Provence - has anyone been there!?

[Katharine]

We're thinking ahead for next year and would love to stay in a 3 bed villa/apartmentin Provence with a communal pool in beautiful countryside with our 3 lively boys. Can anyone recommend a particular gite/villa or area that's great. Many thanks,

The whole place is great (PIL have a house there) but I can't recommend a gite. Aix and Avignon are nice in terms of big towns. We are in St Remy and that's great but expensive. I hope someone will suggest something.
Are you not the Katharine who was thinking of moving to France ?????

Can't recommend a specific place that meets your spec but found www.frenchconnections.co.uk a good place to find holiday accommodation with an easy to use site.

We've been on holiday in France 3 times - twice through a company called Bowhills who have a wide variety of properties in Provence. Think their website is www.bowhills.co.uk.
They have been good to deal with, but chose property carefully depending on what you want - some are very 'rustic' in terms of furnishings etc, which we found just a little hard work with toddlers.

Katharine
Have just checked the Bowhills website, and the property we stayed in in Provence/Cote d'Azur is ref. 329 in Bargemon. It's 4 beds though and may be bigger/more expensive than you want need. Can't recommend it highly enough though - has large secluded grounds, lots of grassy areas and a solar-heated pool. Don't know how old your youngest is though, as there are a few 'danger points' e.g. stream running through garden and very step stone steps with no handrail/guard.

To Pupuce - yes I am the Katharine (known as Katie) who was thinking of moving to France. We did more than think we very very nearly bought a gite complex in the Charente but we pulled out on the day of exchange as I had real cold feet about uprooting the children (especially our eldest 6 year old boy who is dyslexic and struggling here). To cut a long story short my husband is pretty devestated that we're not going permanently to France so we are now planning all our holidays there with the thought that in the not to distant future that we will buy a holiday home there. We're currently thinking of the Dordogne as we think Provence will be to hot for us. We've booked a 2 week holiday in the Dordogne for next summer so I can get an idea of the countryside etc. (I never went out to view what would have been our future home in the Charente due to our tiny baby!). Thanks for the recommendations of gites - I'll look at the Bowhills website. I knew about FrenchConnections from our purchasing a gite days!

Katharine... Careful...Dordogne can be hotter than Provence - there is no wind there and so you have much colder weather and much hotter weather. Provence is a bit milder in that sense... I am sure you will find out yourself !
Good luck...

We loved the Loire valley . Very mild in winter and not too hot in summer (though it does rain a bit, apparently). Beautiful countryside, like an ideal version of England with oak trees and cornfields. Easy to get there by Buzz to Tours. Aah, wish I was there now.

Hi Katharine,

The Luberon valley is beautiful. We stayed in a gorgeous villa in a beautifuol village called Rousillon a year ago. It was through a company called Agence Belle France. I don't know the name of the villa but it was 3 bedroom plus a seperate bedroom in an annex. Gorgeous views and swimming pool. Rousillon is gorgeous and so are surrounding villages. Very highly recommended.