply of those made at the Cave de Lumières from Ridley’s grapes (2015, 2016 and 2017). Older vintages, in shorter supply, will be released as specials.

The 2020 wines--two rosés and one red--are 15€ per bottle in the shop. Two more reds and two whites are in the works.

You’ll also find accoutrements such as glassware, corkscrews and wine books...and a blended Mas des Infermières olive oil made with fruit from their 50 trees. This micro-production oil is sold only at the winery, for now.

In the large courtyard out front there’s an enormous old amphora (that once held olive oil) and two 1000-liter oak wine barrels. Roughly 150 years old, they were found in Ridley’s house and weatherproofed before being put on display.

When I first wandered into the parking lot of Infermières last summer to see if they had opened yet, I was delighted to find my old friend Thomas Camilleri running the show. I knew Thomas, a sommelier, from Domaine des Peyre, another popular Luberon wine estate; turns out that Ridley had lured him down the road to help create and run Mas des Infermières. Today Thomas oversees the shop and tasting room, working closely with Bordeaux-born winemaker Christophe Barraud (a sixth-generation wine grower) and sales director Melanie  de Rudder. Ridley comes down from London once a month.

Like many wineries in the region, Infermières was hit hard by a late frost in spring 2021; they lost roughly 45 percent of their grapes. Their 2022 is production is expected to be around 45,000 bottles.

All wines are certified by the Bee Friendly Association and carry a cute little gold bee sticker. The winery uses no pesticides or herbicides but isn’t certified organic because, as Thomas explains, “even organic products can kill the bees.” Instead, they're pursuing the environmentally friendly certification HVE: Haute Valeur Environmentale or High Environmental Value.

Landscaping projects still to be completed include more trees and the creation of a large pond surrounded by vines. Future goals include acquiring more land for grapes, the production of honey (they have bees) and creating a hiking path through the vines. In the future, special events might include outdoor film screenings; I would think that watching an epic drama about Napoléon on a property once owned by one of his Generals, at a winery owned by the film director, not so far from the famous Route de Napoleon, would be quite magical indeed.

For the time being, tastings at Mas des Infermières are free; walk-ins are welcome but groups should book ahead. The actual winemaking, barrel and labeling rooms are closed to the public but visits may be arranged by special request. A few different guided tours will be offered, by reservation, starting in April; a VIP tour will include a seated tasting of older vintages (2011, 2014, etc.). All details will appear on the website soon. Until then, follow them on Facebook and Instagram for updates! 

Mas des Infermières
1575 Route du Four Neuf
84580 Oppede, France
+33 (0)4 90 75 66 16
masdesinfermieres.com
Winter Hours: 10 to 12:30 and 2 to 6, Tues through Sat. Closed Sun and Mon.

Summer Hours: 10 to 7 daily.

Photos: (1) The winery at sunset. (2) Mr. Scott started with 11 hectares of vines and now has 30; he hopes to have more soon. (3) Ridley at home in Provence. (4) Ground was broken for the new winery in 2018 but Covid stalled the construction; it finally opened to the public a few months ago. You can clearly see how the architect referenced classic Provencal architecture in the design. (5-7) The dramatic entrance, tasting room and shop. (8) Sommelier Thomas Camilleri runs the tasting room and oversees wine tourism. (9-11) The tank, barrel and labeling rooms are currently closed to the public but might be part of upcoming tours. Tour details will be announced soon. (12, 13) Ridley Scott drew the lovely wine-label illustrations himself.  (14) The carignan harvest in 2021. A late frost wiped out as much as 45% of  the grapes.  (15-17) At the winery, movie memorabilia from Mr. Scott's career includes a space suit from the Martian, a poster for A Good Year (filmed down the road) and blown-up movie stills like this one from Thelma & Louise.  (18) Want to sleep among the vines? Three elegant vacation rentals (like this one) are being built. (19) My friend Celine (in an adorable photo from 1973) grew up just down the road from the winery and calls this part of the Luberon "The most beautiful place on earth." (20) The winery is a stone's throw from the medieval village of Oppède le Vieux, the oldest part of which is super historic, largely abandoned and fantastic to explore on foot. 

Note: The annual Festival de Nimes (June 17 to July 24, 2022) features a wide range of concerts in Nimes' stunning Roman amphitheater. A highlight this year  (on June 25) will be “Gladiator Live" – a cine-concert featuring Ridley Scott’s multi-Oscar-winning film shown on a giant screen  accompanied by 200 musicians and singers. The film will be shown in English, with French subtitles. For info: festivaldenimes.com.

Take a Hike...or Two

A new Avignon-based company called Hike Provence is offering private guided hikes across the region along with organized group hikes on set days that anyone can join. The hikes, at varying levels of difficulty, are designed to appeal to both tourists and locals alike.

While the project may have been nudged along by Covid, Hike Provence was really 30 years in the making.

