Village House in Provence Gard, France

La Maison d’Hélène details

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l'Escritoire

Entry

View from the terrace

Vinzelles

Home description

Welcome to L’Escritoire — a sixteenth-century, partly rock-hewn residence with enclosed courtyard and pool.  We offer self-catering accommodation for one adult couple in an independent stone house (La Maison d’Hélène) or accommodation for two adult couples sharing the house with a separate suite (La Chambre de Gussie) overlooking the pool.  Guests will find L'Escritoire to be an exclusive haven in which to read, write, relax, and explore in the remarkably quiet, medieval village of Saint Siffret and in the glorious countryside of the Uzège.

Until a hundred years or so ago the dwellings that comprise L’Escritoire included a small village farm dating from at least the sixteenth century and probably formed part of the nearby château’s grounds. Retaining many of its original features it has been elegantly restored by the present owners, both academics, who live (and work) in the main house with their small watchdog and cat.

The entry to L’Escritoire is by way of an eighteenth-century walnut door opening onto the courtyard, but there is independent access from the street to La Maison d’Hélène as well as La Chambre de Gussie so owners and guests can come and go undisturbed. The shared central courtyard has a small but deep pool for refreshment and quiet relaxation.

Accommodation detail

Bedroom

Open plan living overlooking pool

Reading room;office

Fully fitted kitchen

Shower room

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La Maison d’Hélène provides full, independent accommodation for one (adult) couple.

Downstairs

Open plan with Italian-tiled sitting and dining areas, and a fully fitted kitchen.

• Living room has two sofas, a coffee table, a beautifully functioning fireplace, a CD player, a DVD player and a flat screen digital television with a full range of channels.
• Dining area has a table and chairs.
• Kitchen is equipped with under-counter refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, electric oven, electric, ceramic stove/hob with stainless steel hood. There are pine cabinets, zinc countertops, plenty of storage space, and quality dishes, cookware, glassware, cutlery and utensils.

Upstairs

• Double bedroom with a queen-size bed, two side tables with lamps, hanging space, and a chest of drawers.
• Study has a small desk and chair, a sofa, and a collection of books which guests are welcome to browse on site.
• Shower room - which includes a toilet, is tiled with weathered Italian marble and includes a stone sink fitted with elegant taps. Quality towels are provided.

Broadband/ADSL internet access via a Wi-Fi connection may be possible from certain locations on the property.

The south facing windows in the study and bedroom look out onto the courtyard and pool; while the other bedroom window has views of the neighbouring fig tree and looks northwest to the distant Cévennes.

About the location

L’Escritoire is in the centre of the vieux village of St Siffret, a cluster of charming restored houses, courtyards, narrow streets and alleyways. Some of the houses (like the owner’s) have been partly hewn out of the rock and contain evidence of prehistoric dwellings.

Little is known about Saint Siffret himself, but his statue, holding a stirrup, stands guard outside the eleventh-century church on the east side of the village. The sixteenth-century château, a hundred metres from L’Escritoire, dominates the north-west corner.

Sitting on a hill surrounded by woods, vineyards, asparagus and wheat fields and scrubland (garrigue) with spectacular views over the surrounding countryside, St Siffret is the nearest village to the spectacular, medieval city of Uzès. Just four kilometres away, it is possible to walk to there in about 40 minutes.

Just outside the old village, on the road to St Maximin, is a small supermarket that also sells fresh bread, newspapers and magazines, and has a post-office. In the same complex is the medical and physiotherapist centre.

St Siffret boasts one of the best restaurants in the region (‘L’Authentic’), has its own cooperative wine cellar, and an independent wine-maker at the Domaine Reynaud. It is strongly recommended that guests have a car. Although no private parking is available, street parking throughout the village is free.

L’Escritoire is ideally situated for those who wish to take advantage of the open-air theatre, opera and concerts provided at the Roman amphitheatre in Orange, La Roque d’Anteron, and of the festivals at Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, and of the Nuits Musicales in Uzès. It also ideal for anyone who, like its owners, wishes to spend time relaxing, reading, thinking and, as its name suggests, writing.

Uzès - Half a century ago the medieval city of Uzès to the south of the Cévennes hills slumbered, forgotten. Today, thanks to local initiative and support from successive governments’ cultural policies, it is one of the most colourful and vibrant towns in the South of France. During the summer its population increases threefold with tourists and owners of second homes arriving by air (Nîmes, Montpellier, Avignon), by train (Avignon and Nîmes) and by car, with motorway access only a few kilometres away. On Saturdays and Wednesdays the local market attracts hundreds, virtually turning the centre of the town into a pedestrian area. Cafés and restaurants spill out onto the pavements. Foreign languages – Dutch, German, Spanish, Swedish, Danish and … English – are almost as common as French. Surrounding its medieval castle and contained within its circular boulevard, Uzès offers a maze of narrow, tiny streets and squares with beautifully restored houses. Most of these date from the seventeenth century and were built on the medieval arcades that sheltered a variety of specialist markets, but everywhere traces remain of the town that had been here for a thousand years already. Culturally Uzès is increasingly active. In addition to the local museums are small art galleries offering a range of exhibitions (pottery, painting, jewellery, furniture), a cinema and, in July, an international music festival, the Nuits Musicales. In the same month Uzès welcomes one of the major antiques fairs of the region and in August hosts a wine festival.

Within easy distance are the towns that were jewels of the Roman Empire and of the high Middle Ages - Nîmes, Orange and Arles (second only to Rome) and Avignon. Only a little further is Aix-en-Provence and just a dozen kilometres away is one of the wonders of the Roman world and one of the engineering feats of all time, the 2000 year old aqueduct, the Pont du Gard.

As a base from which to explore the many villages that make up the Uzège, Uzès is ideal. Some of these villages, like Saint Quentin with its many potteries, have become important centres in their own right; others, like Lussan enjoy extraordinarily picturesque situations, but all have features waiting to be discovered—tiny churches, ornate doorways, remnants of castles, lavoirs, wells, cellars…. Nor should wine be forgotten. Close by are the renowned areas of the Costières de Nîmes to the south and the villages of the Côtes du Rhône to the east, but throughout the Uzège impressive and ever improving wines of all styles are enthusiastically promoted by their makers.

See Local guide and map for information on nearby towns and facilities.

Activities near by

Ballooning, Canoeing, Cycling, Golf, Gourmet dining, Hiking, Horse riding, Rambling, Shopping, Sightseeing, Swimming, Walking, Wine tasting, Wine touring

See Activities and attractions for more information on nearby activities and places of interest.

How to get here

By air: Ryanair operates a daily service from Luton to Nîmes Garon, and from Stansted to Montpellier and Perpignan. Air France flies from Paris Orly to Avignon.

By rail: Connections from Paris to Nîmes and Avignon TGV operate many times a day. Eurostar services from London to Lille Europe with connecting services from Lille Europe to Avignon are also frequent.

By road: Take the A9 autoroute toward Nîmes and exit at the Remoulins/Pont du Gard junction. Saint-Siffret is about 15 km in the direction of Uzès.

A map will be provided when you have booked in full.

See Local guide and map for information on nearby towns and airports.