South of France Public Holidays

France is awash with public holidays,  the difference being that they always strictly adhere to the date rather than a day of the week. This means that public holidays may fall at weekends or in the middle of the week when the French will take what is known as the 'pont' or bridge, taking the days between the public holiday and the weekend as additional time away from work.

For those of your visiting France or renting one of our South of France Villas to rent, then here is the list of public holidays for 2015, bear in mind that supermarkets, most shops and of course all public offices will be closed on these days.

For 2015, here is the list of the public holidays in France

New Year’s Day is on Thursday, January 01, 2015
Easter Monday is on Monday, April 06, 2015
Labour Day in France is on Friday, May 01, 2015
Victory Day 1945 France is on Friday, May 08, 2015
Ascension Day is on Thursday, May 14, 2015
Whit Monday is on Monday, May 25, 2015
Bastille Day France is on Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Assumption is on Saturday, August 15, 2015
All Saints’ Day is on Sunday, November 01, 2015
Armistice Day is on Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Christmas Day is on Friday, December 25, 2015

Visiting the South of France in Springtime - Mimosa Celebrations

Each year we celebrate the wonderful plant that adds such a vibrant yellow colour tour landscape – the Mimosa.  However, what many people do not realise is that Mimosa is not indigenous to the South of France & Provence and was introduced in around 1850 by the British who were attempting to lighten up their winter gardens with this fast growing and hardy shrub.

Here in the South of France we have the Mimosa Trail which covers around 130 kms including the villages of Bormes-les-Mimosas, le Rayol-Canadel, Sainte-Maxime, Saint-Raphaël, Tanneron, Grasse, Pégomas, and Mandelieu-la Napoule.  It celebrates the flowering of the lovely Mimosa shrub with its bright yellow flowers which are particularly welcome in the depths of winter and give one the hope that spring is just around the corner.

Our next Mimosa Festival is in Mandelieu from 14th – 23rd February and we will celebrate with a church service, with the election of a ‘Queen of the Mimosa’ and a parade of floats decorated with the beautiful yellow flowers.

The Mimosa can also be seen in and around Provence.  The locals walk about with armfuls of the stuff to decorate houses, carts, cafe's, restaurants, in fact anything with its beautiful aromatic yellow flowers and one of the villages Bormes les Mimosas is even named after it!

Visiting the South of France in springtime is easy and less expensive than visiting in the high season summer months. The other advantage being that the skies will be blue and the sun will be shining – can the same be said of where you live in February and March?

Cote d’Azur Villas have an excellent selection of villas to rent all along the mimosa trail and booking a rental villa in the South of France is an excellent way to really enjoy our beautiful region.

Winter Snow and Sunshine with a South of France Villa Rental

The skiing in the Southern Alps is often underestimated.  The sun tends to shine more, it is warmer and the snow record is excellent. Of course if you stay below the mountain you are in tantalising reach of the beaches of Cannes and Nice.  This area is one of the few in the world where you can have a morning skiing and still get down to the beach for a late lunch in the sunshine!

Antibes with the snow covered mountains in the background

The best known resort is Isola 2000 which as its name suggests is quite high at 2000 metres, and with some northern facing slopes, skiing can continue until the end of April some years.  Against Isola is the fact that it is a purpose-built resort so often lacks the alpine charm of older, more traditional resorts. Other nearby ski stationsinclude Auron, which is a smaller and slightly more charming.  Further down the hill are several smaller resorts which can be very popular if conditions allow.

Whilst Nice is 2 hours drive down the hill, some of the smaller resorts can be reached in under 90 minutes from the coast, which means that renting a villa in the hinterland of Cannes can give you opportunities to combine some skiing with more leisurely pursuits when the limbs get a bit tired, or the weather is slightly less promising.  Often, when the weather is poor on the mountains it is still sunny at the coast, so lunch on the beach at one of the many restaurants in Cannes can be a very nice distraction from getting cold on the mountain!

Greolieres  is a small resort with a dozen lifts and maybe 20 runs, but it is within and hour and half drive from Cannes and although quite low at 1400-1800 metres, it has a great snow record and a daily pass is not much over 20 Euros.  A great choice for those with small children who just want a day in the snow.
The Val D'Allos is a little further inland with an even better snow record, in fact you are just about guaranteed snow in this resort, but perhaps a little too far from the coast if you wish to combine snow and sun. The resort of Limone just over the Italian border is also under 2 hours from Cannes and can give you a taste of skiing in Italy.

So why not combine a winter break with some winter sunshine? Villas to rent in the South of France offer excellent value out of the summer season and you are promised the best of both worlds.

Affordable Riviera - South of France Villa Holidays from 68 Euros per person per night

Finally! The holiday you deserve at a price you can afford.

