17 Perfect Provence Vacation Rentals

Three photos above: who wouldn't want to wake up here? This gorgeous eight-bedroom, eight-bath villa was crafted from an 18th-century olive mill, just a short drive from Les Baux.

A super-popular home with a luxurious-but-laid-back French country vibe, perched on a hillside in the Luberon, with sections dating to the 12th century. 

The roof terrace and dining/living room of a designer three-bedroom apartment I love in St. Remy.

This dreamy five-bedroom, five bath "farmhouse" in Eygalieres, restored impeccably and loaded with amenities, is nestled in an olive grove in a walk-to-town location.

A bright, airy three-bedroom on a lush, terraced property in the foothills of the Alpilles, just 1 km from the heart of St. Remy.

When I visited this gracious, old-world-style three-bedroom home (with drop-dead views, pool and tennis) I told the owner "I'd love to buy this!" Her reply? "Everyone says that!"

This magical sun-drenched compound in Eygalieres offers multiple art-filled houses, two pools, gorgeous landscaping, horses grazing next door...and the most-charming owners.

This ten-bedroom, nine-bath beauty, on 10 acres just 2 km from Gordes, has a small vineyard, lavender field, pool and tennis.

Families love this five-bedroom open-plan house in a lovely, laid-back village where you can walk to shops, cafes and restaurants. It has a separate kids wing, large yard and heated saltwater pool. Great hiking, biking and wineries nearby!

This 18th-century, seven-bedroom bastide was fully redone in 2016 and sits just 2 km from L'Isle sur la Sorgue, a postcard-perfect village with 250 or so antique shops and vendors.

If you're one of the lucky ones who can travel to France this year--or think you may be able to, once travel bans from your country are lifted--then you're probably thinking about where to stay. I know all the best hotels in Provence (for all budgets) and would be happy to help you choose. I love hotels!

But for lots of obvious reasons, this is a great year to rent a house. Provence has thousands of cottages, gîtes, apartments, townhomes, houses, villas and châteaux available for vacation rentals...all sizes, all prices. They range in style from cheap-and-cheerful to over-the-top elegant...rustic to highly refined. They're in city, village and countryside settings, with outdoor spaces ranging from tiny balconies overlooking terra cotta rooftops to sprawling terraces giving onto olive groves, lush vineyards and stunning lavender fields. Some have private pools while others have one pool for all guests to share; some have potagers and fruit trees and encourage guests to help themselves. All have kitchens, one of the major advantages of a rental house over hotel. Whether you dream of waking up in a renovated olive mill or a gorgeous family "farmhouse" with original beams or a 15th-century hunting lodge or a romantic tree house or a simple cottage among the vines, you'll want the perfect location, size, decor and amenities. And of course you want it to have that undefinable je ne sais quoi...no matter what your budget is.

But how to find that dreamy house, with so many options online...so many rental agencies...and so many villages to choose from? So glad you asked!

I have close to 400 rentals in my database and there's definitely something for every taste: from cute studios for singles and couples on up to vast multi-home properties sleeping as many as 50 people. You tell us what you want and when you're traveling...and we'll come back quickly with a selection. Then together we'll discuss pros and cons, narrow the list and help you choose. Et voila! 

This year, of course, we're all paying super careful attention to cancellation policies. We'll go over this carefully with you and make sure everyone agrees on a payment schedule and cancellation rules that are fair to both parties. My experience this year has shown that homeowners in Provence are far more flexible and forgiving than online booking sites are. And of course you'll want to buy trip-cancellation insurance, with a careful eye on the policy's specific pandemic-related coverage. Please note that I'm a matchmaker, not a rental agency, and your rental contract and payment arrangements will be handled directly between you and the homeowner.

Finally, one more quick caveat. Many houses are already heavily booked up for summer 2021 thanks to "rollover" guests who weren't able to come in 2020. So if your passport allows you to travel to France this year and you're dreaming of a very very very fine house in Provence, I suggest we start the hunt tout suite! 

To get the ball rolling, I chose 17 rental properties that I absolutely love and just published them on my trip-planning site ProvencePostTravel.com, arranged loosely by size and price. Click here to see the list. Why such an odd number, you ask? Well I was going for ten but it was so hard to choose that I settled on 15 instead. Then I got a bit nuts and kept going and then finally, at 17, I decided basta la comedia...that's enough! Rest assured my list of "17 Perfect Provence Vacation Rentals for 2021" is just a very-small sampling of our many offerings...an amuse-bouche rather than a full menu! Still, they're all terrific options and I'm pretty sure you'll find one (or more) that make your heart sing. So have a look and reach out to me at WhatToDoinProvence@gmail.com to discuss. Operators are standing by...