5 Great Local Restaurants on the French Riviera

Gastronomy is certainly a highlight of any trip to France, that said, navigating the French Riviera’s often touristy dining scene can be as difficult as navigating the area’s winding, congested roads. If you would like to stay clear of the packed, celebrated restaurants of la Cote d’Azur, such as Le Moulin de Mougins and La Chevre d’Or, but still have an excellent, authentic meal, grab a table at one of these insider suggestions from our France villa experts. (more…)

Our UltraVilla experts are constantly innovating, discovering exceptional new properties and filling us in on exclusive special offers on the world’s best luxury villas and apartments. From enjoying springtime in Paris and London to escaping from big city buzz in the Maldives and Montana, here’s this month’s inside scoop.

The Perfect Luxury Experience with Paris Perfect

One of our France experts, Paris Perfect, has just added a fantastic new address in one of the city’s loveliest squares: Place Dauphine. Situated at the tip of Ile de la Cité, within minutes walking distance from Notre Dame, Saint Germain, the Louvre and other main attractions, it’s the ideal location for exploring the city.

Two years of extensive renovations were carried out on the building to create a five-star luxury experience. It features a ground level studio apartment, four one-bedroom apartments and two extraordinary one-bedroom apartments that are duplexes with balconies overlooking Place Dauphine.

For a limited time they are offering guests who stay between April 12 and May 30, 2016 a 20% discount! (minimum 5 night booking required). To find out more information about Paris Perfect and to request a booking click here.

Your Own Parisian Haven with Haven in Paris

We stay on in Paris with the fabulous May deals by our experts at Haven in Paris. Springtime is one of the most magical times to visit the city. Many of their apartments are situated near one of the city’s lovely parks, like their Monceau apartment in the photo above.

This elegant two bedroom/two bathroom, a short walk from the famous Parc Monceau is the perfect pied à terre. You can take advantage of great last minute deals on this and their other fabulous Paris apartments for any bookings for the month of May. 

Mountain Magic with Montana Homes’s New Grizzly Creek

Across the world and far from the hustle and bustle of the city, Montana Homes has just added a wonderful new property: Grizzly Creek Ranch. Located in a breathtaking and ultra-private wilderness location at the edge of Yellowstone National Park, Grizzly Creek Ranch is a classy and comfortable retreat for up to 30 guests. This is the first time this exquisite property has been available and there is nothing else like it in the Rocky Mountain West.

Guests have exclusive use of six homes, a fabulous dining and event hall, a recreation barn, yoga and massage cabin, and the 2,000 acre ranch. Guided hiking on the ranch, campouts for the kids and meals prepared by a private chef are included. They can arrange a variety of add-on private activities such as Yellowstone Park tours, fly fishing instruction, river rafting, and on-site yoga and massage. It is also a unique venue for weddings and other events for groups of up to 100. For further information and booking, see Mountain Homes profile here.

The Ultimate Spa in the Maldives at Amilla Fushi

If the spectacular location of Amilla Fushi in the tropical Maldives was not already relaxing enough, the luxury resort is taking wellbeing to the next level. Its Javvu Spa, launched last October, has just announced a new partnership with the Clean and Lean Bodyism. Javvu Spa’s philosophy centers on a holistic approach to wellness, focusing on movement, spirituality and spa. As such, they have carefully chosen specialist spa brand partners such as PURE Massage, QMS and iLA. The partnership with Bodyism and its original concept furthers their respective commitments to combining physical and mental approach to wellness for a happier and healthier life.  

In addition to the new program partnership, the resort has created Wellness Tree Houses to enhance these wellbeing goals. Safely installed 12 meters up amongst the treetops, the private one-bedroom spa ‘nests’ have their own dedicated treatment suites, providing the utmost paradisiacal retreat. Stay tuned to our May newsletter for an exclusive invitation to discover this new offering or start dreaming today by looking at Amilla Fushi’s UltraVilla profile.

Special offer: Springtime in Chelsea with London Perfect

Experience London in bloom this spring with a great special offer for bookings in May and June on London Perfect’s Christchurch apartment. Located in the heart of Chelsea, this apartment is the optimal London base, especially for flower lovers as it’s just across the road from the famous Chelsea Flower Show.

