Chapter 4 of our Summer Travels series is our first "non-visiting-friends-stop," and brings us to quiet Saint-Victor-la-Coste in Provence, surrounded by vineyards, gorgeous views, and old stone houses. High above sit the ruins of the 12th century Chateau de Castellas, overlooking this quaint village, and our own little hidden paradise, where we spent 2 nights, the Chateau St. Victor la Coste.
I'd been wanting to stay here for years, but they were fully booked well in advance when I'd last tried. When things started to reopen post-Covid, this is the first place I booked, and built this part of the trip around it. I felt like I'd won the lottery, shrieking with delight when our reservation for Cottage 2 was confirmed!
Owned by the most lovely couple, Costas and Alison, it was everything I had hoped for and more. There are 3 stone "cottages" overlooking the Instagram-famous pool, plus the chateau has guest rooms, charming common living room and kitchen, and then the main part of the absolutely beautiful chateau used by the owners.
 |
| The stone steps lead to our stone cottage |
 |
| Cottage 2 is the upper windows you see |
We had a little trouble finding the entrance (it felt like finding the door to a secret garden!) but stepping through the door we came into the courtyard/pool area, and it was pure magic. We said hello to the group of friends relaxing at the pool, who were openly relieved to learn that the American family arriving had older teenagers in tow, and not toddlers. (Children are welcome there, just so you know.) We settled into our cottage and then decided on a walk down the steps to the village in hopes of getting an outdoor table at L'Industrie, the village restaurant that Costas had recommended. We were in luck and got the last table! The food was beautifully plated, we ate under the plane trees, sipped provençal wine, and had gorgeous desserts as golden hour came upon us. Back at the pool, our new friends had left for dinner and we had the pool to ourselves for the evening. In the communal kitchen there were bottles of the local wines for sale with an honor box, and we each had our own full-sized refrigerator to store our groceries and drinks during our stay! I bought a viognier and a rosé that one of the other guests had recommended upon our arrival and set them to chill. Julien climbed to the castella ruins above the chateau in the dark, and I remember everyone swam in the pool, while bats darted above us under a starry sky.
 |
The chateau ruins watching over us
|
 |
| Swimming around dusk |
 |
| The pool area is beautifully lit |
The next morning Costas had laid out for us a beautiful spread of possibly the best croissants I've ever had (and I've had A LOT) along with fresh ripe fruit, coffee, tea, bread, jams, cheeses, juices. I sat in appreciation, just in awe of how beautiful and perfect the moment was, with one of the chateau's cats, Mathieu. Slowly some of the other guests emerged, along with Charlotte, and we chatted some more about their group of travel friends. They were all English or Australian, and they'd met traveling, and now meet up to travel together. They were lovely. They had plans to visit more vineyards. We had plans to just chill and enjoy the chateau, and head to the fête du village (village festival) for dinner and the pétanque tournament, but didn't know if we'd stick around for the disco. We were really just looking for a relaxing day after so many busy days in our travels. After breakfast, Costas had promised all of us a tour of the chateau, and later Scott & the kids hiked up to the ruins on the hill.
 |
| Charlotte and Mathieu in the kitchen |
 |
| The view from our window was just stunning |
 |
| The view from our bed - channeling my inner French princess |
As I was sitting by the pool that morning, I was overcome with gratitude. I felt such a surge of happiness. (Maybe it happens to everyone who visits, after eating those magic croissants and peaches made of sunshine?) There are specific moments in time that hit me like that, where I'm so completely aware of how amazing that moment is, and it makes such an impression. I know it's so cheesy, but I felt so inspired, like I needed to create, or write, or draw or paint. This was the first time I hadn't traveled with art supplies, which looking back, feels like a mistake. I observed and did a little stream of consciousness writing. This is what came out:
Morning doves cooing
Sweet, fresh scent of lavender, geraniums, roses, and other flowers
Buzzing of bees
Scurrying of ants
Butterflies alighting on pink blossoms
Sneaky little lizard climbing up the wall
Cool shade by the pool
Croissants made of dreams
Peaches made of sunshine
Delightful guests congregating in the kitchen over breakfast
Birds twittering in the cypress trees
Church bells ringing
Charlotte by the pool reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Julien back from his walk reading by the pool
Scott & Charlotte playing cribbage and eating cookies
Tour of the chateau with Costas
The chateau tour was brilliant and felt so personal. What a beautiful space they have, and what a beautiful life they have built here. They bought the property as a family vacation home, and they own other properties, but this has become home and a thriving business. They were talking about expanding the property, which is very exciting! They also offer "A Taste of Provence" food tour packages, where guests visit markets and eat with them on the large private terrace overlooking a magnificent view, and they offer cycling trips as well! Additionally, the chateau is available to be rented out as a whole self-catering space. I didn't take a lot of photos, but you can see gorgeous ones on their
Instagram Page, over on pages like Condé Nast, or hundreds of other pages - just search it. Then book it!
 |
| These lounges are so comfortable |
 |
| The view from our walkway to the main chateau |
 |
| Our private dining table in the gardens by the door to our cottage |
 |
| Chateau "Relax" Day and we had the pool & courtyard to ourselves |
We borrowed a pétanque set and played a few rounds outside the chateau before walking down the steps into the village. Scott had hoped to sign up to be in the tournament, but he was too late registering, so we watched the games being played in several areas of the village. I loved how it was so informal. Some games were played in the gravel of the school yard, some in driveways or parking areas. Also interesting that it was almost all male players of all ages, with less than a handful of women - perhaps that is normal? I'm not sure. We watched and tried to learn technique/strategy from some of the better players. Dinner was festival food and not as good as the night before, but Scott liked that you could buy a reusable "fête" cup for beer for the weekend with inexpensive refills. We somehow ended up bringing 3 home with us. (They traveled better than the 3 wine glasses we brought back from a wine festival later in the trip - there's only 1 of those left now.) We walked back up to the chateau for some after dinner swimming.
 |
| We love this game. Of course Julien climbed that tree. |
 |
| Walking to the fête du village to watch the tournament and get dinner |
I first fell in love with Peter Mayle's Provence back in the early 1990s, before I had made my first trip to France. We have been lucky to have spent some time exploring this area before, and staying with friends in Carpentras. In the past we visited Aix, le Mont Ventoux, Avignon and Arles, and we were in Carpentras for Fête Nationale (in the US we tend to call it Bastille Day) which was a really cool experience. While Saint-Victor-la-Coste does not have the sites of those larger towns, it does have this absolutely charming little chateau, and I'm still so happy to have found it!
One of the things that I loved about this chateau is that it was comfortable, and not fussy. It could be pretentious, but it's not. The vibe was very chill. The gardens weren't your typical formal French style, but more English cottage, climbing roses, tumbling, fragrant, mixed, relaxed, with comfortable wooden chaise lounges with floral cushions, bistro tables with tablecloths, and chairs with pillows scattered, tall cypress trees, terraces, and stone staircases. The entrance to our sweet stone cottage had a private table for the 4 of us outside our door, among the flowers on a stone path. The communal living room was cool and cozy. We took turns filling the cat's outdoor water dish. We walked down the steps into the village to the bakery, the tiny grocery store, the restaurants, everything. It's such a special place, and we felt so lucky to share in it for those precious days. Bonus that the other guests were so cool.
We left refreshed, relaxed, and serene. As Costas walked us out he said, "You did not choose the chateau. The chateau chooses her guests." The chateau is magic like that. This was easily one of my top 10 favorite places I've stayed and a place to which I'd love to return.
Next stop: Alès, France, to visit where Julien lived as a Rotary exchange student!
Comments