As you step inside this 400 year-old 'maison de maitre' onto the flagstone floors, 'La Maison du Faiencier' exudes a sense of history. From the vaulted hall you enter a stylish living/dining room, separated by an archway from the exceptionally well-equipped kitchen. Both, look on to and have access to a charming courtyard (ideal outdoor eating area) which leads into the 360 m2 walled garden. There you can sit under the shade of the vines and fruit trees or take a dip in the pool (7mx3.5m).
Throughout the house the emphases is on quality and luxury with all the original features having been carefully restored. Each bedroom is light and airy, tastefully decorated with original materials, and with its own private bathroom. Rooms can be made up with large single or super-king-sized double beds.
The house is situated on the main square, (Place) right in the heart of a small but active village. Across the square, you'll find the local, (very ‘French’) boulangerie, boucherie, cafe and restaurant.
Wifi:
Unlimited wifi available free of charge.
You Tube:
On our YouTube channel ‘La Maison du Faiencier' you can see and hear what eleven of our previous international client groups (most with children) thought of the property and area. There is also a 3 minute photo montage of the house, garden and pool.
Booking the property:
There is a Rental Deposit is 30% of the full rental payment due at the time of booking. Please see our Terms and Conditions later in this document under the section 'Policies'.
Covid-19:
There is a special 'last minute' cancellation policy due to the virus. Please see our Terms and Conditions later in this document under section 'Policies'.
Local Activities:
This is an excellent place for walking, given its proximity to the Gorge du Verdon and its lesser known lower gorges and lakes. Panoramic views in abundance. Lavender plains also near-by, which are so worth seeing when in full flower. Local markets can be experienced most days of the week and there are plenty of delightful medieval, hill-top villages to explore.
Local beaches and swimming at the near-by lakes. Mediterranean coast is 1 hour's drive away.
Local Food & Wine:
A restaurant serving traditional French cuisine is right on the 'doorstep' in Varages and several good, inexpensive restaurants can be found in Barjols, just 10-minutes drive way. For the more exclusive menu, a drive to some of the exquisite local hill-top villages is to be recommended with views and sunsets to accompany the meal. Local domaines abound, where you can sample the Provence wines.
A piece of Provincial history:
Home, in the past, to Masters of earthenware and porcelain (faience), you'll be experiencing a piece of history in comfortable luxury surroundings, with all the amenities on your doorstep. And there is the added bonus that this little bit of Provence, though exceptionally beautiful, is largely 'undiscovered'.
Resident:
I am resident at 'La Maison du Faiencier' (with my dog) all year round. We live in a self-contained apartment, out of sight and sound of our clients.
This is a large house and we have renovated it in such a way as to allow us to have a separate unseen internal staircase leading off the garage to our apartment which comprises of a salon, double bedroom and two bathrooms.
This means we all share the main outer entrance door, but once in the entrance hall, our clients have their own inner entrance door which takes them through, at ground floor level, to the main part of the house, the garden with pool and to the central stairs with their five bedrooms and en suite bathrooms on the first and second floors.
During the client's stay I like, with their permission, to water the garden and clean the pool on a regular basis. This way both stay fresh and inviting. This can be done at any convenient time. However, after brief discussion at the beginning of their stay, it often works out that this little bit of maintenance is done early in the morning before anyone is about.
Being ‘sur place’ also means of course, that I am available should they ever need any help or advice.
The last guests in 2020:
The last guests of 2020 were Bertrand & Marie from Lyon. After their holiday they wrote (in French) saying ...
We, a family of 10 adults and 2 babies, spent the first week of September in Varages.
We arrived in a house which was very clean and excepIonally comfortable.
The locaIon, being on the main ‘Place’ of the village, had seduced us. We did all our shopping two minutes from the house and if we fancied stopped for a coffee on the way home. Each week there is a liPle street market right outside the front door - great!
Inside the house, which remains fresh given the thickness of the walls, everything works extremely well. The kitchen is very well appointed and is worthy of a top chef.
Then, the extra specially large bedrooms and bathrooms is impressive and much appreciated. The showers themselves are huge, it's top-notch! The bedrooms on the top floor have room to spare for a cot and also a bed for a small child.
Everything has been done with great taste ... chic and sober.
The garden was much appreciated as well, with its swimming pool and two terraced areas for meals outdoors. It’s very nice.
The neighbours on the garden side of the house were never disturbing from the point of view of noise. You can see clothes drying at the window! And we heard absolutely nothing at all from the ‘Place’ at the front of the property.
A beautiful house well looked after by Ron Alldridge.
Address: La Maison du Faiencier, Place de la Liberation, Varages, France | ||
Zip/Postal Code: 83 | ||
Latitude/Longitude: 44 / 6 | ||
Nearest airport | Marseille | 60 minutes |
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Nearest bar / pub | 2 minutes | |
Nearest beach | Gorge du Verdon | 20 minutes |
Nearest boulangerie | 2 minutes | |
Nearest doctor | 2 minutes | |
Nearest ferry port | Marseille | 60 minutes |
Nearest market | 1 minutes | |
Nearest restaurant | 2 minutes | |
Nearest river | 5 minutes | |
Nearest supermarket | 3 minutes | |
Nearest train station | Aix-en-Provence | 45 minutes |
Communications are great. The village is just twenty minutes north of the town of Saint-Maximin-Sainte-Baume on the A8 motorway which runs across the south of France from northern Italy to Spain. And in 60 -90 minutes drive there are two international airports and the TGV rail line to Paris.
The house is situated on the main ‘Place’, at the very heart of this small but active and very authentically French village. Across from the house is the local boulangerie, boucherie, bar, corner shop and restaurant. Five minutes walk away is a pharmacy, boules and tennis court, and park with a dedicated children’s play area.
Parking is plentiful and free just around the corner from the property.
They say in the tourist offices here that the area is 'blest' with sunshine 300 days a year. It’s not true. It’s more than that.
The village of Varages (famous for it’s production of ‘Faiencier’ i.e. fine pottery) is in the middle of the diverse attractions of this part of Provence. Go north for 20 minutes and you find the ‘Gorges du Verdon’ ... Europe’s Grand Canyon: 25 kilometers of lakes and rivers. Go south and you have the sophistication of the Cote D’Azur … St Tropez, Cassie, Cannes etc. Out west is Aix-en-Provence, said to be the most beautiful city in Europe and all around the village are endless olive groves and vineyards dotted with lost-in-time medieval villages.
- | Nightly rate | Weekly rate | Monthly rate | Min. Stay | Change-over | |
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Week | Weekend | |||||
Rate summary | £476.83 | £3,337.82 | - | 7 Nights | - | |
02-Apr-2022 - 29-Oct-2022 La Maison Du Faiencier | £476.83 | - | £3,337.82 | - | 7 Nights | Sat - Sat |
Addon type | Price | Charge type | |
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Animal | Mandatory | £25.31 | One time |