Simpson Travel Villa d'Olea

• Beautifully restored house set in 20 acres
• In the heart of the Luberon
• Far reaching views
• Large private heated swimming pool
• Gordes 12-minute drive

Your accommodation only price includes:

• Villa
• Welcome pack
• Pre-departure & overseas concierge services
• ABTA bonding

Layout

• 5 bedroom house (sleeps 10)

Ground floor (main house)

• Open-plan living/dining room/kitchen area with oven, hob, coffee maker, kettle, fridge, freezer and dishwasher
• Double bedroom (180cm bed, can be converted into twin beds on request) with corner sink and antique bath
• Triple air-conditioned bedroom (90cm beds, or single and double 180cm bed) with en-suite shower room
• WC
• Laundry room

First floor suite

• Double air-conditioned bedroom (160cm bed)
• Bathroom with shower
• WC
• Small library with single bed (90cm bed)

Poolhouse

• Well-equipped summer kitchen
• Double bedroom (180cm bed, can be converted into twin beds on request), leads to pool terrace
• Shower room with WC

Guest cottage

• Living room
• Kitchen
• Double bedroom (180cm bed, can be converted into twin beds on request)
• Bathroom with WC

General

• Complimentary WiFi
• Simpson Travel telephone representative
• Washing machine and dryer
• Cot (linen supplied on request) and highchair
• Full service telephone
• Satellite/cable television, DVD and CD players, iPod dock
• Heating included
• Open fireplace
• Wood burning stove
• Plancha and barbecue
• French grand piano
• Table tennis
• Boules court
• Private swimming pool 15m x 6m (depth 1.1m – 2.5m), electric security cover, corner steps, surface-and-underwater music system, pool can be heated to 27°C weather permitting (€250 per week – payable in cash on arrival), open May to end September
• Due to the number of steps to the entrance and the multiple levels within the villa, this property may not be suitable for young children or guests with limited mobility

Getting there

• Airports

  Avignon 27km
  Marseille 73km
  Nîmes 90km
  Montpellier 104km

• TGV stations

  Avignon 36km
  Orange 57km
  Miramas 58km
  Aix-en-Provence 77km
  Nîmes 79km
  Arles 86km

Key Information

• Restaurant (les Imberts) 6min drive
• Shops (Coustellet) 10min drive
• Gordes 12min drive
• Roussillon 20min drive
• Marseille airport 1hr drive

Villages

• Coustellet (5.5km) – basic shops and services, good bakery, best deli in the area and a supermarket
• Cabrières-d’Avignon (5km) – groceries
• Gordes (5km) – restaurants, cafés and a grocery store
• Ménerbes (7km) – bakery, various small shops, restaurants and cafés
• Goult (7km)
• Roussillon (12km)
• Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (16km) – nearest supermarket

Towns

• Cavaillon (14km)
• Apt (21km)
• Avignon (42km)
• Aix-en-Provence (65km)

Market Days

• Coustellet – Sundays – farmer’s market and some brocantes; it is very popular and gets busy so aim to get there quite early
• Isle-sur-la-Sorgue – Sundays – famous antique and food market (be prepared for big crowds in the summer)
• Goult, Cavaillon, Cadenet – Mondays
• Gordes, Fontaines-de-Vaucluse – Tuesdays
• Rousillon, St-Rémy – Wednesdays
• Oppède-le-Vieux, Maussane, Robion – Thursdays
• Bonnieux, Eygalières, Lourmarin – Fridays
• Uzes, Oppède, St-Rémy, Apt – Saturdays

Recommended Restaurants

• Coustellet (5.5km) – Babouchka, Gavin
• Ménerbes (7km) – La Veranda, La Galounet, Délices de Charlotte
• Maubec (9km) – La Bergerie
• Goult (7km) – Le Tonneau, La Terrasse, Café de la Poste, La Bartavelle
• Bonnieux (16km) – Le Fournil

