Provence Dream Chateau

Located in Uchaux, this Provence Dream Chateau is a divine escape for those who desire peace one can only find nestled in the country. Known for its Lavender fields, hilltop villages, markets, and wineries, there is much to see in and around Uchaux and Provence. You will find serenity everywhere you go, including the mundane things like taking a walk through the fields or sitting at a corner cafe sipping your cafe au lait with a spongy and delicious Madeleine or a classic buttery croissant.

Make your way back to the chateau where the modernized Provencal medieval stone cottage with new upgrades, a private pool, and an air-conditioned living space awaits.

Master the art of French Cuisine in the fully equipped kitchen that offers plenty of space to store and cook with fresh fruits, vegetables, and loaves of bread you picked up from the local market. The cottage has a booklet with a list of market days for all the towns that are a close drive. The stone walls, stainless steel appliances, and natural light create the most incredible ambiance upon entering. A large wood table sits within the space, making each meal that much more fresh and delightful.

The living room is warm and inviting with cozy seating perfect for settling in with a book and a blanket or watching a movie on the flat-screen television.

With two bedrooms, two bathrooms, fresh bed linens, and towels, comfort is a top priority while you prepare and end the day. Both bathrooms have been renovated with modern designs. The first bedroom, the master suite, offers two single beds that can be pushed together to create a perfect king. The second bedroom boasts a french double bed with charming details and views from the window.

Additional benefits include cable channels, free wifi, and private parking.

The garden is luscious and green with rosemary growing, lounge options, and a grill for dining al fresco. Make your way beyond the safe enclosure, and you can walk, hike or bike through town to discover all the beauty surrounding Uchaux. You will pass through miles of rustic, sun-drenched Cotes du Rhone vineyards, gray-green olive groves, fruit orchards, and fertile grain and lavender fields beyond the chalet.

Located along a narrow lane in the tiny village of Hauteville, Uchaux is set in the wine region of the Rhone Valley. It is nestled between the vineyards of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and 10 km from the Roman monuments of Orange. Visit cultural sites such as the Ancient Theater of Orange and the Arc de Triomphe. There are festivals in the surrounding cities during the summer months, including the Chorégies d’Orange and the Avignon Festival.

A perfect “staycation” destination, in the heart of Uchaux, the house is located in a small peaceful hamlet where your privacy and tranquility will be respected. Close to various cultural sites, you can enjoy local wines (Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Rasteau, Seguret and many others), Roman monuments such as the Ancient Theater of Orange and the Arc de Triomphe. In the summer season you can enjoy the prestigious Chorégies d'Orange and the Avignon Festival, hiking, visits to nearby historic towns and heritage sites.

This very recently upgraded, expanded, and modernized Provencal medieval cottage is located along a narrow lane in the tiny village of Hauteville, Uchaux. It is a two minute walk from the Renaissance era Chateau de Masillan, part of which can be seen from the property. Travel times by car are three minutes to the village of Uchaux, and 20 minutes to Orange.

From this comfortable, rural home base you can spend two weeks or more making easy day trips in literally every direction to see many scenic cultural, historical, and natural treasures. Farther below you will find a list and description of some of the most famous and compelling of these sites, along with an estimated one-way travel time. (The list will be supplemented with more sites, and is currently a work in progress.)

Beginning a few dozen steps beyond the cottage and continuing all the way to the major tourist sites, you will pass through mile upon mile of bucolic, sun-drenched Cotes du Rhone vineyards, gray-green olive groves, fruit orchards, and billowing fields of grain and lavender, with the fertile lowlands punctuated by medieval-era towns clustered around the hilltops.

The greater Rhone Valley, the nearby uplands, and the Mediterranean coast are deeply layered in natural beauty, as well as the spectacular to mundane remnants of many millennia of human occupation. In addition to being an agricultural cornucopia, nature has blessed the region with hills and mountains, natural bridges, clear-flowing streams, and gray to white limestone gorges and plateaus which are honeycombed with hundreds of caves. Adventurous visitors can take to the region's various rivers in canoe or kayak, and hike and bike in many places.

In time-misted prehistory back to 30,000 years ago, intrepid Paleolithic Ice Age hunter-gatherers ventured deep into several of the area's caves to paint surprisingly modern images of the animals of their world. Pre-history merged into history, bestowing the region with a panoply of fascinating gems of evolving high culture, including pre-Roman Gallic oppidiums (fortified hill towns) which co-existed with Greek colonies clustered along the sparkling azure waters of that ancient aqueous superhighway, the Mediterranean. The Romans left a splendid architectural stamp, consisting of awesome aqueducts, triumphal arches, arenas, amphitheaters, temples, and town ruins. As pagan gave way to Christian and the stable Pax Romana decayed into the turbulent medieval period, sumptuous cathedrals, abbeys, castles, and palaces rose to please God and serve man. The vibrant modern cities and towns boast architecture from the ancient to the Renaissance to the modern. The traveler in this bounteously beautiful land looks heavenward to impossibly scenic, castle-crowned hill towns. Above it all, blue in the far distance, the entire region is presided over by the outline of Mount Ventoux, easternmost manifestation of the mighty Alps.

Every sizable Provencal town has its weekly market day. You must consider your stay in Provence incomplete without a visit to at least one! The cottage has a booklet with a list of market days for all the towns within easy driving distance. At the markets you will find a profusion of tables filled with agricultural bounty in the form of fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices, lavender, flowers, meats, poultry, and fish. In addition, there are various local specialties and locally prepared and pre-cooked food items, which are guaranteed to quell your hunger on the spot or later upon plan or impulse. The ladies and the artsy men will enjoy the clothes and the local arts and crafts. And for the fellows (and the few gals) who don't like to go shopping . . . take it from a man who is a committed shopping dis-liker -- unless you are agoraphobic, a trip to a Provencal market will be an entertaining and memorable experience. The buzz and bustle of people; the intimate mix of sounds and smells -- and the vivid colors, with the emphatically unique local splash of lavender-laden Provencal purple! Forever-after you will understand why some of the French impressionists found in this region a cornucopia of hue-leavened inspiration.