The refined apartment is set on two levels, with beautiful decor and fine furnishings throughout. It has an elegant living room, modern eat-in kitchen, stylish separate dining room and two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms. A true highlight is its Italian-style garden. A rarity in London, it’s the perfect place to take in the longer spring days and milder weather of the season. Learn more about this elegant rental and the last minute special for May and June here.

Ever wondered what goes into planning a villa stay? “It’s a time-consuming process and the reason you may find me up at wee hours, fielding questions from three different time zones,” says Sylvia Delvaille Jones, one of UltraVilla’s general consultants. Recently, Sylvia and her “master curator” put together an itinerary for a family with children who will be staying at one of her villas in Provence this summer, and she offered to share it with us.

What follows is a goldmine of information about the towns, restaurants, and attractions in this popular region—created, says Sylvia, “by people I’ve worked with for many years. None of the daily programs is hurried; it’s important to us to immerse guests in the local environment—the flavors, the land, the people, the culture—with each day a different experience.” Note: Some of these activities can only be arranged through a guide with the right connections.

The program starts with a list of attractions that are situated within a 30-minute driving radius of the villa and a list of restaurant recommendations. The information below is all courtesy of Sylvia’s company, Villas and Apartments Abroad.

Local Attractions

St-Remy de Provence: Famed as the birthplace of Nostradamus, St-Remy was also where Vincent Van Gogh was interred, at his own request, in 1889. It offers good shopping and has many good local restaurants.

Les Baux de Provence: One of the jewels of the region, Les Baux de Provence is a must in your week’s stay. It is a bit further on from St-Remy de Provence and we have included it in the same day (below).

Avignon: Once the seat of the Papacy, the city has retained all of its walls and the imposing Palace of the Popes, a UNESCO World Heritage and the biggest Gothic construction in the world. There is great shopping to be had here and fantastic restaurants as well. Over the Rhone River is the town of Villeneuve les Avignon, and a visit to La Chartreuse, one of the biggest Carthusian settlements in Europe, is well worth it for anyone interested.

Wine tasting and olive-oil tasting: The region of Les Alpilles has some excellent vineyards well worth taking the time to discover. These vineyards often produce olive oil as well, and a tasting of both can easily be organized.

Honey tasting: Visit a producer that has been making honey for four generations. We can visit La Mielerie (where the honey is conditioned) and taste different kinds of honey, such as lavender, forest, rosemary, mountain plants.

Carrières de Lumières: A unique immersion into an artist’s work. The Carrières de Lumieres is a sound and light show in an old quarry near Les Baux de Provence. Every year the theme is changed, and for 2016 it is Chagall. You are literally surrounded by the works of the artist on the walls and the floor using the latest digital technology. It is a worthwhile visit after Les Baux de Provence or St-Remy de Provence. Another possibility is the privatization for your group after closing time, allowing the choice of theme to be shown. Past themes have been Klimt, Van Gogh, and Gauguin, Renaissance masters, and the artists inspired by the Mediterranean.

Le Jardin de l’Alchimiste: A private garden with the label “Jardin Remarquable,” which lists it as one of the most beautiful in the region. The garden is made up of five parts, starting with a maze, then the garden of magical plants, followed by the alchemist’s garden, which is presented in three separate parts represented by colors: black, white, and red. This could be a perfect visit to precede the essential oils workshop, perhaps in the morning.

Top Restaurant Recommendations

This list of Michelin-starred restaurants (all within a 35-minute drive of the villa) is not exhaustive but gives an idea of the possibilities the region offers. There are also many bistrots and more modest establishments in close proximity.

Oustau de Baumanière, Les Baux de Provence: This two-Michelin-starred restaurant is probably the local reference for fine dining. On the table, the present pays tribute to the past and the past allows the present to express its creativity. When the founding father, Raymond Thuilier, was chef, the cuisine was rich and creamy. His grandson, the present chef and owner Jean-André Charial, added his own touch, a purer, more subtle style concocting a colorful and lively cuisine.

La Maison de Bournissac, Noves. This one-Michelin-starred restaurant is the closest to the villa. The chef and owner, Christian Peyre, takes his inspiration from his native Provence often using produce from his own garden to complement the fresh local produce you will find in your plate.

Le Saule Pleureur, Monteux: Laurent Azoulay, a young chef who obtained his Michelin star in 2009, will delight your tastebuds in his restaurant where he remains faithful to traditional Provence cuisine, whilst stripping it of its heaviness and keeping the essential.

