Our House in Provence, the Most Beautiful Region of France

We have a beautiful stone village house located in the heart of the medieval village of Sablet in the Vaucluse region of Provence France. Dating from the 17th century, the house was renovated by an Italian stone mason with all of the comforts of a modern home while retaining its authentic Provençal character and charm. On this blog, we share experiences from our visits along with those of our families and friends to Sablet and the South of France.

Showing posts with label Mont Ventoux. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

A delicious lunch with amazing views at La Table du Ventoux in Crillon le Brave.

Lunch at La Table du Ventoux is one of those meals that perfectly captures the magic of Provence. Perched high above the valley floor, with sweeping views towards Bedoin and majestic Mont Ventoux, lunch at La Table du Ventoux feels less like a simple lunch and more like a grand experience.

Hotel Crillon le Brave

Hotel Crillon le Brave was created from a collection of beautifully restored historic buildings woven into the tiny hilltop village of Crillon le Brave. Many of the hotel's buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries and once served as family homes, a school, a presbytery, artist studios, and other village structures.

Walk up to village church

Passageway to Table du Ventoux restaurant

La Table du Ventoux is the signature restaurant of Hotel Crillon le Brave. The restaurant is known as much for its spectacular terrace views over the valley and toward Mont Ventoux as it is for its refined Provencal cuisine.

View from the dining room terrace at Table du Ventoux

View over the valley from the dining room terrace at Table du Ventoux

Our table of four began by sharing delicate white asparagus from nearby Mazan and silky hummus made from local chickpeas with an herb vinaigrette and house-made pita bread. The restaurant has a well-chosen list of wines by the glass. I opted for a glass of the white Clos Sainte Magdeleine, Cassis 2023.

Our terrace dining spot

For our main course, we all chose the house-made gnocchi with mushroom sauce. Pan seared and bathed in a savory mushroom sauce. They were absolutely delicious.

House made gnocchi with mushroom sauce

To finish, the restaurant offers an all-you-can-eat dessert buffet for 10 Euros and a selection of ice creams.

Dessert buffet at Table du Ventoux restaurant

My selections from the dessert bar

The village of Crillon le Brave you see today largely developed during the Middle Ages as a fortified hilltop settlement, built for defense and to oversee the fertile plains below Mont Ventoux.

The "le Brave" portion of the name was added in the late 19th century in honor of the famous soldier Louis des Balbes de Berton de Crillon, known as "Le Brave Crillon," a celebrated general under Henry IV.

Town Hall in Crillon Le Brave

Gazing out over the valley toward Bedoin and majestic Mont Ventoux, it became clear that La Table du Ventoux doesn't just serve an excellent lunch -- it serves one of the most breathtaking views in all of Provence.

www.sablethouse.com

Saturday, April 8, 2023

Tulips in the Vaucluse put on a dazzling display of color near Jonquieres.

We are back in Sablet after an unusually long absence for us. One of the highlights of our sojourns in Provence, are the flowers that you find in various seasons of the year.

You can see cherry orchards in bloom in April and early May around the Plus Beaux Village of Venasque. The time to enjoy their fruit is late May to early July.

Then Shirley's favorites, bright red poppies, known in France as Coquelicots make their appearance in fields in May. The Coquelicots grow wild rather than cultivated so you can never tell where you will find them.

Lavender, the most famous flowers to be seen in Provence, bloom from mid-June to mid to late July, depending upon elevation. Sunflowers bloom from late June to the end of July and are typically harvested in August.

Back in 2010, I was surprised to discover fields of tulips growing near Violes, a small village near Sablet. I was surprised because we had never seen fields of tulips or read about them in any of the various guidebooks I have perused over the years.

Since now is the time of the year when the tulips bloom, we went out to look for them on our first day back. We went to the area where we have seen them previously. Nothing! So, we made inquiries in Sablet, and discovered the tulips were growing in a different field farther from Sablet, near Jonquieres.

So yesterday, we went out again and were happy to find multi-colored rows of tulips alongside the Route de Carpentras into Jonquieres, with views of Mont Ventoux in the distance.

Tulip field near Jonquieres with view of Mont Ventoux

I grew up in Southwestern Michigan about one hour south of Holland, Michigan. An annual field trip in elementary school was our trip to Holland, Michigan to see the tulips.

