Aix en Provence, France

Happy Monday travelers! It’s amazing that this is the last week of September right? Officially summer have ended!

Just in time for Fall today I want to share with all of you more about my trip in the South of France. Only that this time we went farther into the country side to a magical little town/city called Aix en Provence (like you pronounce the letter “x”). I’m sure many of you had heard of this town before by our friends from Lonely Planet from their famous book Provence & Cote D’azur. This book it’s an excellent guide for travelers like me and Robert that happen to visit these destinations. I had heard about Provence before during my visit in Napa Valley, San Francisco when I visited this past Easter. While I was sipping a rich white wine glass I found out that some of the wines I had tasted came from Provence which coincidentally turned out to be one of the vineyards where we were.

When I planned this trip with Robert one of the places we wanted to visit for sure was this cute magical town. During our research we found a little piece of paradise 15 km north of the historic town of Aix en Provence, Château La Coste.

Chateau La Coste in Provence caught our attention not only because it was a vineyard but also for its museum. They have the largest outdoor art collection in the world. When we contacted them to visit we also find out soon they would open their resort in this fall of 2016. So that’s where we stayed: Villa La Coste a heaven in Provence. Château La Coste comprises 500 acres of preserved countryside, of which 200 acres are devoted to bio-dynamically cultivated vineyards. You can walk at your leisure along woodened pathways and discover many installations of contemporary sculptures, or visit the cellars to enjoy tastings of red, white and rosé wines.

Robert and I had the opportunity to stay at Villa La Coste before it opened to the public and were amazed by the incredible property and attention they gave us. The property itself is huge because it is a mix of vineyard, museum, and hotel. It’s a destination to inspire wine, art, architecture and a new place to feel at home. Bathed in sunlight, embraced by forests of ancient oak trees in full view of the blue Luberon Mountains, Villa La Coste it is a modern, elegant, contemporary place honouring the traditions and nature of Provence, in a mini world of its own.

Villa La Coste is now open to reservations and has 2 levels in the hotel area. The first level is a lower floor where the pool, restaurant, events and gym are located. The rooms, the lobby and the main restaurant where we had all of our meals were on the top floor facing the wine fields and olive groves with mountains, hills and wooded valleys of Provence. The rooms are quite spacious and modern. Each with a terrace and balcony to appreciate the beautiful sunrises or sunsets reflected on the wine fields from this amazing property. All rooms are decorated in white and natural tones surrounded by an incredible collection of modern art. I think my favorite part of the room were walking closets that had such a beautiful vanity table that faces the most dreamed bathroom any girl can wish- all made of white marble (with tub and separate shower) – Yes, It sounds like a dream right? If you have ever heard dreams can come true Villa La Coste in Provence is the place where those dreams become true – Just judge my photos! The first day I arrived the first thing I did was take a long bath shower that faces the terrace.

The area where Robert and I took the meals that was also the lobby also surrounded by amazing furniture and modern art collection. What we both really loved from this room were their amazing paintings and the modern electric sunroof that opened to get a better view of the sky which was the starriest sky I have seen in my life.

The museum – Art center was designed by the famous japanese architect Tadao Ando. The building adopts many of the signature elements of the Japanese master to create an extraordinary experience of light and space in nature. The building has a welcome desk and a library, while the other wing features a restaurant overlooking the infinity pool and the wine fields. Château La Coste is a vineyard where wine, art and architecture live in harmony.

Artists and architects were invited to visit the domain and discover the beauty of Provence. In turn, they were encouraged to choose a place in the landscape devoted directly to them and gave them the freedom to create a work that would live there. On the property is a host of masterpieces of various artists and architects with contemporary and modern style like: Tadao Ando, Louise Bourgeois, Alexnader Calder, Frank O. Gehry, Tom Shannon, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Franz West, Jean Nouvel, Tatsuo Miyajima, Paul Matisse, Guggi, Liam Gillick, Tracey Emin, etc ..

After Robert and I spend time exploring head to toe of this amazing property we took the opportunity to visit the magical town of Aix Provence. This ancient French city is famous for its picturesque landscapes surrounded boulevards and public squares covered with thousands of gurgling moss-covered fountains and thousands of coffee shops on every corner to enjoy a rich espresso coffee. We were lucky enough to plan our visit to this little town coincidentally during a holiday in France and there were not too many people! Although it should be totally the opposite for us turned out to be perfect for photos.

Something I learned on this trip and probably a very useful tip if any of you come to France is that sortie means exit. If you park your car in a public parking lot you should instead of coming down the different floors to find the exit like we usually do in Latin America in France you must climb to the top floor to find the exit. Funny right? With this tip I’m saving you guys lots of time believe or not hahaha

I hope you liked this post and stay tuned for more of my trip to the Cote d’Azur!

Love,