The antithesis of cold, rainy, northern Europe, the Provence Cézanne painted and Camus wrote of is resplendent with tall cypress trees, shimmering meadows, small villages, vineyards, remote valleys, daily markets and fields of lavender. The Lubéron - which runs for 50km between Cavaillon and Manosque - has always been a holiday retreat for well-heeled Parisians and the British, and has always attracted a good number of artists, who flock to Apt and the surrounding, tiny villages. Other areas in the region offer beautiful villas that are ideal for family holidays.

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IN THE LUBERON

Finding houses in the Lubéron requires persistence. In the more scenic hilltop villages, all the rooms are reserved months before the summer season but Meon Villas (01730 268 411) is particularly reliable. Gîtes, small hotels and chambres d'hôtes can also be found via the tourist office in Apt (00 33 4 90 74 03 18). The online magazine www.luberon-news.com is also helpful.

CHAMBRES D'HOTES
A good option is to rent a house with a swimming pool and a view. The best houses you can rent are chambres d'hôtes, where the owners will have you as their guests and, if you want, cook for you and eat with you.
Les Vieilles Tourettes in Apt (00 33 4 90 04 81 76; closed July and August) - built in the 18th century as a farm for the bishop of Apt - is run by the Poirson family who are émigrés from Paris. Arranged around a gravelled courtyard are many entrances leading into cool, vaulted rooms. The capacious sitting room has been created in the cellar where the bishop kept barrels of wine. Annexes and outhouses have been converted into simple, comfortable bedrooms with shutters and tiled floors. Madame Poirson is an accomplished painter and picture restorer and she works in a small converted workshop overlooking the fields. When not by the swimming pool, one can sit under fig trees listening to the bees or contemplating the variations of greens and grey-blues of so much lavender mixed with grasses and thyme.

HOTELS

AVEC VUE
Saignon (00 33 4 90 04 85 01; email: chambreavecvue@vox-pop.net). This is a small hotel run by a couple who sponsor resident artists from all over Europe. The rooms aren't big but there is a large garden at the back. It's the sort of place that makes you wish there was some piece of writing that needs to be finished on time and can only be executed in appropriately aesthetic surroundings. £

AUBERGE DU PRESBYTERE
Saignon (00 33 4 90 74 11 50). Situated in the small square with its communal blanchisserie and fountain. £

VILLAS AVAILABLE IN THE REST OF PROVENCE

LA TANIERE
Mougins (CV Travel: 020 7591 2833; www.cvtravel.net). Sleeps eight; price £1,710-£3,570 per week, including maid service

LA SOURCE ST MICHEL
Draguignan (Private Properties Abroad: 01423 330 533; www.ppaproperties.com). Sleeps 10; price £3,500-£5,400 per week, including housekeeper and maid

BAMBOU
Maillane (Bambou Provence: 07771 757 374; www.bambouprovence.com). Sleeps 10-12; price £2,390-£4,070 per week, including maid service. Babysitting, cooking, massages and tours are also available

LE VIEUX MOULIN
Between Grasse and Cabris (Balfour France: 020 8878 9955; www.balfourfrance.com). Sleeps eight adults and four children (no toddlers); price £5,995-£6,190 per week, including maid service; only available July-August

L'HERMITAGE
Tourettes-sur-Loup (French Chapters by Abercrombie & Kent: 0845 0700 618; www.villarentals.com). Sleeps 10, plus one in a small single; price £5,272-£7,290 per week, including maid service

DOMAINE PICARNIER
Pernes-Les-Fontaines (Balfour France: 020 8878 9955; www.balfourfrance.com). Sleeps six adults comfortably; the 'children's room' is best suited to teenagers or unexpected guests; price £4,465-£4,750 per week, including maid service; only available July-September

LES BAUX
Les Baux-de-Provence (French Chapters by Abercrombie & Kent: 0845 0700 618; www.villarentals.com). There is a nine-hole golf course nearby. Sleeps six adults comfortably; price £2,450-£4,135 per week, including maid service

FLOS FELIX
Vallabrix, near Uzes (Western & Oriental: 020 7313 6600; www.westernoriental.com). Sleeps seven adults and five children comfortably; price £2,800-£3,500 per week, including maid service. A cook can be arranged

IN APT

LE CARRE DES SENS
Place Saint-Martin (00 33 4 90 74 74 00). This is a good restaurant and the late John Thaw was a frequent customer here.

