Le Plan de La Tour
Living like a god in France, read: Le Plan de la Tour. The picturesquely village Le Plan de La Tour is located in the French department Var, at the French Riviera, a little outbacked, in the mountains of Les Massif des Maures. A heaven of tranquility and peace in a gorgeous green setting. The nearest sea-site resort you will already find after four miles and is called Sainte-Maxime. Three miles further and you will find the fashionable Saint- Tropez. Le Plan de la Tour is even housing a Hollywoodstar: Johnny Depp. Nevertheless, the village Le Plan de La Tour just stayed normal. Nothing is adorned or overdone, trying to attract tourists. Non of that. And that is what we like! So even in high season you won’t find a lot of tourists in Le Plan the la Tour. You can still taste the French atmosphere. The locals are also very friendly. The village square is to be recommended. Drink your nice local wine ( read: pale colored rosé!) under the beautiful Alba plane-trees. And for the true wine lover: Visit the several caves and chateaux in the surrounding areas and taste and compare a few of the delicious, honest rosé wines of the Provence with each other and experience how the local wines are made. You find yourself in one of the best rosé areas of the world! So make use of it! Almost weekly you’ll find wine tasting opportunities. More info you will find at the ”Office du Tourisme” ,situated at the village square. Every Thursday there is a Provincial market with lots of local products. Le Plan de La Tour has a number of good restaurants. We from Mas des Oleandres love the French restaurant “Le 19”( Le Dix Neuf) very very much! It has a very good price-quality ratio with topservice. If you want something cheaper: Bistrot “Déjà Vu” is a good option.
Massif des Maures
A mountain range covered with cork oaks and chestnut trees. A beautiful scenery to discover by car, by foot, by horse, by bicycle or mountainbike. This area is also known voor his beautiful trails. Close behind Mas Des Oleandres you will find a trail going into the direction of La Garde Freinet. From the village Le Plan de La Tour you walk or cycle directly up into Massif des Maures and you are going to enjoy spectacular panoramas. Massif des Maures is one of the roughest and oldest region from the Provence. In this area are situated some real gems like the beautiful monastery Chartreuse de La Verne and the nice old villages Grimaud, La Garde Freinet and Collobrieres.
La Garde Freinet
A sleepy mountain village with beautiful colored houses. Located in the heart of Massif des Maures and surrounded by gorgeous nature. An ideal starting point for hikers, cyclists and mountainbikers. It invites you for long walks and trekkings with breathtaking views direction inland and direction Mediterranean. And would you walk a little shorter? A walk to Croix des Maures takes you half an hour with a nice view over La Garde Freinet. You can also go for a walk to the Ruines de Fort Freinet. One hour there, one hour back. Fresh air guaranteed!
Grimaud
Just like La Garde Freinet: a school example of a mountain village. But no sleepy village. Far from it! It’s full of activity, in other words: tourists. It’s a wonderful, well maintained old village. It has old houses, charming squares, stairs, fountains, lotus flowers and as highlight an old ruin castle build in the 11th century . To be seen from far away. It’s a short climb to the highest point and you can overlook the Mediterranean and Saint-Tropez. Grimaud is well known for their yearly festival Grimaldines. A feast to honour the Grimaldi family.
Chartreuse de la Verne
One of thé highlights of this region! Also called Monastere de La Verne. Isolated high in the mountains of Massif the Maures. The monastery is founded in 1170. It is looted and set on fire several times and just as often resurrected. After the French revolution it was put out of order and nature took over. In 1968 an association was founded to restore the monastery. In 1982 the first monks came back into the monastery. Till now people are busy to restore this beautiful, sober monastery. The car ride ( from Grimaud) is already worth the effort!
Saint-Tropez
Yachts, luxury, Brigitte Bardot, beaches, artists, stars, glitter, the new Venice, clichés are flying around. You love or hate it! But whatever people say: “Saint-Trop” is still very popular by most people. One warning: Don’t go by car in summer! It takes you two hours to get there. The coastal road will be one traffic jam. Avoid it. Much easier and nicer is to take the ferry from Sainte-Maxime to Saint-Tropez. Not crowded and after fifteen minutes the boat docks the harbour of Saint-Tropez. Make a walk through the nice, narrow alleys . Visit Le Citadel and Musée de L’Annonciade. And admire the big yachts and coming by “stars” at the harbor during a nice cappuccino at the famous “red” café Sénéquier. Don’t forget to bring a big money pouch with you.
Sainte -Maxime
This pleasant seaside resort (with relatively large public beaches), a fifteen minutes drive from Mas des Oleandres, is less sophisticated than her neighbor Saint-Tropez. But we like the village very much. You can relax and linger forever on the long beach. Or stroll along the long boulevard. It has a very nice restored old city with a fishing- and yacht port. A lot of French people are having their holidays at Sainte-Maxime. The village has many, good and affordable restaurants. Every day there is a market. The town even has his own casino and at the edge of the city you will find an Aqualand. A must see is Musée des Traditions.
Fréjus
This village (a 20 minutes drive from Mas des Oleandres) finds its origin from Roman times. You will find there several remains of it, including an amphi theater. You can also visit visible remnants of a forty kilometer long Roman aqueduct. A lot of people visit Fréjus because of the big beaches an early mentioned Roman ruins. You can also visit the bishop palace, the cathedral and the old centre. This old centre houses several art studio’s. Sculpture, pottery, bookbinding, litografie, glass blowing, carpet knotting, etc. They are all there. There is even a special walking tour to visit them all.
Markets
No holiday is complete without visiting and enjoying a Provencal market in the morning. Covered or open. You will find both. A brocanterie (brocantes), a jumble sale (vide grenier), a farmers market ( marché paysans), a fair, etc. You’ll find a lot of them in this area. Also markets where it smells like lavender, thyme or tarragon. Or garlic! Our favorit market ( three miles away from Mas des Oleandres) is a brocanterie called Jas des Roberts. A beautiful market with a enormous range of products. The sooner you arrive, the better the price! To make it easy for our guests we have made a list with the most interesting markets in the area.
Sports
You want a more sporty holiday? Mas des Oleandres is a great place for it. Besides walking you can go for a run in the valley of Le Plan de La Tour. Or more hilly? No problem at all! You can also run along the coastline of the Mediterranean. Start in Sainte-Maxime and run direction Fréjus. At the right of you only blue water and white beaches. Or run the other direction towards Port-Grimaud. The area is a heaven for cyclists. Perfect roads with a lot of hills and beautiful descents. First week in September there is even a Run Bike Run contest in Le Plan de La Tour. Just a little outside Le Plan the La Tour, in the middle of nowhere, you will find a beautiful tenniscourt. There is also a court where you can play Petanque or Jeu de Boule. In nearby Sainte-Maxime you’ll find the sports complex Les Bosquette. It has, among other things an athletics track, a swimmingpool and an Aqualand. In the surrounding area there are a few golf complexes. Diving, sailing, surfing, waterskiing, swimming and snorking, etc you can do along the Mediterranean coast.