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Our Tour "Themes"...

The Bike Tour
The Roman & Castle Tour
Art and Beach Tour
Camargue and Féria Tour
Le Lubéron Tour
The Wine Crush Tour
The Fall Colors Tour
The Marmiton Cooking Class
The Avignon Festival Tour
The Senior Tour of Provençe
American Student Tour of Provençe
Abbeys and Cathedrals of Provençe
The Dive Trip

Other...

Pictures of the Parish House
The Manse
The Cloisters
Doing Business in France
Products of Provençe
Places by Name
Links

THE PARISH HOUSE
circa 1470 a.d.

This illustration shows The Parish House, and its 
setting in the narrow streets to the east of the Palace. Counter-clockwise: the Palace, the Cathedral des Doms, 
Pont d' Avignon, Fort St André, and the Pope's Gardens, accessible via the "Nun's Stairway".

For orientation purposes, the Home Page depicts the Palace from the Rhone River to the West of the Parish House. We are nestled just on the other side of the Palace, to the East, with exposure to the morning sun. We are in a real neighborhood, not the touristy hotel district. That comports with our style . . . IMMERSION into the culture of Provence, not just whisking through it on a "If its Tuesday it must be Belgium" 30-passenger coach tour. Each Daytrip begins and ends at "The Parish House" nestled inside the sophisticated town of AVIGNON. Every guest has their own secluded floor! Its a 5-minute walk to 35 Restaurants, to the romantic "Riverside Walk" and from feeding swans in the formal gardens of the Palace of the Popes. You can even take the free boat across the Rhone and stroll the bucolic tranquility of secluded orchards! Tranquility, serenity, and a magnificent Overlook of the entire Valley is just outside your doorstep!
Once you unpack, thats it, you're "AT HOME"; from then on your time is optimized. In 14 days you see ALL of Provence, not just "snipets". From the Parish House, the seasoned traveler not only feels "at home" but gets a "feel" for the distinctly ITALIAN lifestyle of the Provence "neighborhood". In 14 days you explore 3000 years of Greek, Roman and Provence culture, at the center of a minstrel kingdom with its country fairs, great abbeys and monasteries, splendid palaces, overpowering fortresses, and unparalleled museums.

Our "15th c. Parish House" is a three -story Carmelite Nun's Cloister, in its own cul-de-sac tucked-into the splendid Palace of the Popes, inside the "Olde Towne" Ramparts. It has two outside doors, one to "The Manse", its top floor opening on a large terrace (see illustration above) overlooking the tiled roofs of Avignon, and "The Cloisters" with its more apartment-like suites of three rooms and views of the Palace. All are on their own separate floor, all with private bathrooms/showers. The glass-roofed, Gothic-tiled Assembly Room is where we meet for a hearty AMERICAN breakfast, and discuss that day's exploration of Provence. 

At the "Parish House" after we hand you the key, we do not enter into your rooms except to deliver new towels and linens. Each suite has its own refrigerator, stove, microwave, dining table where you can feel all the independence of "being on your own", secluded and undisturbed by other guests. There is a $50 damage and key deposit. There are some house rules to ensure peace & quiet, such as No Smoking, only headphone music, and closing the shutters at night. Its a touch of the Old Country, where civility and mutual consideration still rules. The place is cooled by "swamp coolers" and by natural ventilation, with cool winds coming off the Rhone River and down from the Alps, just a few miles to the north at Le Mont Ventoux. Avignon is famous for its wind, which provides a refreshing breeze in the summertime.
Take a look at your choice of suites by clicking for the photos below: They are layed out in such a way that you can do a virtual "walk-through" of the Parish House. Its white-washed walls, framed Van Gogh prints, colorful millinery, and fluffy egyptian cotton towels welcome you back after an eye-opening tour day of the Provence countryside. From your kitchen table, watch the larks play against the backdrop of the Palace towes right outside your window, pour yourself a glass of the wine we picked up that day, munch down on some of the 40 varieties of olives. Relax! You're in Provence!
 

The Manse The Cloisters

For more information, please contact me at:

toursofprovence@aol.com

or call

970.241.5034