Raised in Singapore and Korea, Charli Aron launched the company after returning to Europe from Vietnam, where she was painting, writing, climbing and hiking. “My family is in the UK and my son caught very bad Covid last Easter when I was in Vietnam,” she says. “He’s now fully recovered but I realized I wanted to be closer to home.”

Charli first met her business partner Marushka Delarbre (who grew up in Greece and Denmark) when they were both students in London 30 years ago. “And ever since then we’ve met regularly to walk and talk,” Charli says. “We’re both very keen trekkers and we’ve hiked all over the world, both together and alone.”

Marushka has lived in Provence for 25 years, running an organic apple farm above the village of Tallard in the Hautes-Alpes.

Charli arrived in August 2020.

“Through fortunate happenstance we’re now both based in amazing Provence, with the wonders of Mont Ventoux and the Alpilles Mountains on the horizon,” Charli says. “Discovering the stunning hills, gorges and passes has been such a joy. As a passionate climber and trekker, I thank my lucky stars daily that I live in Provence! Here the skies change hourly; over the course of one day we can be blessed with every color under the rainbow. The fauna I trek through in the mountains has all the aromas that season French cuisine. In short, it’s wonderful. And with so many things closed due to Covid this year, lots of other people have been excited to get out into the hills too.”

Private hikes are built around the needs and size of your group. Choose the date, level of difficulty and number of hours... and they’ll design the perfect hike for you. Rough pricing for private hikes is: €30 per person for three- to four-hour walk or €45 per person for a five to eight hours.

The day starts with a cup of Provencal-herb tea and a chat about expectations. “I recently had clients who wanted to hike the Pont du Gard and explained that they had been left weakened by Covid,” Charli recalls. “So of course I wanted to adapt the hike to their needs.” 

Along the route, Charli or Marushka share the history of the region, offering insider knowledge about important historic sites, geography, climate, plants, insects and more. Both women speak French and English while Marushka can also lead hikes in Spanish. A picnic can be added for an extra charge.

Group hikes (ten people max) happen roughly twice a month, in a mix of French and English. Upcoming hikes include Cabrières d'Avignon on Sunday April 25 (4 km) and the Pont du Gard on Sunday May 2 (11 km). Details about both (plus some recent hikes) are on the site here. To help you choose, hikes are rated leisurely, easy, medium or hard.

A Provencal Pass (€50) lets you enjoy five group hikes of your choosing at any time.

For now, hiking is mostly in the Luberon, the Alpilles and the Gard but Charli hopes to expand the offerings—possibly even to Corsica--if things go well. In the meantime Marushka is still farming and also does healing massage; Charli works as a writer and a painter. (Learn more about her work here.)

“At the moment, Hike Provence is a pleasure project,” she says. “But hopefully it will develop into something that we both can give plenty of time to. It’s just wonderful to be with people when they’ve pushed beyond their threshold and surprised themselves. A hiker often confronts physical barriers when climbing long, steep hills. And then when we pause, to rest or to have a picnic, there’s such a sense of elation. I also love the intimacy that quickly occurs when we’re walking side by side, sharing the beauty of nature.”

Whether you want to hike alone or with a small convivial group...whether you want hidden mountain passes or meandering river walks, to experience the gentle old goat paths above Avignon or the vertigo-inducing “steeps” of the Dentelles Montmirail...Charli would love to hear from you. 

“Hiking is a wonderful way to explore the secret paths that knit together the most beautiful villages of the region,” she says. “If you want to discover them up close and personal, smell the rosemary and thyme, muddy your boots...come hike with us! We hope your readers will get in touch and are ready to walk the walk!”

HikeProvence.com

hikeprovence@gmail.com

Instagram & Facebook

+33 (0)7 80 42 93 36

 

Photos (1) Charli at the Gorges de Badarel. (2) Charli and Marushka take a break. (3) Hiking from Gordes to the Abbaye de Senanques. (4) Heading down is always more fun than up! (5) In the Dentelles de Montmirail. See the little hiker on the path? (6) The goat looked all friendly and then ate the picnic when backs were turned. (7) Lunch with a view of  the Gorges de Badarel. (8) Happy hikers reach the Rocher des Deux Trous in the Alpilles above St. Remy, overlooking the Greco-Roman ruins of Glanum. (9) Olive trees in the foothills of the Alpilles. (10) Hanging out in the Forêt des Cèdres, during a hike to discover the upper part of Cabrières d'Avignon.  (11) The Gorges du Verdon, often called The Grand Canyon of France. (12) Picnicing at the Pont du Gard, the beautifully preserved 2000-year-old Roman aqueduct built to carry water from Nimes. (13) The ochre cliffs of the Colorado Provençal, in the northern Luberon. (14) At the Gorges de Regalon, a magical trail at the base of a dramatic gorge, both hands and feet are often needed in some of the craggy passes.