MAS de la PICOLETTE

Qu. Real Martin, F-83390 Puget-Ville, Var, Provence, south of France

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Mas de la Picolette is situated in the middle of the Var, in the area known as Provence d'Azur.  This area of Provence has it's own website which gives a wealth of information about the locality and local amenities, albeit in rather broken English!  Our nearest village is Pignans.  We are situated on a quiet road - the D78 in the unmarked hamlet of St Adrien - surrounded by vineyards, just 4 kms from Pignans (NB although our address is Puget-Ville, it is the village of Pignans that we are nearest to). 

Pignans has a small Intermarche in the middle of the village and a large brand new but quite basic (only packaged fresh stuff) supermarket called Ed on the outskirts of the village (fantastically cheap for things like water) plus some authentic local shops (including a butcher, 3 bakeries, a chemist and two banks).  There's a Co-op winery but we prefer Domaine de Cressonniere, just outside the village, which sells their divine pale rose by the bottle and also en vrac (by petrol pump) by the 5 or 10 litre vat, at the unbelievable cost of 15 euros for 5 litres: not to be missed!  There are numerous other wine domains, where "degustations" are encouraged, within a few minutes drive.  And there is a market for every day of the week in the surrounding villages - Pignans' market day is Thursday.  Pignans has several bars - particular the Bar des Sports which does excellent food at lunchtime all year round and in the evenings in the summer; two other restaurants (Les Temps des Mets 04 94 48 83 47 and La Petite Auberg 04 94 48 81 65) and 16 fountains!  There is a larger Intermarche supermarket in the next village, Carnoules, and an even larger one about 15 minutes further on at the junction of the road to Brignols - and a huge E.Leclerc hypermarket about 20 minutes away in the other direction, on the outskirts of Le Luc. You also pass a good supermarket, Atak (its recently changed its name, and I can't remember it! - however you can't miss it), on the way from Toulon airport, on the outskirts of Pierrefeu, which you also pass if you're driving south to the beaches.

Pignans is in a really unspoilt area of this gorgeous region - living villages, interesting small towns, much quieter beaches than the more famous neighbour the Cote d'Azur.  More information about Provence in general can be found here

Pignans is by-passed by the N97 which is the road running from the A8 motorway at Le Luc to join the A57 towards Toulon / Hyeres.  The A57 links this area with the beaches of Hyeres, Le Lavendou, La Londe and Bormes les Mimosas, St Tropez and beyond.   We recommend guests buy the Michelin map Gorges du Verdon 114 Zoom.  

It is a region of contrasts, with, to the south, a fertile plain of vineyards and olive groves stretching right down to the coast, and to the north, a stunning mountain range of pine and oak forests with spectacular drives and views down to the coast.  

Our nearest large towns are Hyeres and Toulon, both about 25 minutes drive away.  Aix-en-Provence is around an hour's drive and Marseilles slightly further;  Les Gorges du Verdon (France's Grand Canyon) and the famous lavender fields are all north of us - again about an hour's drive.  it is also about an hour's drive to St.Tropez, which is due east of us, over the mountains (best market of all I think!), and to Nice along the motorway: you can continue on the A8 and go to Italy for lunch - or go on the train as we do and visit the market in Ventimiglia on a Friday.  

We are just 30- 45 minutes drive from the sea with plenty of beaches to choose from - all perfect for a day trip.  The nearest beaches are on the peninsular south of Hyeres, marked as Presquille de Giens on the map (particularly good for wind surfing, kiting, jetskiing etc - with seaside restaurants) and on the coast between Toulon and Hyeres (we love Carqueirrane, a small seaside town) but for a day on the beach we go further east, either to L'Argentiere at La Londe or a bit further on, on the unspoilt peninsular between La Londe and La Lavandou - the beaches are signed as Pellegrin, L'Estagno. and Cabasson, which is our favourite from the three though all are lovely, if basic.  There are also lovely beaches on the easily accessible islands offshore, les Iles d'Or du Golfe de Hyères - Ile de Porquerolles, Ile du Levant (a naturists paradise), and Ile de Port Cros, a national park (again,  excellent for day trips - see here for info on the boats from Giens).  The coastline south east of Marseille is also worth exploring - around Cassis, Bandol and  Sanary sur Mer - again, about an hour's drive from us.  You can catch a boat from La Ciotat to view the famous calanques - amazing inlets - from the sea.  

Excellent golf is about 40 mins drive away.  We have two particular favourites, Barbaroux and St Endreol and there are more including at Valgarde and La Londe.

Some info about other local restaurants

Click on this link for an interactive map of our area. 

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Site last updated on 6th April 2011