Villa Mas Canopée, France

Beautiful, luxurious holiday homes are not always particularly suitable for a visit with children. Design furniture that collapses as soon as you look at it, dazzling white walls, sometimes even white floors that cannot bear a single child's finger, expensive art on the wall or even more challenging: a small sculpture gallery in the middle of the living room, etc. Genuinely nice for adults who are looking for something special to stay overnight for the holidays, but true hell for families.

How different is our experience with Mas Canopée. A beautiful villa on top of a hill overlooking the cute town of Saint Maxime in the south of France. A mas is a southern French farmhouse, usually consisting of a ground floor with two floors. The mas used to be mostly oriented towards the storage of agricultural products, in contrast to the bergerie, a much longer oriented building with stables for sheep and goats and a small main building with one upper floor. In recent years the traditional mas of the Provence have become much sought after and transformed into expensive homes and vacation homes. And the nice part is: for the next few days we will be staying at one!

Via a long way up we reach the gated estate with the villa of Agathe & Tony at the very end of a dead street. Upon entering Mas Canopee, we notice the beautiful view over the surrounding terrain with villas and houses of all shapes and sizes hidden between palm and pine trees and behind them the blue of the Mediterranean Sea to the horizon.

The upper floor of Mas Canopee has a large living-dining room with a wonderfully comfortable sofa, a 'library' with a huge range of vintage DVDs, CDs, and stacks of (comic) books. Two cool bedrooms are here, also offering a view of the terrace and sea and a private bathroom.

Grandma never played ping pong before. Right… :-)

The ground floor gives access to the garden with the swimming pool. A bonus is the fact that the pool is heated from April to November. So wonderful to stay in even when the weather is not so good. Around the pool are comfortable sunbeds and for the active families there is a ping pong table. The surrounding garden is perfectly maintained and gives us a real holiday feeling. Also on the ground floor are the three other bedrooms, another bathroom and toilet.

The whole mas is very nicely styled while feeling very homely at the same time. And very important: it is not super neat. This is a house to live in. Not everything is crystal clear. However, it is all well taken care of and it ensures that you do not have to be very careful with children. Although the owners do assume that you will treat their villa with respect.

In various cupboards and drawers, we find a real treasure of board games. This is truly a retreat for families who may want to snatch themselves and the kids away from all the digital distractions for a few days. And what could be more fun than lazily playing a board game at the end of a radiant day together around the table? We even make it a sport to play as many games as possible. A small humorous, but also robust and decorative detail is that the wall is enriched with the word Tricher, meaning cheating. At the end of our stay, we tick off quite a few games, sometimes with a little help of Google translate.

And so, the days slip by themselves. In the morning in Saint Maxime we get a nice fresh baguette and spreads (bread can also be delivered), we enjoy the terrace, the garden and the swimming pool. At lunch we serve strawberries. And in the evening we prepare a nice meal on the BBQ or the handy grill plate, play a game and then look at the starry sky before going to sleep. And we slept. The silence is so soothing that we literally sleep through the day. Few things are more soothing than the bleak of lavender and the chirping of birds in the morning.

This region in France is part of Provence. It’s in the southeast of the country located between the Mediterranean Sea, the Rhone Valley and Italy. The name Provence originated from the Latin provincia. Today's Provence is the eastern part of the area that was known as Provincia Romana in 121 BC. became part of the Roman Empire. The area was known then and is still known as the largest rosé wine producer in the world.

As mentioned, Mas Canopee is located on an estate. The very large, protected area Domaine Mas de Guerrevieille. As guests we can use the facilities of the Domaine. There are two tennis courts and a huge, heated swimming pool with again a view of the sea. A lifeguard is present in July and August and can give private swimming lessons. Also, in the summer months a bar and restaurant are opened in the club house near the main pool. This is also where we find a petanque court and a ping pong table as well (balls and rackets and at the bar). To top it all off the domain even has a private beach: you can only access it if you have reserved (price around 100€ /week). An access gives you 2 beach mattress and a beach umbrella everyday and the possibility to eat at the beach restaurant.

If you think this charge is a little to hefty there are many beautiful beaches nearby, completely free to visit. For example, La plage des Cigales: just on the right after exiting the domain. Small but quite cute. Or otherwise head to Saint Maxime for another recommended beach: La plage de la Nartelle where you can safely swim and hire jet skis.

Saint Maxime is located on the north side of the bay of St. Tropez and is protected from the mistral by the wooded hills. It's a nice little place. There are no pronounced sights, although it has a small covered market. However, it is a great place to do some shopping and to have a drink on the boulevard. Major cities in the area include Marseille, Nice, Toulon, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence.

For a more mundane atmosphere you will have to go to Saint Tropez. A meeting point for artists and the beau monde since the 1950s. About 6000 people live there and it is visited by as many as 5 million people a year. Worth seeing is the citadel (16th century-17th century) and the 18th century church. The Mole duPortalet pier offers a view of the peaks of the Esterel Mountains. Opposite the town hall is the route to the baroque church (1820) where the bust of St. Torpes is placed. You will also find the statue of the famous admirals of France, the Bailli de Suffren, who stayed here after his military career, in the city center on the harbor on the Quai Suffren. The writer Guy de Maupassant also lived here. With children beaches can be more pleasant: they can be found at Tahiti or Moorea beach.

Wine lovers can visit the countless vineyards in Provence. Sainte-Roseline is a 25-minute drive from the villa. There are also several beautiful hiking trails in the area. A highlight is the trail between Cap Camarat and the beaches of Gigaro. There is also plenty of holiday entertainment nearby: bowling, mini golf, a sailing school, tennis lessons can be booked on the domain itself, boat trips in the bay and so on.

WOW

# We enjoy our stay at Agathe's villa. Agathe is a wonderful and helpful property owner. The villa is well appointed and has beautiful views.

# Not only highly recommended for a stay during summer; we imagine this is also a true heaven in wintertime. Lightning the fireplace and playing board games while watching the storm batter the coast.

# The owners are very welcoming and always reachable in case of any questions or problems. We feel like visiting long-time friends and hope to be back some time.