A stay in Provence
B&Bs and holiday cottages for exploring Provence Verte, its villages, vineyards and hills in the central Var.
Discover the properties
3 properties: B&Bs, holiday cottages and rentals
Garden or park
Meals with the hosts
Pool
Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume
Huts and yurts
In Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, three ecolodges invite couples to escape: a yurt and two cabins combining stone, wood and openings onto the sky. These unusual retreats pair comfort with a private spa and an intimate atmosphere, offering time together among Mediterranean plants.
Places to explore Sainte Baume · Aix-en-Provence · Sainte Victoire · Cotignac
Varages
Bed and breakfast and holiday cottages
In Varages, an 18th-century country house offers two guest rooms, three holiday rentals sleeping three to six and a family house for six to eight. The independent accommodation retains the character of the old buildings, among woods and olive trees. The owners’ passion for astronomy adds a distinctive view of the night sky to a stay in Provence Verte.
Places to explore Provence Verte · Lac de Sainte-Croix · Gorges du Verdon · Sainte Victoire
Charming Bed and breakfast and Gîte
In Bras, three rooms, a suite and holiday rentals for two to six guests bring new life to a former Templar farm. Comfortable interiors and terraces facing the vines preserve the feel of a lived-in estate. Between woodland paths, Provençal meals and horse rides, days follow the pace of the Provence Verte countryside.
Places to explore Saint Maximin · Sainte Baume · Cotignac · Brignoles
In the heart of the Var, Provence Verte combines vineyards, wooded hills and villages. Around Brignoles, Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume and Cotignac, a stay in a bed and breakfast or a holiday cottage offers a mix of heritage visits, markets and walks. Choose your base according to the places you want to explore: the minor roads connect quite different landscapes.
In Cotignac, the tufa cliff and its cave dwellings overlook the village. The plane-tree-lined Cours Gambetta brings together café terraces and fountains. Entrecasteaux, Carcès and Correns offer further stops among lanes, rivers and wine estates. Brignoles has an old centre to explore on foot, while Barjols is known for its fountains and former tanners’ quarters.
In Saint-Maximin, the Gothic basilica is one of the area’s main sights. Roads lead on towards the Sainte-Baume massif, its villages and woodland trails. Further east, Le Thoronet Abbey, built in the 12th century, reveals restrained Cistercian architecture arranged around the church and cloister.
Around Le Thoronet and Besse-sur-Issole, roads pass through vineyards and woods. The lake at Besse offers a waterside stop; to the south-east, the landscape continues towards the foothills of the Massif des Maures.
To the north and nearby, Sillans-la-Cascade, Salernes, Villecroze and Tourtour offer further outings. Aups, regarded as the capital of the Haut-Var, is a small market town at the gateway to the Verdon. Its lanes and medieval gateways can be explored on foot. The windmills of Régusse make another stop on the way towards the Verdon. To reduce driving, group visits by area rather than crossing the whole of central Var each day.
Spring and autumn suit walks and village visits. In summer, head out in the morning and check woodland access conditions. Winter brings truffle markets, notably in Aups.
Around Cotignac and Carcès, you will be close to villages and vineyards. Saint-Maximin suits visits to Sainte-Baume; the Le Thoronet area suits exploring eastern central Var. Check the village and precise location of each property on the owner’s website.
Visiting Provence Verte without a car is not very practical: public transport makes it difficult to travel between villages, abbeys and walking routes. A car is preferable for exploring the different areas.