Christian Etienne, Avignon: Christian Etienne is a man of strong passions—a passion for cooking, of course, but also a passion for life and a passion for Provence. His menus echo this passion, and often you will find an entire special menu based on a single product if it is exceptional enough! He has one Michelin star.

Six-Day Itinerary

Your tour coordinator will be at the airport in Marseille to meet you with three Mercedes V Class vehicles. A separate baggage transfer can be put in place if you have a lot of luggage.

Sunday, July 17

Isle sur la Sorgue Sunday market

This morning you will discover L’Isle sur la Sorgue. The main market itself is a myriad of colors and smells as you wander through the market stalls, but here is the antique market as well as the antique dealers in what is the second biggest antique buyers’ platform in Europe. Your guide will also show you some of the 14 remaining water wheels (there where once over 70), witnesses of the city’s milling industry, as well as the Church of Notre-Dame-des-Anges, one of the finest Baroque churches in Provence. We will depart from Isle sur la Sorgue at noon and return to the villa for lunch.

Wine tasting at the villa

A comprehensive wine tasting of the finest offerings from the Rhone Valley with sommelier Kelly McAuliffe. We can base the tasting on the region’s finest or go further afield with wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Alsace, and Champagne. The form of the tasting can be a predinner tasting of several local wines with delicious nibbles to accompany, followed by a tasting menu concocted by Kelly and our chef. (The choice of wines will need to be made as far in advance as possible especially if you wish to obtain rare vintages.) Kelly McAuliffe has been the only American sommelier working in France for the past 17 years. After doing an internship in Alain Ducasse’s three-star Michelin restaurant in Paris, Kelly was asked to run his new chic restaurant in Monaco, which was filled with international celebrities. Eventually he was asked by the chef to run his uber-successful restaurant back in Paris called Spoon. He left Chef Ducasse to be the head sommelier at Michelin-starred restaurant Christian Etienne in Avignon to be closer to his wife and family. This also allowed Kelly to meet and befriend the best wine makers in the Rhone. He is now a specialist of the Rhone and instructs professionals from around the world about its wonderful wines. After six years in Avignon, Chef Ducasse convinced Kelly to run his hugely successful restaurant in Las Vegas called Mix at the top of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Kelly was then offered the French wine specialist position at Southern Wine & Spirits in Las Vegas. On a daily basis he would work with the best sommeliers and master sommeliers of Las Vegas. Now back in Provence, Kelly shares his knowledge and passion for wine as few others can.

Monday, July 18, 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m.

Canoeing on the Gardon and Pont du Gard

This morning we will drive to Collias, a small town on the banks of the River Gardon. Here you will meet at 10 a.m. with your canoe guides for the morning, who will lead you down the Gardon River by canoe, an easy activity for all levels. There will be two people per canoe and two guides for the group. On your journey you will pass underneath the stunning Pont du Gard (above), offering a beautiful perspective of this formidable monument. Built in the first century A.D., the Pont du Gard is the highest of all Roman aqueduct bridges and is, with the Aqueduct of Segovia, one of the best preserved. It was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1985 because of its historical importance. Once 44 million gallons of water flowed here every day, supplying the citizens of Nimes. At the end of your canoe ride, one of our “rustic chic” picnics will be waiting for you on the banks of the river with delicious local produce, pastries, cheeses, charcuterie, fresh fruit, and of course a drop of local rosé wine. The picnic will be organized in a public area, so we will possibly not be alone. After lunch we have a rendezvous at the Pont du Gard with an exceptional VIP visit of the aqueduct. From 160 feet above the Gardon riverbed, you can admire the surrounding region and marvel at the quality of Roman construction, which still stands strong after 2,000 years.

Tuesday, July 19, 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

Camargue Private Manade Tour

For this tour we will drive into the heart of the Camargue (above) to meet with your hosts, who will take you on a private visit of their working manade, a traditional Camargue farm. Their manade has won more prizes than any other manade in Camargue, for its bull raising. Your hosts will explain their daily lives as we discover this wild wetland, which is also home to native pink flamingos, herons, storks, and many other beautiful birds. You’ll have lunch on site, then drive back toward the villa with an optional stop in Arles to visit the Roman Arena.

Wednesday, July 20, 9 a.m.–12 p.m.

