Part 7 in the series, Backroads of Provence
By Diane Covington
La Cadière d’Azur
The village of La Cadière d’Azur was our last stop before we had to head back to California. Nestled in the hills just a few kilometers from the Mediterranean, it glowed like a precious gem.
It is so rare to find a village that hasn’t been influenced or changed by tourism, and feels like a true ‘village Provencal’. La Cadière d’Azur does.
Wander down the narrow alleyways and up some stone steps and discover the 16th century Church of Saint André. Its bell, the oldest in the Var region, tolls the hours and dates from 1458.
There is only one hotel in the village, L’Hostellerie Bérard & Spa, a family-run enterprise. The parents started it 40 years ago and now the son, like his father, has become a chef. Their daughter also came back to work with her parents, so you are being welcomed ‘en famille’—to a real French family, and that is how it feels.
After you enter the cozy reception area, you can wander into the bar and restaurant, with an expansive view of the vineyards and farms in the valley below.The 37 rooms of the hotel are tucked into four historic buildings next door– they are just part of the village.
The father, renowned chef René Bérard earned one Michelin star for the restaurant and his son, Jean-Francois is following in his footsteps.The family offers classes in cooking, wine, painting and there are opportunities for bicycling, hiking and other outdoor sports in the area.
Their Aroma Spa, combines aromatherapy with hydrotherapy treatments, also incorporating music and color into the programs. All of the herbs and oils used in the treatments come from their nearby organic farm—even the rose petals that decorate the mirrored surfaces are grown by the family. They offer a full menu of massages, body wraps and scrubs, facials—so many choices.
We enjoyed a sumptuous lunch, then a massage and a relaxed sojourn in the spa’s hammam, sauna and Jacuzzi soaking tubs . The hotel was booked, so we could only go for the day, but I look forward to going back to stay—for as long as possible.
I already want to return and explore this region of Provence again. It would be fun to plan a trip around wine tasting or ‘ degustation’ and really take the time to discover the wines of the Var region. Leisurely days of wine tasting, spa treatments and wonderful food, not to mention classes at the Hostellerie, well, if this isn’t ‘l’art de vivre’ that the French are so famous for, what is?
Some great websites that can help you to plan ahead and make sure that the Hostellerie is not booked up, are: Tourismevar.com (in French) and Var-Prestige.com (in French and English).
For more information, you can contact me at my website: DianeCovington.com.
Till next time, au revoir and happy traveling!
