South of France

Come to lunch at our local brasserie where Pierre, a venerable Catalan will share his love for the sacred mountain, Le Canigou. Notice it has its own very definite article - it is "The Canigou" no copy-cats allowed! I'm looking forward to your company!

Let me take you on a voyage to Château Planeres where your welcome will be warm and the scenery superb. We'll taste award-winning wines and admire the elegant buildings. Come, my friend, and we'll share a pleasant afternoon on the Roussillon Plain.

It's Christmas in Perpignan and you and I, my dear friend, the Stationary Traveler, are heading into the city to see how they celebrate there. It looks like it will be another sunny day - Let's go!

At the coldest time of the year, you will find a warm welcome in our small Catalan village. Come visit the tiny Christmas Market, the local stores and finish the day with convivial neighbors who share their thoughts on the meaning of Christmas.

With the days growing shorter, it's nice to find a bit of warmth and sun here in the beautiful avenues of Ceret. Come visit the street market where Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque painted side by side in a contest to outdo one another in a cubist duel.

Come visit a small village in the Pyrenees Orientals in the South of France and see how they celebrate the first sales of the new vintage.

September in the South of France is the month of "La Vendange" - the harvest of wine grapes. Take a trip right now down the country lanes and experience the beauty of the vineyards.

You might want to crack open a bottle of wine, or make a cup of espresso and pick up some brioches - but make sure they are good ones, or the food snob Verlaque would not approve - before settling down to read this entertaining mystery.

Here are just four of the wonderful free activities that can make a vacation in the south of France rewarding and unforgettable.

Le Petit Nice-Passedat and the Royal Riviera are both on the French Cote d'Azur. Les Bories is inland in Provence, near the village of Gordes.

A trip to the Mediterranean Coast of Nice in the South of France.

Provence is a great place for a holiday: pony-tekking in Provence, restore-a-medieval-village-in-Provence, wine tours, birdwatching, join an archaeological dig, learn to cook French cuisine...or just wander blissfully about.

A neighbour is trying to sell 2 lovely houses in sunny southern France privately. Sellers in France pay a huge percentage to real estate agents for doing - er - more or less nothing.

Finding a property to buy or rent in Provence is easier if you have a little inside knowledge.

Be a volunteer restoration worker in a medieval village in Provence. Roll up your sleeves, clear some ancient rubble, mend a dry-stone wall and get discounted bed and board and two wonderful weeks in Saint Victor la Coste near Avignon.

France's open attitude to naturism and its warm southern climate make it an ideal spot for naturist resorts. FInd out about some of the popular south of France naturist resorts here.

We were the only Americans in a very Catalan village. Our French was practically non-existent. Had we offended our neighbors by implying there might be thieves in the village? Only time would tell.

Come and celebrate a French tradition, my friend, the Stationary Traveler. Meet our baker and taste the light and flaky pastry that the French call La Galette des Rois. There is no long flight to endure and you won't need to pack a thing for this visit!

My experience of the Best Western Hotel Montfleurie, Sainte Maxime, which is situated in the Bay of St. Tropez.

Frontignan town and beach are just east of the much larger coastal town of Sete in southern France.

Filming this piano concert would be more complex than just showing the orchestra and 15 pianists on stage.

Sete is in the Herault 'departement' of Languedoc-Rousillon in the south of France. It's a fascinating town, shaped by the sea and sailing.

An intact marble bust of Roman emperor Julius Caesar, made during his lifetime, is at the heart of a remarkable exhibition of Roman artefacts in Provence in the south of France.

At the end of 2009 the hotel partnership Marriott-Generim was awarded a contract to convert the ancient prison in Avignon, south of France, into a luxury hotel.

A guide on how to vacation in France on a budget and still get all the Riviera has to offer.

The south of France doesn't have to be enjoyed exclusively by the super rich. With these bargains you can get all the Riviera has to offer, too.

In addition to having the only van Gogh painting on public display in Provence, teh Angladon has very unusual Chinese art and oustanding paintings by Vuillard, Modigliani, and Sisley (and much else)