St-Remy de Provence Market

Today it is market day in nearby St-Remy de Provence, which offers some good shopping opportunities for souvenirs and local produce; the children could maybe have the task of buying some local fruit and vegetables for their cooking class later this afternoon. One of our favorite places to visit and taste are Joel Durand’s chocolate shop, where his famous chocolate alphabet proposes a different chocolate for every letter of the alphabet as well as six punctuation marks! Also there is Premiers Pression Provence (also in Les Baux de Provence), where you can taste olive oils and tapenades. (Premiers Pression Provence was founded by Olivier Baussan, the founder of L’Occitane en Provence, and his first shop outside of France is in Hong Kong.) Historically, St-Remy is the birth town of Nostradamus, but aside from a statue and a plaque on the door of the house where he was born there is not a lot to be seen. However Vincent Van Gogh spent a year in the asylum of St-Paul de Mausole, which can be visited. There is also the archaeological site of Glanum, where the ruins of the original Roman settlement in St-Remy de Provence can be found, as well as the triumphal arch and mausoleum.

Cooking Workshop at the Villa

Celebrity chef Yvan Cadiou will come to the villa this afternoon for a pastry cooking workshop with the children (but the adults can join in!), which the entire group will be able to taste at dinnertime. Yvan will also be preparing tonight’s dinner, and so an impromptu cooking session with him in the kitchen will be possible whilst he prepares. Yvan was born in Brittany and has received classic French training in the kitchens of the Ritz Hotel and the Crillon Hotel. He then began life as a chef-traveler, cooking with celebrity and Michelin-starred chefs from England to the Algarve, to Barbados, Spain, luxury homes on the Côte d’Azur—all the while learning cooking traditions and combining his passions for fresh, local ingredients with creative cuisine. He did several shows on French national TV which have appeared worldwide and even created a theatrical cooking show which met with critical acclaim in Marseille. His flamboyant style and creativity will make this an unforgettable treat for the participants as well as the rest of the group, who will taste his food at dinner.

Thursday, July 21, 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

Lavender and Luberon Tour

Today we will leave the villa and set off for the lavender fields of Provence. We will start with the drive to the Plateau de Sault, a 70-minute drive. Here you will discover the amazing fields of lavender that are picture-postcard perfect! We will visit a traditional distillery, its owner a “nose” keen to the subtle variations of the scents of lavender. You will have an opportunity to buy essential oils and other lavender products there, perfect as gifts.(We cannot guarantee that the distillery will be working as this depends on the dates of the lavender harvest.) We will then drive the very short distance to the town of Sault where you can discover the delights of André Boyer’s nougat shop (and delicious homemade ice creams), as well as Yves and Virginie, a fantastic charcuterie shop where you can find an unbelievable selection of hams, patés, and saussicons to take home for the evening’s aperitif. Lunch today can be either in Monieux at Les Lavandes, a local restaurant serving excellent meals at very reasonable prices, or Le Bistro de Lagarde, a 20-minute drive and one of the best-kept secrets in the region. This restaurant is off the beaten track, but today is perfectly positioned for us. Its chef, Lloyd Tropeano, had an incredible local following, and those in the know kept quiet. However, he was awarded a Michelin star in 2013 and the word got out. After lunch we will continue on to Roussillon (35 minutes) and maybe take a stroll in the ochre deposits before arriving at Gordes (14 minutes) to admire the view of probably the most iconic village in the region before heading back to the villa (35 minutes).

Friday, July 22, 9 a.m.–12:35 p.m.

Les Baux de Provence

Les Baux de Provence (above) is one of the most beautiful villages in France. Perched on a rocky outcrop, the village is crowned by the ruins of the medieval castle, which the children will love. We will take the scenic route along the interestingly named Val d’Enfer (Valley of Hell), which comes out above the village, offering a stunning panorama of the village on arrival. In summer there are demonstrations of the catapults and knights sword fighting, as well as a blacksmith. The village itself is extremely picturesque and historically fascinating, but being very beautiful it is also very popular with tourists, hence the morning visit. Olive-oil and wine tasting can also be planned today.

Sylvia’s company, Villas & Apartments Abroad, has properties all over the world, including luxury villas, smart city apartments and yachts. The above itinerary was designed for a family stay at a large private estate in Provence. For more information or to book a stay, contact Sylvia through Ultravilla.com.