Tulip field near Jonquieres

I learned back in 2010 that these tulips are not grown to be sold as cut flowers by floral shops or vendors at weekly markets that occur throughout France.

Tulip field near Jonquieres

Rather, these tulips are grown for export to the Netherlands. In a few days, the flowers will be cut by a lawn mower type machine to save the bulbs. The bulbs will be harvested and shipped to the Netherlands.

Tulip field near Jonquieres

Tulip field near Jonquieres

Tulip field near Jonquieres

Tulip field near Jonquieres

If you are going to be in the Vaucluse during the month of April, keep your eyes out for fields of multi-colored rows of tulips.

If you are planning a trip to the South of France, we would be honored if you would consider making our house in Sablet your home for your sojourn. We have weeks available in May and June, July 23 to August 5, and August 12 to September 2. Please reach out to me for information about availability and rental rates. www.sablethouse.com

Thursday, July 22, 2021

The Hunt for Lavender Fields

As I told you in my previous post about my favorite things in Provence, one of them is finding purple fields of lavender under a brilliant blue summer sky. So of course, our first outing after arriving back in Sablet after our long absence due to the pandemic, was to go to Sault to see if we could find lavender fields that had not been cut.

From previous visits, we know that the town of Sault is famous for its many fields of lavender spread around the town. The town spreads out along a ridge above lavender fields in the north-east part of the Vaucluse department about one hour from Sablet. The name Sault comes from "Saltus" referring to the forests that covered the area.

Sault

Sault is know for its lavender festival held every year on the 15th of August where games, competitions, or any activities that have to do with lavender, are held.

War Memorial in Sault

Center of Sault

The area around Sault is also home to many fields of spelt, the ancient form of wheat grown by the Gauls and now popular with chefs and highly appreciated for its nutritional value and taste.

Church of Notre Dame de la Tour in Sault.

Sault is also popular with cyclists because of its proximity to Mont Ventoux. The climb from Sault is considered to be the easiest route to the top of Mont Ventoux with an average gradient of 4.4%.

View of Patchwork of Lavender Fields near Sault

We were worried that because harvest starts mid-July that we might have missed the lavender season for this year. But fortunately as you can see in the pictures which follow, we found plenty of lavender.

Lavender Field

Lavender Field

Lavender Field

Lavender Field

Aurel is a perched village between Sablet and Sault with a joined 12th century church and 13th century chateau at the top of the village. There are also a lot of lavender fields around Aurel.

Aurel

Lavender Field near Jonquières

Mont Ventoux from the Road to Sault

Saturday, October 29, 2016

2016 Stage 12 Tour de France, Montpellier to Mont Ventoux

The moment we saw that the 2016 Tour de France included a climb up 6,273 foot Mont Ventoux, we decided we would be in Sablet that day. As you can see below, the stage was to begin in Montpellier and the riders would pedal 184 km before finishing at the top of Mont Ventoux.

Stage 12 Tour de France Route

We had been told that thousands of people had been camping for days on Mont Ventoux and it would be impossible to find a place to park or see the race with good visibility on the mountain. So we opted to stay below and watch the caravan and riders from a location in Bédoin, a pretty village that sits at the foot of Mont Ventoux.

The first thing you'll notice when you get close to Bédoin is a large, imposing, Spanish-looking church, quite different from most others in Provence. In fact, Saint-Pierre Church is Jesuit, built in 1702 and restored in the 19th century. In spite of the different style, the church does have a wrought-iron belfry so typical of the region.

From a distance, the houses of this compact, old village look small compared to the church, and are clustered up against the hill. Inside the old village it's looks typically Medieval, with long, narrow streets between tall old buildings, many with ancient stone doorways and some colorful Provencal facades.

Saint-Pierre Church in Bedoin

Stage 12 of the Tour de France began with 125kph winds moving the finish from the moonscape of the summit down the mountain 7 km to Chalet Reynard, where the forest gives way to the more exposed road that leads to the summit. There was a fear that riders would be blown off their bikes as soon as they came out of the forest.