IN LUMIERES

BAR RESTAURANT LUMIERE
(00 33 4 90 72 22 71). This small café and tabac, just opposite the church, doesn't take reservations. The service is courteous and it is difficult to spend more than £10 per person. Thesteak frites, andouillettes and tartes come with a neighbourhood rosé hard to find elsewhere.

WHAT TO DRINK

In France, you are still expected to drink local wine with the food. These include Gigondas and Vacqueyras and there are many Côtes du Rhône Villages, which are good, if sometimes also a bit heavy. The lesser-known Lubéron and Ventoux côteaux are good, too - the Ventoux wines are a bit weightier and less good for light holiday drinking. For as little as three euros you can find more than drinkable reds or rosés in Leclerc supermarkets. In Apt, La Cave du Septier (00 33 4 90 04 77 38) sells a large range of local wines, including Château Constantin-Chevalier.

APT

The only town base for exploring the Lubéron, the town's weekly market - when cars are barred from the town centre - has stalls with delectable food and is worth a visit for its jazz musicians, stand-up comedians and aged hippies. Stock up on chocolates and candied fruits, Apt's speciality.

OTHER VILLAGES

Don't miss Goult (for its retro café, decorated with sporting trophies and overlooking the square), Roussillon (for its profusion of ochre), the exquisitely romantic Fontaine-de-Vaucluse and Bonnieux (for its tennis courts with a view). Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt is particularly charming, with its bakeries, pizzeria, market each Tuesday, charcuterie, dinky supermarket, cafés and a pharmacy whose stock of homeopathic medicine puts London's Holland Park to shame. At the hippyish ceramics shop near the centre they make bowls, jugs or house numbers to order. The Saturninois are sweetly and appropriately proud of their village. More sophisticated - and on the other side of the valley - is Saignon, perched on the hill adjacent to Apt.

CHATEAU LA CANORGUE

(00 33 4 90 75 81 01). For a holiday treat, visit this small vineyard on the edge of Bonnieux. The perfect ochre-and-tiles small manor house was built in the 18th century. The estate's wines are organic and very special. Try the white as well as the red and rosé.

MARKETS

As mentioned above, the Saturday market in Apt is special: promising a great array of peaches, herbs, cheeses, breads and a profusion of vegetables. Rue des Marchands comprises a dazzling range of tiny emporia.

It's worth going one afternoon to Le Thor, an unremarkable village in the direction of Avignon. Here, from Wednesday to Saturday, growers, commerçants and restaurant owners come from as far as Marseille to a huge car park to buy dense pots of basil, tomatoes, olives, Cavaillon melons, courgettes and aubergines. The paella, sold in most markets, is the locals' dish of choice. Local stone-ground artisanal bread, sometimes stuffed with olives, is unlike anything you can find in Britain.

THE PARC NATUREL REGIONAL DU LUBERON

A large area of the Lubéron has been designated the Parc Naturel Regional du Lubéron, with the aim of conserving the natural fauna and flora and limiting development. The park is administered by the Maison du Parc, 1 place Jean-Jaurès in Apt (Mon to Sat 8.30am to noon and 1.30 to 6pm). Probably the best way to explore is by hiking or cycling. In Apt, bikes can be hired from Peugeot Cycles, 44 quai de la Liberté; Guy Angel, 27 Quai Général-Leclerc or Garage Maretto a few doors down.

AIRPORT
The Aéroport de Marseille-Provence is 28km north-west of the city.

AIRLINES FROM THE UK
British Airways (0845 773 3377; www.britishairways.com) flies daily from Gatwick to Marseille.
Eurostar (0870 160 6600; www.eurostar.com) offers a daily service from Waterloo to Lille and on to Avignon with TGV.

Wimco Villas (0870 850 1144; www.wimco.com).

Go to Provence during the spring lavender season. Temperatures are high and there will be several hours of the region's famous light. The best month is May.

Gîtes, small hotels and chambres d'hôtes, can also be found via the the tourist office in Apt (00 33 4 90 74 03 18). The online magazine www.luberon-news.com is also helpful.