Family Holidays: Provence family holidays and breaks

Take the Family holiday rating 4 stars out of 5

Why

Arguably the best destination in France, the region of Provence ranges from the Southern Alps to the Côte d'Azur. It is famous for its medieval hilltop villages, its fields of lavender, the flamingos and white horses of the Camargue, the Roman ruins in Arles, Orange and Vienne, ancient monasteries, wonderful beaches and the list goes on, not to mention its superb cuisine, summer sunshine, fabulous wines and beautiful coastline. Amazingly, despite its enormous popularity, (not least with the rich and famous), it is relatively unscathed. You will have to pick and choose a little with a family, there is a danger of suffering cultural overload, but a well placed ice cream or gruesome tale of medieval torture might persuade them into the next museum.

Provence Cafe Terrace at Notre Dame de Dom

Top left: Provence Gorge du Verdon
Top middle: Provence Cafe Terrace at Notre Dame de Dom
Top right: Provence Ornament in costume

Bottom left: Provence Pont Sainte Catherine
Bottom right: Provence Palais des Pape

When

Best times to enjoy Provence are from mid-April through October. Note that it can get hot in the summer months. During spring is lavender season; temperatures are still high and there will be several hours of the region's famous light.

How

Direct flights to Nice and Marseilles start from around £100, and take about 2 hours, or fly to Paris from £50 and pick up a domestic flight to Avignon, Toulon or Nimes. Alternatively, take Eurostar to Paris or Lille and pick up the TGV to take you down to Avignon, all for around £115 return. A fortnight's camping at Castellane (good for Avignon and Orange) including the ferry crossing is from £300. Check Expedia Flights and British Airways for flight deals.

Stay

Provence has some excellent hotels, apartments and wonderful holiday villas. For anything from an eighteenth century boutique hotel in Nimes to apartments in Aix en Provence check Expedia holidays for their huge range of accommodation. Depending on your location, it may be well worth also considering hiring a car for your trip. Try Take the Family's car hire page.

Do

Why not take your kids on a real life history lesson, the medieval hilltop villages of Gordes, Les Baux, Saignon and Entrecasteaux are fascinating; go to Avignon for its spectacular monuments, papal history and excellent museums. Fuel their imaginations with a visit to La Camargue for its unearthly landscapes and fairytale horses or nuture nature at Haute-Provence Park Mercantour, a wonderful Alpine gem whose flora contains more than 2000 vegetable species. Finally, don't forget the beaches of the Côte d'Azur, which will break your bank balance, but make your children very happy and dreaming of the time when they too will be rich and famous and able to buy a cliff top villa. Don't forget also to leave most of the day to planning and eating your meals.

Eat

In our opinion, the real star of Provence is its cuisine, which must rank as one of the best in the world. There is nothing quite like sitting outside on a summer evening with a good glass of local wine and a table of Provencal food in front of you. Olive oil, garlic, basil and tomatoes are the staple Provencal ingredients; pistou and aioli are well known. Fish and seafood rather than meat, features on most traditional menus, usually accompanied with vegetable dishes such as ratatouille or courgette flowers. Cheeses are usually from goat or ewes milk and the fruit is to die for; Muscat grapes, melons, white peaches, apricots, figs and cherries. Some of France's best wine is produced in the Côtes du Rhone vineyards to the North or the vineyards along the coast of southern Provence. If your kids mention Mcdonalds leave them there.

Cost

From around £160 per person for a seven night break in a self catering apartment, including flights. Return flights from London to Marseille cost around £100.