Big screen TV set up at entrance to village where you can watch the progress of the peloton

We found a place to park in a field that had been turned into a parking lot for the day just outside of Bédoin on the road that leads to Crillon-le-Brave and walked into the village. Since it was several hours before the first cars in the Caravan were due to arrive, Shirley went shopping and I went to look for a place for lunch.

Tour fans arrive in Bedoin

I got the last open table at Le Gousse d'Ail and waited for Shirley to arrive. We had a really nice meal which included Cannelloni of zucchini and goat cheese, Filet of Merlan with cheesy polenta, and Parmentier of Guardian and finished with a Fig gratin. During the course of the meal, I got into a conversation, as I often do, with the French lady sitting at the table next to us.

As we got up to leave and said our goodbyes to our new friend, she said "take my wrist bands and go sit in the VIP review stands so you have a good view of the race. I will go and watch from the street. We were thrilled and thanked her repeatedly.

My VIP wrist band

Shirley sitting in the reviewing stand reading a book on her ipad while we wait for the caravan to arrive in Bedoin

Fans lining up along the street where the peloton will arrive. By the time they arrived, people were hanging out of those windows

View across the street from the reviewing stand. The street has been cleared for the arrival of the caravan.

Those who have not seen the Tour caravan in person may find it difficult to understand the allure. It’s just a parade, right? It is, but on a scale seen nowhere else on earth. It’s a parade that covers 3,360 kilometers, every last meter of the Tour de France route, passing by millions of fans, throwing 14 million tiny trinkets and gifts; a parade that represents, directly and indirectly, a significant portion of Tour revenue.

The caravan is a 45-minute string of vehicles, each modified and decorated by advertisers, that rolls ahead of the Tour peloton. It was founded in 1930, conjured up by Tour founder Henri Desgrange, conceived originally as a way to pay for the organizer-supplied bicycles that riders had to use at the time. Its commercial success was immediate, and has never waned.

Tour de France sponsor car

In the pictures which follow, you can see a lot of the action that occurred in front of the reviewing stand.

Tour de France sponsor car

Shirley's favorite Tour de France sponsor car

Tour de France sponsor car

First group of riders

Tour de France breakaway riders

Tour de France riders

There are 5 camera-equipped motorbikes in the convoy. These are registered to Euro Media Group which provides the live-feed for all coverage. Near the finish, one of these camera-equipped motorbikes stopped without warning directly in front of Richie Porte of BMC, Bauke Mollema of Trek-Segafredo, and Chris Froome in the yellow jersey. Porte smashed directly into the camera, followed by Mollema and Froome, but only Froome’s bike came out of the tangle completely unrideable.

Camera-equipped motorbikes

Main group of Tour de France riders

Chris Froome wearing the yellow jersey of the race leader arrives with the main group of Tour de France riders

Chris Froome in yellow jersey

Main group of Tour de France riders

Main group of Tour de France riders. Adam Yates is wearing the white jersey for the best under-25 rider in overall standings

Last of the main group of Tour de France riders

A straggling Tour de France rider

Last of the Tour de France riders

Last group of Tour de France riders

As I told you earlier, Chris Froome's bike was broken when he, Richie Porte and Bauke Mollema collided with a television bike on the crowded road a little over a kilometer before the finish line. Mollema disentangled his bike and remounted, but Porte’s chain was off and Froome’s was unrideable.

Chris Froome took off running just as fast as his cycling shoes would allow up the mountain before taking a bike from the neutral service car, but struggled to gain traction on the ill-fitting bike and had to swap it again when his team car finally made it through.

Froome lost around a minute and a half on the road and slipped to sixth on the provisional general classification, 53 seconds behind fellow Briton Adam Yates, before the race jury intervened.

They ruled that Porte and Froome should receive the same time as Mollema who got back on his bike and stayed clear of the chasing rivals. Thus Chris Froome retained the overall general classification lead of the Tour de France.

Crowd in front of the reviewing stand watching the drama unfold up at the finish of the Tour de France

At the end, Thomas de Gendt of Belgium (Team Lotto-Soudal) was the winner of Stage 12 after he outsprinted fellow Belgian Serge Pauwels of Team Dimension Data after surviving a day-long breakaway.

The route for the 2017 Tour de France has just been announced. See map from Tour de France below.