Affordable Riviera - South of France and Provence villas from as little as 68 Euros per person per night - that's a private villa with a private pool AND it includes all the linen, utilities and cleaning AND our team are on hand to meet you and to ensure that your holiday is perfect in very detail. 

With many families preferring a villa to the constraints of a hotel, particularly those travelling with younger children, then teaming a villa with a flight from a budget airlines, puts the South of France firmly within reach for Summer 2014.

‘We recognise that many of our clients are still struggling in this difficult economic climate and we want to be able to give them the holiday they deserve but at an affordable rate’ says Greg Harris, Managing Director. ‘Affordable Riviera offers a wonderful holiday home inclusive of all the charges for linen, towels, utilities & cleaning, there are no hidden extras.  Our team meet each client on arrival and are always on hand throughout the holiday to help and advise our clients.  We strive to offer a great property at a great rate but we never compromise on the service that we offer.

Here are some examples of Affordable Riviera Villas

Villa Merles - 4 Bedrooms - Sleeps 8, Valbonne South of France
Petit Palmier - 3 Bedrooms - Sleeps 6, Mougins South of France
La Lanterne de St Fiacre  - 5 Bedrooms - Sleeps 10, La Garde Freinet, St Tropez South of France.

Contact the rentals team today enquries@cdvillas.com

New Villa in St Tropez - Las Margaritas

New St Tropez Villa - Walkable into St Tropez Centre!!!!

Villa Las Margaritas -  light and spacious family villa just 20 minutes walk into St Tropez and a 5 minute drive to Pampelonne Beach – 4 bedrooms/sleeps 8

A modern Provençal style villa with a lovely garden with palm trees. The villa is ideally situated in a private and secured domain at only 5 minutes drive to the beaches of Pampelonne and a 20 minute walk to the centre of St. Tropez. The villa consists of an entrance hall, a bright and spacious living room with fire place, dining room next to the fully equipped kitchen which has direct access to the covered terrace with a large dining table. On the ground floor is one double bedroom with ensuite bath room and on the first floor are 3 double bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms. All the bedrooms are air-conditioned.

In the lovely garden you will find a good sized swimming pool surrounded by lounge chairs.

 

 For more information have a look on pur website - www.cdvillas.com, or click on the Villa Las Margaritas link.

Les Soldes!! The sales are on! Cannes it must be...

Whilst the sales are on here in France it makes sense to talk about Cannes - one of the most fantastic and exclusive shopping opportunities in the world. There is enough retail therapy available to satisfy even the hardened gold card shopper. The nice thing about it is that unlike most cities, all the shops are quite close together and visiting all the designer stores in one day (on foot!) is a possibility.

Look at the top designer names which have outlets in Cannes. Classic French haute couture designers Chanel have had a shop on the Croisette for decades. In fact the Croisette is THE address for the best designer shops. Armani have an outlet on this famous street, selling both ladies and gentlemen’s attire; Italian designer Bellenciaga is on the Croisette; just along from them is Louis Vuitton, famous for their luggage and hand bags. Hermes are there as are Max Mara, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and Jacques Loup. Bvulgari are on the Croisette as are Jimmy Choo, the famous shoe designer.  Gucci are represented and Dior who have also made a name for themselves in the perfume world have many of the rich and famous visit their store.

The Croisette in Cannes is the road which runs alongside the promenade beside the sea and above the dozens of top quality restaurants that are located on the sandy beach, and offer a very attractive possibility for a lunchtime gourmet meal by way of rest and relaxation should this be required.

Cannes is a wonderful destination, winter or summer. In the summer it usually remains temperate with temperatures seldom above 28 degrees and even in the depths of winter one can enjoy warm sunshine during the day when even the odd sun bather can be seen. Enough of the weather, and back to the shopping...

For those who cannot afford to or don't want to pay the inflated designer prices charged on the Croisette (my hand is raised!), there is the Rue d'Antibes. This runs parallel with the Croisette, and is a mere 100 metres or less away from it more illustrious cousin. It has an array of shops with the emphasis on clothing. Zara has two stores here, plus Diesel, Mango, Esprit, Madura, Diesel and Kenzo.  There are hundreds of other names you may not have heard of, but this is a more normal shopping experience. For the men there is Darty and FNAC with a wide array of electrical goods and gadgets.  This is much more the domain of the majority of us mere mortals who have to think about how much they are spending ;-)

Further along the town behind the port there is an even cheaper street with bargains galore.

Cannes is within easy driving or taxi reach of Nice airport which has daily or regular flights to and from all the 4 major London airports, Bristol, Manchester, East Midland, Leeds Bradford (in summer) and Liverpool, plus from many of the major French cities. There are even daily connections to New York and Montreal and several flights a week to Moscow and Dubai.

