Come and stay in Provence
Rent a house in Provence !
Le Mas d'Anez was the absolute highlight of our 2 week family trek through Belgium, Paris, Provence, and London. It was perfect for our family of 4, with a seperate living area in the 17th century house for our family, complete with 2 bedrooms and seperate shower. And with the weak dollar and outrageous hotel prices in Paris and London, this was absolutely the most affordable and best value of our trip!
The location itself is fantastic, with easy access to many of the beautiful Provence villages and sites. Le Mas d'Anez is a sprawling property, with several olive tree orchards planted by the owner Thierry Mantoux, (who makes and sells his own olive oil!). They also have a pool, and many pleasant sitting areas in their yard where you can relax after a day of touring and shopping. You truly feel as if you are living the good Provence life!
The owners -- Marie-Laure and Thierry are fantastic. A Paris couple, they have been in the property for 6 years and really turned it into a perfect Provence B&B. Their english is excellent, and they were kind enough to put up with my barely passable french during our visit anyway. They allowed us our own space -- but also helped us with dinner reservations, (making sure that their guests were well taken care of), day-trip recommendations, and nice bottles of wine that Thierry provides from his personal supply on request. Thierry is in the wine and champagne business and very knowledgable -- so if you are in Provence to enjoy nice french wine, this is the perfect host! They set up simple and tasty breakfast for us under the large trees each morning, complete with coffee, tea, juice, fresh pastries, etc -- a great start to each day.
We have already recommended Le Mas d'Anez to several friends, and hope that we can return some day.
* Tarascon: Le Mas D'Anez: "A wonderful base of operations for exploring Provence"
A TripAdvisor Member, Vermont Oct 8, 2005
My wife, 11-year-old daughter and I recently spent nine days at this wonderful inn in the Provencal countryside, situated in the countryside about a mile from the center of Tarascon. Built in the mid-1700s, it was recently renovated by the owners -- one a business consultant and marketing university professor, and his wife, an interior decorator. Their taste and sophistication are evident throughout. In the main "house" -- a classic stone country mansion -- is a pair of large, elegant, double bedrooms and a sumptuous private bath. These overlook the swimming pool and the owners' olive grove, and would make an ideal set-up for a family or friends travelling together.
Adjacent to the main house are two smaller ones, originally servant quarters but also recently restored and redecorated. We stayed in one of these -- a one-bedroom stone cottage that can accommodate four people by means of a fold-out bed in the living room. The kitchen is small but contains all the necessities. The pool is freely available to those staying in these buildings as well.
Photographs and more details on this wonderful home-away-from-home can be seen at at masdanez. The place is all that the site promises, and more. We found the owners to be very welcoming and gracious, and they gave us many excellent tips on local restaurants and attractions.
We selected Mas D'Anez not only because of its amenities and value, but also because of its location. It has plenty of its own charms as an authentic, untouristy and untouristed city on the Rhone. We enjoyed many strolls through the central city's narrow, ancient streets, and some excellent meals in its restaurants. Our only regret was not managing our time so that we could see the inside of the massive castle that dominates its river side.
The B&B’s location makes it ideal as a base of operations for exploring all of Provence, too. Tarascon is smack in the middle of the Avignon-Arles-St. Remy/Les Baux region, and only about 10 from each. Other cities, like Nimes and Marseilles, are also within easy reach (car or train), as is the Mediterranean coast (which we never found time to see)., Camargue and the Luberon.
To reach the B&B, we caught a super-fast TGV train right at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and in less than three hours were delivered straight to the Avignon TGV stop, where we rented a car outside the door. In no more than 30 minutes we were at Mas d'Anez.
On our second day there we walked into town, hopped a bus to Avignon (there are also direct trains) and rented bikes (from Holiday Bikes ... good outfit). We then rode back to the inn and used the bikes for roaming country roads ... on one day making it as far as Arles. More serious bikers could easily range farther.
One recommendation ... try to plan routes that follow the many white roads you'll see on the Michelin maps of the region. The yellow and red roads don't always have marked margins for bikes, and even when they do the 50-mph traffic doesn't always make for a relaxing ride. But much of the countryside is flat, and it's laced with quiet roads -- more like lanes -- that take you alongside orchards, fields, vineyards, farmhouses and the occasional Roman ruin. You can enter this network of roads within a couple of hundred yards of Mas D'Anez. We mainly used the car for quick runs to the bakery, butcher and other Tarascon shops for essential supplies; for after-dark excursions to restaurants; and for trips into the higher altitudes of Provence to explore its wonderful "perched" villages. It seemed crazy at first to rent both bikes and cars, but we found that it cost about the same to rent them for a week than for four or so days, and the flexibility made it worthwhile. As noted, you can walk from the inn into town, although traffic on the most direct route (on an unsidewalked, red road) makes it one you'd probably not want to do at night.
We're hoping to get back to Provence some day, and when we do we'll most return to the comforts of Mas D'Anez and its many nearby attractions.
