Provence with Kids

A family week without daily hotel moves

Six nights in Aix or suitably located accommodation nearby provide five full days between arrival and departure. Choose a base with the beds you actually need, a kitchen and reachable places for dinner. A remote gîte may offer plenty of space while requiring another drive for every meal.

• Day 1: Arrive, buy groceries and settle into the accommodation.
• Day 2: A short Aix morning between Cours Mirabeau and the market; return to your base in the afternoon.
• Day 3: Lourmarin as one village outing. Add Cucuron only if everyone still wants a second stop.
• Day 4: A free day for rest, a booked children's workshop or a usable pool at your accommodation.
• Day 5: An age-appropriate museum visit in Aix OR another short outing that interests the family.
• Day 6: Flexible time for a postponed excursion, a market or recovery.
• Day 7: Departure; avoid fitting a distant village in before car return.

A family prioritising Roussillon could stay in the Luberon instead. That replaces Aix outings with closer village days rather than doubling the week's programme.

Different plans for toddlers and school-age children

With a pushchair, a market and short city walks are often simpler than repeated hill-village climbs. Check lifts and the route from parking before booking an old-town apartment. School-age children who enjoy steps and geology may like Roussillon's ochre trail: the tourist office describes 30- and 60-minute circuits that are unsuitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs. Add time for breaks and choose shoes that can survive ochre stains.

Those timings do not apply automatically to every child. Heat, a closed entrance or tired legs may rule the trail out. A short village walk can then be the whole activity. Eat snacks or a picnic in a permitted place outside the ochre trail.

A lake stay needs its own base

Lac de Sainte-Croix is not a simple afternoon break after sightseeing in Aix. For ten days including the lake, one possible allocation is six nights Aix, two near Moustiers or the lake and a final night Aix: day 7 is the transfer, day 8 a full lake day, day 9 the return drive and day 10 departure.

Choose a specific permitted beach, for example around Les Salles-sur-Verdon or Bauduen, checking supervision, access and local conditions. For boats, follow the rental operator's age, swimming-ability and equipment requirements. Swimming in the Verdon canyon is prohibited; permission to hire a boat does not permit swimming. A short shore visit may suit small children better.

Accommodation and the family budget

The ranges above are editorial allowances for two adults and two children together, including suitable accommodation, food, shared transport costs and selected admissions, excluding travel to the region. They are not surveyed live prices. Ages, beds and child seats change the actual calculation; adult daily budgets in other guides should not simply be multiplied by four.

Compare cleaning charges, parking, pool use, laundry and child discounts separately. A pool is available only when the property actually offers one and its conditions suit your stay. The budget guide provides a transparent method for counting nights and shared expenses.