If flying is not your thing, why not consider the TGV.  It makes it easier to take back all those goodies you have acquired! You could get the Eurostar to Lille and then get a direct train to Nice or Cannes, or even stop off in Paris for a bit of a retail whetting of the appetite?

 

The real Provence...

What says more about the South of France than Provence. Images of lavender fields, olive groves and rows of ripening vines, street cafes in medieval market squares and red mountains glinting in the sunset, and best of all – it’s all still here!

This is the real Provence, made famous by the books of Peter Mayle but still as alive and vibrant as it was centuries ago. A holiday in Provence is a holiday to remember. Villas are stone ‘mas’, spacious and exquisitely restored houses, bathed in the scent of rosemary and lavender and overlooking the miles of rolling countryside. From here you can explore the historic centres of Aix-en-Provence and St Remy de Provence, the amazing Cathedral des Papes at Avignon or the dominant fortified towns of Gordes, Bonnieux and Roussillon. There’s so much to see and do that you will always return to this stunning region.

We have an ever increasing number of beautiful villas, town houses, mas & farmhouses in this area. To view the whole collection have a look at this link - Provence Villas


A lovely villa which still has some good availability in Summer 2013 is Mas de la Ferme in Maussane.

This charming 17th century farmhouse has been totally renovated with respect given to the original architecture and authentic Provencal materials have been used to maintain the property`s character. To complete the transformation, a host of modern amenities have been added to ensure the most comfortable and relaxing of holiday.

The courtyard garden is surrounded by pink roses, cypress trees and the scent of jasmine. The outdoor furniture includes wrought iron chairs and loungers.

Ground floor
The main front door opens into a large welcoming entrance hall. Small comfortable living room with wonderful fireplace. Very spacious open-plan living and dining room with fireplace and seating for up to twelve. The fully equipped kitchen, which forms part of the living and dining room has a double-oven industrial stove. Guest bathroom with shower, basin and WC. Laundry room with washer, dryer and extra fridge/freezer.

First floor
Spacious Master bedroom with 180cm bed (or twin) and en-suite double bathroom with bath, walk-in shower, basin, bidet and WC.
Double bedroom with 180cm bed (or twin) and en-suite bathroom, walk-in shower, basin, bidet and WC.
Double bedroom with 180cm bed (twin) and en-suite bathroom with walk-in shower, basin and WC.

Guest wing, with separate entrance or accessed in the property, which comprises of a kitchen, living room, double bedroom with 180cm bed (or twins) and en-suite bathroom with walk-in shower, basin and WC.

The living room does have a sofabed which can sleep two.

If you would like to see our availability or book this charming farmhouse please click here

Summer in Sizzling Hot St Tropez!!

St Tropez is probably one of the most recognized playgrounds for the rich & famous in the world. For many years it has been synonymous with the jet set lifestyle that most of us aspire to. St Tropez is a riot of decadence in the sunshine and much loved by the rich and famous as it is by those less wealthy amongst us who love to come and see what is going on!

Located on the Mediterranean coast an hour’s drive from Cannes and Nice, it was originally a harbour town and this is still the case today, although now a days the port is full of swish yachts rather than the small fishing vessels that would once have been its bread and butter. The town grew up around the port and as a result there are a number of great restaurants alongside small shops offering an astonishing range of merchandise. This ranges from local produce such as olive oil or the local wines (the rosé is very good!) but extends to clothing and designer shops much loved by the clientèle who can afford to stay in St Tropez!

There is a strong artistic thread running through the town with galleries on every corner and connections to many great artists who came here or painted here at some stage in their careers. Beautiful scenery abounds around the village and with the sparkling sea as a back drop many an artist has been inspired by the local beauty.

Pampelonne beach is a 4 km sandy beach, abound with beach restaurants.

This is the beach which epitomizes topless sunbathing! In fact it is said that Brigit Bardot strolled out of the Voile Rouge restaurant and removed her bikini top (after first alerting the entire words press as to what she intended to do) and the result?  St Tropez was suddenly on the map!

There are all the usual attractions which come with a beach location & all kinds of water sports are available. If you venture out a little there are breath taking views to be had from many of the hills around, where walking and hiking is popular. Horse riding, bounding, swimming, even scooter hire and plane rides around the area can be found within 10 km’s of the centre.

Beware of the traffic in high summer - it can take up to 2 hours on a busy day to drive from St Maxime which is about 12kms around the coast. It is best to take the boat which is much quicker and just as pretty a ride.

We have LOTS of amazing villas in St Tropez - have a look now to secure your dream holiday villa. 

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HO HO HO THIS MADE ME CHUCKLE!!

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY HEALTHY 2013 ;-)