Provence is a food-lover’s culinary trip par excellence. Imagine walking in thyme-scented countryside, ambling home from the market with mesh bags full of amazing produce, and pouring an extra splash of wine to prolong an evening on the terrace. We'll live the Provençal lifestyle for a week in a spectacular pair of the region’s finest small hotels. Every day, there's something new as we visit hilltop villages and walk to Roman ruins and a secluded abbey. Best of all, the week includes four cooking instruction sessions. You’ll get tips and secrets to Provençal cooking from a local chef…meet the farmers and artisans for whom the area is justifiably famous…visit local markets…and be welcomed to a private wine-tasting at Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s finest cellar. Most of all, you’ll get a complete and very personal taste of life in the sunny, storied south of France.

DAYS 1-3 - AVIGNON / NOVES
We meet in the walled city of Avignon and explore the 14th century Papal Palace before settling into our château in Noves (3 nights). We’ll pay a guided visit to the Arles of Vincent Van Gogh and explore the seaside Camargue region home to wild horses, flamingos and a renowned chef Roger Merlin for an unforgettable cooking lesson. Our lovely hotel is also the perfect starting point for forays into the village market at Gordes, picturesque Sénanque Abbey, and dinner at  a Michelin-starred restaurant.

DAYS 4-7 - COLLIAS / UZES
In St. Rémy-de-Provence, we spend a morning at the weekly market to shop like the locals. A country walk takes us to the 12th century cloister where Van Gogh spent the last year of his life. And our friend Chef Odile, an accomplished patissier, welcomes us into her kitchen for a pastry-making instruction and lunch. A lovely stroll from our hotel in Collias (3 nights) leads to the Romans’ Pont du Gard aqueduct…a visit to the vineyards and cellars of Châteauneuf du Pape…and a cooking instruction at Michelin-starred La Mirande in a 17th century mansion. On our final morning, we visit the village of Uzés before parting company in Avignon.