My third life

By Ven, lifestyle manager at Les Domaines de Chabran

I came to the Alpilles nearly six years ago, just for a summer when I was in between jobs. They say we all live more than one life. This was my third. After my party years on cruise ships and my life of glamour working for the big names on Bond Street in London, I ended up here, longing to be close to nature and to family. Just for a few months, I told my partner. And never left. By October we had bought a house. By the following June, we knew we would be welcoming a baby girl. And so we started living like locals, learning the customs and traditions of this land.

The Alpilles are Provence as it is lived, rather than Provence as a postcard. This is a land shaped by mountains and rock, with striking views and rich nature. Here the colours are silver olive groves, white limestone and deep green rather than purple. I was dreaming of living closer to nature, and nature I found: the dramatic landscapes all around us, the evergreen pines along the paths of the Parc naturel régional des Alpilles, the flock of sheep that is my next-door neighbour, the horses in the field at Le Mas de Chabran. The Alpilles became home. So where are we? The short limestone range between Avignon and Arles is home to the villages of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Eygalières and Les Baux-de-Provence, each with its own beauty and places to discover.

The Alpilles are more intimate and more private. Everything is closer. Finding a great dinner spot does not mean a 45-minute drive, the Wednesday market in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is a short drive away, and there are so many places to visit nearby that you spend your time living and discovering. As a family and as a team, we have made it something of a passion to share with our guests everything that makes the Alpilles a place of its own.

Light and stone

It was the light that drew Van Gogh to Provence. When the mistral blows and clears the sky, the sunsets and sunrises turn dramatic and the golden hour spreads across the land. Come in October and enjoy the soft glow over the olive groves, the light playing with the trees, and layers upon layers of green, almost like a sea. Van Gogh spent a year here, at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, and painted around 150 canvases, including some of his most famous, like The Starry Night, inspired by the view from his window.

History is everywhere too. Walk through the Roman remains of Glanum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, climb up to the medieval citadel of Les Baux-de-Provence perched on its rock, and step into the old quarries of the Carrières des Lumières, where art is projected onto walls of stone.

At the market, at the table

For those who love good food, the Alpilles are heaven. Come and savour the abundance of the land: you will be spoiled. The markets bustle with produce: the best tomatoes I have ever tasted – the ones you find at the small cabane in Mouriès – strawberries, peaches and nectarines, and the cheese from the fromager in Maussane-les-Alpilles. Shopping becomes a feast of its own. I could spend hours at the market with Mum by my side, even stopping for a small apéro of oysters and white wine, right there, standing up by the seafood stall. All before we head home to cook lunch.

And let’s not forget the incredible restaurant scene, where a week is not enough to visit all our favourite places. From the lamb at Le Bistrot du Paradou (or the Wednesday cassoulet in winter!) to the most decadent macaroni cheese at Ou Ravi Prouvençau, the small sharing plates at Edú or the masterpieces of Fanny Rey at L’Auberge de Saint-Rémy, we could talk for a very long time about great food and great talents, people who love what they do and love to share it with our guests.

The road to Eygalières

When I first moved here, I was on my own: my partner had stayed behind to tie up our business in London. To relearn how to drive, and drive well, on these awfully narrow and twisty roads, I used to borrow my brother-in-law Alain’s ostentatiously huge Hummer and drive the road between Le Mas de Chabran and Eygalières, stopping at La Bastide de Fléchon on the way. (God help the other drivers.) Now I urge you to take a vintage car and drive that same road, the Route du Destet. You will marvel at one of the most scenic routes in the Alpilles, with rolling hills, vineyards and rows upon rows of olive trees. Stop at Domaine de la Vallongue for a short wine tasting and pick up a couple of bottles of their famous Pierres Cassées for dinner. In Eygalières, have lunch on the terrace at Paulette, the perfect perch for savouring life in Provence.

The next morning, spend a quiet moment on one of the many hiking trails and let nature slow you down. Fall in love, as I did. There are trails everywhere, often just a few minutes’ walk from the door.

The Alpilles are waiting for you.