Children's Activites

There are endless ways for children to have fun while exploring Provence. Below are some helpful ideas and links your children might enjoy. Keep mind that most villages will have an Office de Tourisme - where you will find lots of information regarding activities within a few miles of your rental property.

Canoe and Kayak: Fontaine de Vaucluse

Float in canoes or kayaks down the Sorgue River, between Fontaine-de-Vaucluse and Isle-sur-la- Sorgue, with professional guide. Beautiful scenery, crystal clear water, stunning countryside between Fontaine de Vaucluse and Isle sur la Sorgue. The trip takes between 1 and 2 hours. Children are welcome, under 6 are the guide's responsibility. On site there is a restaurant-snack bar, changing cabins, picnic area.

Tel. : 04 90 20 35 44
kayakvert@aol.com
www .canoefrance.com/sorgue/

Boat Ride near the Cliffs of Cassis on the Mediterranean Sea:

The picturesque port of Cassis, well worth a visit in its own right, is an excellent starting point to visit the impressive Calanques (cliffs) along the coast. The extraordinary topography of the Calanques makes it difficult to get to many of them, except by boat. In the main port near Cassis you will find a ticket booth offering 45 minutes-1.5 hr boat rides along these impressive cliffs.

Hiking & Biking:

There are endless opportunities to hike and bike throughout the Provence--in the Luberon, les Alpilles, along the Med coastline near Cassis. There is an extensive system of interconnected trails and paths, and the trails are normally very well marked. Most town or village tourist offices can give you information (in English) on a the hiking trails in the general area.

For bike rentals - Click Here

Lavender Museum - near Gordes

The lavender museum presents the history of the distillation of this ancient plant and its uses in medicines and perfumes for over 4000 years. A sumptuous collection of copper stills dating from the 16th century to today has been assembled for over twenty years. From July 1 to August 25, you can watch the work of reaping and distillation.

Address:
Route de Gordes 84220 Coustellet
Luberon - Provence
Phone : 04 90 76 91 23

Chocolate & Biscuit Factory: Outside of Avignon

The AUJORAS chocolate and biscuit factory is situated on the D 28 just 10 minutes from Avignon. This chocolate factory invites you to come and see the making of high quality chocolate and biscuits. A visit includes a guided tour and tasting.

You will discover all the work stations: the preparation of liqueur sweets coated in chocolate, the making and cooking of biscuits and their packaging.

Guided tours are offered daily from Monday to Saturday (Throughout the year with the exception of two weeks in August)

Reservation obligatory at 04 90 93 48 87 or
e-mail: aujoras@portes-ouvertes.com
Duration : 1h

Le Musée de la Boulangerie / Bakery Museum - Bonnieux

Retrace the history of baking and wheat growing technologies, the wheat crop, milling and bread making throughout the ages. Beautiful collection of daily objects. The Museum is in a lovely old 17th century house which formerly held ovens and tools. Free for children under 12.

Open from March to November
Open from 10am to 12pm / 15h-18h30. In summer, every day except Tuesday For groups, associations and communities, visit all year round by appointment

Address:
12 rue de la République
84480 BONNIEUX
Tel. : 04 90 75 88 34
Fax : 04 90 20 53 45
Email: museedelaboulangerie@cg84.fr
Web: http://www.vaucluse.fr/2379-musee-de-la-boulangerie.htm

Goat Cheese Farms

Visit your nearest Tourism Office for the goat cheese farmer near your rental villa

An authentic product of the Provençal terroir...
Provence is the home of many goat cheese farmers. Visit the goat-cheese farms and meet the cheese makers. Discover the various flavors of this tasty cheese: half-dry or soft, with different aging or "affinage.".

Village des Bories (ancient little stone buildings): near Gordes

Kids will be intrigued by Bories that dot the countryside - little stone buildings originally built in prehistoric times and continually rebuilt since. The Village of the Bories outside of Gordes is a wonderful family cultural and historical visit. This is a restored community of old stone houses, animal pens and other stone buildings from the 18th century.

Coming from Avignon, take the A7 motorway to Cavaillon, then the D973 for 250 m and the D2 for 15 km in the direction of Gordes. Finally, take the D15 for 2 km.

Coming from Aix-en-Provence, take the A7 to Cavaillon and follow the same directions as above.

Website: Villages Des Bories
Tel : +33 (0)4 90 72 03 48.
Open every day from 9am to sundown. Non-guided tours. Duration : approx. 30 minutes.

Barben Zoo: near Lambesc and Pelissane

Lovely Zoo in a natural setting. Located on a plateau overlooking the Salon region, La Barben's zoo allows you to enjoy the Mediterranean countryside and view of the surrounding hills... 9 kms of paths in a verdant park.

The zoo is open every day of the year, from 10am to 6pm.
December and January : from 10am to 5.30pm
July and August : from 9.30am to 7pm

Website

Bike Rentals

Bike rentals for all locations can be arranged through Luberon Biking.

TGV

Car Rentals

Coming Soon

Before You Come

Before you come to France, keep in mind…

Money

Bring a bank card for cash withdrawals from ATM machines in France. Your bank account will be charged the equivalent in of the Euros you withdraw. ATMs are widely available throughout France. We suggest getting cash from the airport ATMs when you land in Europe. You may need cash right away for tolls, parking, shopping at an open market, etc.

American Express Travelers checks are no longer accepted in most parts of France—don’t bother to bring them. Visa and Mastercard are universally accepted, but either may charge a 2 to 3% surcharge on every purchase made in a foreign currency. American Express Cards are generally not accepted. You may want to call your card provider in advance to tell them you will be in France.

• Currency Conversion

Gadgets

If you bring a hairdryer, make sure it is able to accept up to 240 volts. If not, most houses have hairdryers already. Don’t bother to bring your 110 volt hairdryer.

For any other dual voltage (110-240 volts) electric items you will need a France plug adaptor only - not a voltage converter. Tri-band cell phones, digital cameras, PDAs, I-pods, razors and laptop computers are almost universally dual voltage, but check to be sure.

Telephones

You will find the phone number to the villa you reserved on the driving directions found on the villa’s individual web page.

Cellular

For cell phone coverage, you will need your own tri-band phone or else to rent a SIM card or cell phone for France. Cellhire can deliver either to your home before you leave.

If you will not come with a cell phone, think about bringing an international calling card with local access numbers. International and France domestic calling cards are widely available in France at Tobacco and newspaper shops.

Dialing instructions:
France’s international country code is 33
From within France dial 04 90 59 10 76 (an example of a standard domestic number)
Dialing France:
From the United States or Canada: 011 33 490 59 10 76
From elsewhere in Europe 00 33 490 59 10 76
NOTE: The above examples drop the first 0 from the France domestic number.

Dialing out of France:
Dialing internationally from France, just dial 00 the country code and number.

GPS Navigation

We highly advise either bringing or renting GPS while in Provence. This is especially helpful on check-in day when you might be tired from travel. In addition, some of the larger towns can be difficult to navigate and a GPS makes it that much easier to get to directly to your destination.

Suggested Reading

FYI: We have not found Lonely Planet books to be suitable to the luxury traveler.

Other Tools

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