by Gary / 0 comments - Orginally published:16th March 2018
How a movie sparked our interest
We've racked our brains, and we don't know why we settled down to watch Ridley Scott's 'A Good Year'.
The movie, for those that haven't seen it, is the tale of a City trader, Max (played by Russell Crowe), who inherits his uncle's tired chateaux in Provence.
Initially, he just plans to sell it, as life is in London. However … well, I won't give too much away, but he is charmed by that little pocket of France, and maybe Fanny Chenal (played by Marion Cotillard) had something to do with it.
Why not Pin it for later?
Our route through Provence
Where we stayed
These are the all the locations we stayed at on this trip. The ones with gold stars relate to our Provence locations;
Beaune - Hôtel La Villa Fleurie
Avignon - Maison d'Hôtes Avignon La Banasterie
Arles - Hôtel de l'Amphithéâtre
Grasse - Maison Saint Christophe
Gap - Accomodation no longer there
Lyon - Hotel Carlton Lyon
Auxerre - Hotel Le Maxime
Planning a Provence Road Trip
This was our versionWe aimed to head towards the Vaucluse region, and we picked the fine city of Avignon as our first stop in the area. However, the journey from Calais to Avignon was over 600 miles or nearly 1,000kms, so we decided to pick a stopover mid-way'ish' at Beaune just 370miles/600km from Calais.
Place Carnot, Beaune
Our planned route for the whole trip was a mix of two-night stopovers at the following locations;
Beaune (from Calais 378miles/609km)
Avignon (from Beaune 238miles/384km)
Arles (from Avignon 27miles/43km)
Grasse (from Arles 191miles/308km)
Gap (from Grasse 127miles/205km)
Lyon (from Gap 146miles/235km)
Auxerre (from Lyon 188miles/302km, to Calais 296miles/476km)
I'll cover details of the whole trip in a later post, but here we're focusing on 'A Good Year'
Our Gateway to France
This journey, like so many of ours, starts with the Eurotunnel. I always plan my travels from the moment I arrive in Calais because I consider the shuttle part of the trip so easy. It pays to book well in advance as the prices increase as you get closer to your departure date.
Driving to Provence
Our chariot of choiceWith a heavy heart, I had to discount my Audi TT Roadster. Sure, it would have been great to have cruised through France with the wind in our hair, but alas, the boot (or trunk - whatever you want to call it) was a challenge to get sufficient clothes in for the break. We had yet to learn the art of careful packing. (Not sure we have yet to be honest!)
The Audi S3 in the south of France.
So we had to 'make-do' with her sister, Janis's Audi S3. As you'd expect, the car was fabulous, and Janis has shoes for all occasions.
Crit'Air vignette required for driving in France
If you’re heading to France from the UK with your own vehicle, you’ll need a Crit’Air ‘clean air’ car sticker.
Just like our low-emission zones in the UK, France now legally requires the display of a Crit’Air vignette. The good news is, these stickers are readily available and affordable online through the official French government website.
The Crit’Air sticker lasts the lifetime of the vehicle, so it’s a one-off purchase. The RAC website offers an in-depth guide to everything you need to know and your requirements.
The very best of Provence
Heading for 'A Good Year'So after a couple of nights in Beaune, we'd head on to our next destination of Avignon. With the towns & villages of the region being our 'A Good Year' backdrop.
The Pont d'Avignon at dusk
Avignon as a destination was splendid. Granted the sun shone, the food was fabulous & we were introduced to the wine of Lirac. It's also worth noting the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is just over 10miles/17kms away.
From here we headed towards Gordes & Bonnieux, the key filming locations, all set within the Luberon Natural Regional Park.
The town of Gordes
Driving through the countryside with the heavy scent of Provence, it was like walking into L'Occiatane. It's also the reason why their products feature in our bathroom to this day!
The view from Bonnieux
We also discovered a little further afield - heading just 15miles/24kms from Avignon to the splendid Pont du Gard.
The Pont du Gard
A little dated?
As with so many movies, it dates a little. However, not the beautiful locations of Provence. When Max taunts the French cyclists at the roadside, he chooses "Lance Armstrong" as his weapon of choice, oh how the mighty have fallen.
Discovering Provence
Sticking with the regionAfter two short nights in Avignon, we moved onto Arles. A beautiful city, with its fantastic amphitheatre and blessed with a golden light that made it Vincent van Gogh's home for a little over a year.
The Roman Amphitheatre in Arles
It also typified the lifestyle that lured Max to up sticks from his City job.
The quiet streets of Arles
Windows in Arles
We loved this phase of our road trip, but we had further adventures planned, so after two short nights we were on the road again and headed up the Côte d'Azur
The wonderful Corniche d'Or on the Cote d'Azur
If you love Provence as much as we do, you'll want to start planning your visit now.
I so enjoy using the DK Eyewitness books, as they are extremely informative, easy to follow and the pictures and maps tempt you into discovering more.
We used a previous version of this book to plan our Provencal road trip, now you can grab the revised copy.
More of Provence
But the story doesn't end thereSo the movie still got watched, and we still had an itch. So in 2012, we went south again.
The Audi S5 at the roadside in Provence
I had upgraded the Audi TT, and now I had an Audi S5 Convertible. We had a proper amount of space for luggage (Nope, still not learnt to cut back on the packing!). The 2012 road trip needed planning…
Your own adventure
As you can see, we drove from the UK. However, why not fly into Marseille or Nice (Visit ebookers.com for the best flight offerings), and then check out Rental Cars for your wheels and start exploring?
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