Farmhouse rental in Apt, France - Lost in the lavender, Luberon farmhouse with pool - Property 50945

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Layout of the house: There are three floors and the layout has not changed in 400 years. At the top is the master bedroom with king-size bed and en suite bathroom. This is reached through a double bedroom, which is why the property is ideal for 6 adults, but does sleep 8. The middle floor has a living room, kitchen and dining room. The living room opens onto the balcony with table and chairs and view down the valley towards the sunrise. On the garden level are two bedrooms, a twin and a queen-size double, and a bathroom. The double room opens onto the garden terrace, which is shaded overhead with vines and has views of Viens and surrounding countryside. There is a small inner courtyard with barbecue where meals can be taken, or table and chairs can be set out on the top garden, which looks over to the hilltop village of Viens, framed against the Provence hills. The garden is arranged over different levels and is a feast for the eyes and the nose. You are encouraged to cut your own flowers during your stay.

What to do: Some guests don't leave La Jauberte at all during their stay - they find the gardens and grounds, and the pool, offer everything they need to enjoy Provence. You don't have to go anywhere to find wonderful views of breathtaking countryside, or fields of lavender, they are all here at the house. Other people use La Jauberte as a base and are out all day exploring. Some of the things they see and do are: hiking in the rolling hills all around, which is the countryside written about by Jean Giono; shopping at the local village markets for the day's food, including the big one in Apt on Saturdays; touring the picture-postcard Luberon hill-top villages of Viens, Cereste, and Caseneuve, or on the other side of Apt the more touristy ones of Gordes, Menerbes and Bonnieux which Peter Mayle wrote about; the canyons of the Gorges d'Oppeddette and the larger Gorges du Verdon; the ochre cliffs of the Colorado provencal just to the north; Banon and it famous cheeses; the lavender festival at Sault.

More things to do: Other things to do: antique and bric-a-brac hunting at Isle-sur Sorgue, the antiques capital of France; an endless number of walks in the 120,000 ha Luberon Natural Park; the Marquis de Sade's castle at Lacoste........La Jauberte is ideal for day-trips to: Avignon, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, St Remy, Nimes, the Camargue, the Rhone wine trail, Marseille, St Tropez, Cannes, Monte Carlo and the rest of the Cote d/Azur, Italy and the Alps............This is a year-round destination - the Luberon in winter is as beautiful in its way as during the long summer that can stretch from May to October. As Peter Mayle discovered, in the off-season the Luberon is all yours - there will not be crowds, but there will be truffles and fabulous dinners. And in every month there are days when it is warm enough to eat outside in the Provencal sun. When it is cold, you will appreciate the large fireplace, the mist hanging in the valley below, or even the whole wonderful scene topped with snow.

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