Places to See

• The Luberon Valley is known for its beautiful hilltop villages, its natural park and  vineyards, it also hosts some of the great music and theatre festivals of France
• Gordes is listed as ‘one of the most beautiful villages of France’, arriving on the D2 is spectacular; it is best to park in the car park (turn left at the roundabout in the village centre, the car park is on your left); Gordes is busier on Tuesday mornings due to the market
• Abbaye de Sénanque – the abbey is one of the most beautiful and most photographed monuments of Provence, particularly during the lavender season (end June/July); the monks have been living there since the 12th-century and sell some of their home produce.; there are several footpaths from the abbey into the hills
• Bories Village is situated outside Gordes off the D2, it gets very busy in the summer months so it is wise to arrive early; the ancient dwellings known as ‘bories’ are dry stone buildings made from ‘lauzes’ (limestone slabs) and date back to 2000BC
• The Moulins de Bouillons Museum (closed Tuesdays) – olive presses dating back to the 16th-century; situated near the house on the road to St Pantaléon; some local olive oil is still made there
• The Lavender Museum is based in Coustellet on the D2; presentation of distillation processes used to make essential oils (16th-century to present day)
• Roussillon is considered one of the most impressive villages in France; situated in the heart of one of the biggest ochre deposits in the world; famous for its magnificent red cliffs and ochre quarries
• Goult is a peaceful village with some half-dozen restaurants and a few shops; has resisted the temptation of village sprawl and souvenir shops; ranks among the Luberon’s most delightful villages
• Oppède-le-Vieux – leave your car in the car park and walk up the terraced gardens to the old village; the old village remains quite unspoilt
• Ménerbes is built at the top of a hill at the foot of the Luberon, visible due south from the terrace at the house
• Corkscrew Museum displays historical, technical and artistic aspects of the corkscrew from the 17th-century to present day
• Lacoste is another beautiful hilltop village, fun to explore on foot, situated in the grounds of ruins of the Marquis de Sade’s castle (recently bought by Pierre Cardin), open for concerts during the Cardin festival in July
• Bonnieux is one more beautiful hilltop village with two churches; walk up the stairs opposite the Fournil restaurant to the top of the hill for a dramatic 360 degree view
• Fontaines-de-Vaucluse is the source of the Sorgue river and runs underground in the closed valley above the town
• Isle-sur-la-Sorgue’s main street is lined with watermill wheels and is the antique centre of the area (Thursday and Sunday)
• Many other beautiful villages on the south side of the Luberon (Ansouis, Lourmarin, Pertuis, Cucuron) and in the Grand Luberon (Forcalquier, Mane, Montfuron, Viens) or in the nearby Alpilles (St-Rémy, Les Baux, Eygalières)
• Activities for children nearby – the Haribo factory, a crocodile farm, a bamboo forest, grottoes, a giant maze, and a treetop adventure course

Local Events

• Fête de la Musique – 21 June
• Musicales du Luberon, Ménerbes – music festival in July
• Festival d’Aix-en-Provence – opera festival in July
• Chorégies d’Orange in the Orange Roman theatre – opera festival in August
• Festival de Lacoste created by Pierre Cardin – musical festival in July
• Festival d’Avignon – theatre and dance festival in July
• Les Suds d’Arles – music festival in July
• Festival de la Roque d’Anthéron – piano festival in July and August
• Festival de Lourmarin – music festival all summer
• Festival Jazz de Luberon – jazz festival in May

Food

• Aioli (garlic mayonnaise to accompany fish and vegetables)
• Pissaladière (onion tart)
• Pistou soup (vegetable with basil, garlic, tomato)
• Bouillabaisse (fish stew)
• Ratatouille (peppers, courgettes, onions, aubergines, tomatoes)
• Fish soup with rouille (special mayonnaise)
• Anchoiade (anchovy and garlic paste)
• Tapenade (crushed olives with capers, anchovies)
• Truffles
• Fruits confits

Wine

• The Côtes du Luberon appellation covers 3,500 hectares, situated between Cavaillon and Apt, 36 districts sharing the vineyards, 80% of the wine producing land is grouped into co-operative wineries (‘caves co-operatives’), comprises 70% reds, 15-20 % rosés or whites depending on the year, the Côtes du Luberon wine is appreciated for its delicate bouquet; the reds are well-balanced and flexible, the rosés fresh and nervous, while the whites are fresh and well-rounded; it is generally better to drink the Côtes du Luberon wines when they are young

Wine events

• Mid-November – La Gouleyade, ‘Fête du Vin Bourru’ (First Wine of the Year), village parades, wine-tasting
• End of June – festivals at the châteaux around the Luberon
• Côtes du Ventoux, Côtes de Provence and Côteaux d’Aix
• Many good local wines on sale at local markets (in particular at the marché paysan of Coustellet)

Beaches

• Marseille, sandy, shingle, rocky (90km)
• Carry-le-Rouet, pebble, rocky (90km)
• Sausset, sandy, shingle, rocky (94km)
• La Couronne, sandy (98km)

Activities

• Tennis courts at Cabrières Tennis Club (5km)
• Bike hire at Coustellet (5.5km)
• Horse riding at Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (16km), Lauris (16km)
• 9 and 18-hole golf courses at Saumane-de-Vaucluse (17km)
• Leisure lake for swimming and sailing at Apt (21km)
• Truffle hunting in Cadenet (30km)
• Skiing at Mont-Serein (65km)
• Walks – many nature trails and heritage walks in the area; the most important routes are GR4, 6, 9, 92 and 97; there is a book on walks and various maps in the house
• Canoe-Kayak on the Sorgue river; there is a trip from Fontaines-de-Vaucluse to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
• Cycling – there is a complete circuit of the Luberon (236km) and designed to take in some of the best sights along the way
• Accrobranches at Lagnes/Fontaines-de-Vaucluse – obstacle courses for children between the pine trees using cable walkways, rope bridges, beams, swings, and zip lines