Welcome to Mas des Etoiles in Gordes, Luberon, Provence.  We tried to have a user-friendly approach.It is not yet totally completed. In fact it must be a living thing.

Main features to-day are :

- Many pictures with slide-shows. It is developped in particular for the Rooms Presentation, the overall review of  the B&B ( See EXPRESS TOUR), photos  of a few guest “live” !

- It is not a Tourist Guide,  but we endeavoured to give specific information to help the guest to take the best of his stay with us. These sections should be in continuous progress.

We have started to have a few links with guests or even  one of our 3 daugthers – Agathe – ’s blog, which features day-to -day life of a French Family (and photos taken here last Christmas with the kids).

Also we have a special link with Brasil, as we made friends with a very nice Brasilian Blogger – Jorge Bernardes -and his wife,    His narration of  his visit to Provence brought to us many guests who, themselves brought new ones etc … We recommend a visit of this blog as he explains very well what to see in Provence.

The other blog by  : “Confession of a Serendipitous Girl “  by Phil & Jen Rogers of Portland, Oregon, is also very interesting because they are traveling a lot and you also enter the current life of a smart American Family.

We have also made a link with Tripadvisor as there are comments  by guests explaining what they got.  ( There is a very bad  comment  coming from  an unfuriated and bad-mannered lady which had an unbelievable attitude, this happens.  It’s better not to meet her either for business or socially).  Annette has a lot to say about that. We cannot leave that unreplied.

Annette has started to-day with her own contribution to the website : She wills to make something on decoration etc , everything she likes. The first post is on how to do a “Tarte Tatin” !

She called the section (see above right) : The Angels’ Corner. I don’t know to whom she is referring.

The website will be in several languages but for the beginning we intend to mix French and English as most of our environment at least reads English. It is a pure homemade product started in the first days of  February. So be indulgent.

One of the best golf courses of Provence : Provence Country Club is just 20 minutes from Gordes. It is located between L’Isle-sur-La Sorgue and Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. So from here it is very easy to get there  through Cabrières d’Avignon and Lagnes.

You are facing the Luberon Hills and all the area

This course is a 18 holes, par 72 (6099 m.), architect: J. Garaialde ( one of the best French players in the 80’s).

The Golf  is very well maintained and has many facilities among which an excellent restaurant. You will enjoy superb view on the Luberon Hills (see image). One idea would be to have lessons. They have an top and friendly  teacher who can make for our guests a series of “refresher” courses. Our guests  like it very much. So,  every year we have several groups of golfers who want to play but not to do only that. So the ladies can have their own activities. And they can enjoy all the restaurants we describe in this website. The Golf has Hotel facilities. It is cheap in every respect. So it’s really a good bet, when you are in Provence not to be golf 100%.

On this hole, your longest drive ever ?

From  Gordes and Mas des Etoiles, we propose at least 7 different golf courses. Principally

and besides Golf de Provence Country Club, we propose Golf du Grand Avignon (35 minutes), Golf de Pont Royal and two real jewels : Golf des Baux and Golf de Servanes. Golf des Baux has a special mark as it is a 9 holes (you don’t wish to spend too much time and overpay) and the environment is truly exceptionnal. It’s quiet (of course you book your tee) . We recommend you to do your round by 5-6 : 00 PM as the evening shades are the best After that you can have a casual diner in Maussane- les-Alpilles (out of the Saint Rémy crowd and in one of the street café just facing the church among locals)  and after come back to Gordes direct through Eygalières. I have not played at Servanes but our guests who did it enjoyed a lot. Servanes is just south of Maussane, near Mouriès.

Senanque Abbey is somewhere in the wild just behind our house. Just behind means that it is aerial point to point 5 kilometers. The itinerary we propose has a lot of success and guests (the trained hikers) love it.

The canyon is very narrow and wild

There are various combinations : Either you start from the house but it is a bit long, or I show you where to start closer, you save 1 hour 30 in the round trip. Or you can have a car in the abbey and make it one way.

It begins with the vineyards, olive grounds, cherry trees just near-by. You walk down in the small valley of the Senancole River ( usually dry )  and then you arrive in a sort of canyon. You go on the top of the hill with a short but straight path to an abandonned farm, la Debroussede. From there you have an excellent view on the whole area  ( Gordes  on the left, and all the Luberon ridge in front ) and are in the middle of lavenders.

An easy trails get you down to the abbey. You can visit shortly. In general by 12 you have a mass every day with Gregorian Music song by the monks. There is also a good store held by the community.

From the top, the view rmbraces all Luberon valley

To go back you follow the valley trail. It is a kind of adventure but it is not difficult. One of the interrest is you can see very well the reiver was in the past very active and dug large prints in the cliffs… 100 meters above you.

It’s good to have your picnic with you. Most probably, you will meet very few people either way. You are just with unspoiled Nature.

The “Lazy Approach ” !

In fact, there are so many things to do that you might hurry-up and do as much as possible. This is not the place to do that. The main idea is to have a rest  first and to appreciate what is “on hand”. ; The house, the pool, one restaurant near-by and to select knowingly what you are going to do in function of what you expect.

Cartes interactives réalisées avec Google Maps. Les Cartes Google vous donnent soit des plans soit des vues satellites.

Les plus beaux golfs de la région en partant du Mas des Etoiles – Clicker ici – Sur Google Map

Les meilleures ballades en partant du Mas des Etoiles- Clicker ici – Sur Google Map

Les plus beaux sites à visiter et les marchés. Best sites and markets – Clicker ici – Sur Google Map.

Les endroits secrets. The secret places – Clicker ici – Sur Google Map.

Un Jour Charlotte est un restaurant exquis situé très près du Mas .

Very close from us…

You absolutely don’t need to be a part  of a Tour de France Team to enjoy biking here. We have an exceptional ground for having fun.

Before departure, on the Mas Parking

Basically the idea is to take 2 of our bikes and go… If you want better outfit you can rent the in Coustellet, they prepare it for you and bring them the previous evening (and pretty cheap).

For that kind of entertainment, guests come back with many stories. There is one I like :  Last year we had a couple from Hong-Kong. Both were very thin and like intellectuals. They said : OK we want to have your tour around the Luberon valley and we take your bikes for the day. We just discover that they did not know how to ride a bicycle. This was very badly engaged. ( Sometimes we have guests from Hong-Kong who even have not their car driver licence – Not useful in a city like that). So we trained them, they fell on the floor several times and said : Let’s go… By four in the evening they were not back etc … Finally they came back by 6:00 PM, enchanted about what they did. They had made the whole tour. So you can.

On the secret roads of Luberon

So we give to our candidates a map with all the details and some alternatives for having lunch in a good place. It is only with small roads and unpaved stretches. Shortly they start from le Mas, Les Gros, go down to the main road Avignon -Apt, cross it, Oppede le Vieux, Menerbes, SaintHilaire Abbey (a real good spot), Lacoste, Lumières, Goult and back here. Maybe” 35  kilometers but everybody can do it in 6-7 hours !

The best in the best is the bike road  ( the one which makes the entire tour of Luberon) between Oppede and Menerbes. We have an incridable extention where you can discover a a cedar forest nobody knows except the rich American who lives there. The name is ” Poudarique”. Just after, the arrival on Menerbes is unbelievebal of beauty. Menerbes stands like a large boat in the middle of the fields. It is no surprise that so many British people elected to have a house there.