A Dreamy Week in Provence: Crillon Le Brave, Murs & Avignon

Where I Stayed: Hotel Crillon Le Brave

Once upon a time, In a village built from cobblestone, I stayed in a quiet hotel that felt like a different era of time.

From the moment I arrived at Crillon Le Brave everything felt perfectly designed and intentionally placed. The tones, textures, the way each door opened into another small courtyard. It doesn't feel like a traditional hotel and that's the magic of it. It’s a village restored carefully and piece by piece.

Mid-May in Provence is quietly picturesque. It was also slightly chillier than I had anticipated. However even during the few hours of overcast I was able to lounge at the pool one day as the sun appeared in and out of the clouds. My friends and I stayed in a suite with a private courtyard just outside the room. The mornings were fresh, the evenings settled with dew, and the loudest sounds around came from doors opening and closing in the distant courtyards of the other guests and staff.

The hotels on site restaurant La Table Du Ventox was exactly what I had hoped for in Provence.

The girls and I love a classic beautifully plated French dish and dessert! However the American in me ordered the crispy chicken caeser salad to my room multiple nights in a row because I couldn't get over how great it was - authentic french cusine or not!! ;)

One afternoon the hotel arranged a car to take us down to the market, where my friends and I picked up fresh bread, cheeses, and fruits and brought it back to create a small picnic in my courtyard.

One of my favorite parts of staying there was dressing for it. Light cottage dresses in the mornings, soft layers in the evenings. The setting almost asks you to lean into it. The staff and even a few of the guests would smile or compliment the outfits, which made it feel even more immersive. Every nook felt like an aesthetic photo opportunity for my brain. The old stone pathways made me feel like a princess as I made my way through the hotels gardens and alleyways.

They even have an old school style gym that Gerise and I would visit in the evenings for our own little yoga workouts. It felt charmingly understated, it was very basic which honestly made sense. With all the walking you do in Provence, the landscape feels like the real workout. :)

Murs France

After Crillon Le Brave, the hotel arranged a car to drop us at an Airbnb in Murs, France; a tiny stone village tucked even deeper into the countryside.

The house itself was beautiful. An authentic old French country home with thick walls, shuttered windows, and a large front courtyard off of a small road. It sat directly beside a privately occupied castle. The castle next door has a bell that rang once at 8 am and once 8 pm everyday. The bell echoed through the town twice a day making us feel like we were living inside our own little fairytale.

When booking our stay I have to admit that what we hadn’t anticipated was just how remote Murs actually is. I had briefly googled "Murs France" before we visited of course, but there was no direct mention online of how truly remote the location was. There are no markets in the village. No Ubers. No rental car services nearby. No Wi-Fi in the house. The nearest town of Gordes, France is only accessible by car. Once you arrive, you are very much there.

We realized quickly that without a rental car, it would be difficult to move around, so we had dinner at the hotel in town Hotel Le Crillon (Yes its a different hotel than - Hotel Crillon le Brave). Then called and arranged for a taxi to come in the morning and drive us to pick up a rental. Lesson learned, take it from me, beautiful remote locations require a little extra attention and planning. :)

Hotel Le Crillon is the only hotel/restaurant in town. Each morning, we walked there for coffee and breakfast. Cyclists would pass through occasionally, but otherwise it was just cobblestone houses, open sky, and greenery breathing and moving in the wind. On our walk from the airbnb down to the hotel we enjoyed the view of the lavender fields and the few locals smiling at us and chatting amongst eachother in french.

The beauty of Murs isn’t curated like Hotel Crillon Le Brave. The magic is in the markings in the stone belonging to the families who lived there decades prior. The sun peeking through the clouds for a moment in the overcast. It lingers in the worn, uneven limestone steps, in the quiet doorways, and in the air that feels older than you. What im trying to explain metaphorically is that you can't just capture Murs into a photograph. The village is an experience for those like me who don't always need to speak to notice.

All 3 of us girls cooked our favorite pasta with red sauce dinner after visiting a market in the neighboring town of Gordes for groceries. On our airbnb balcony we poured wine and sat together looking at the horizon and enjoying the settling evening silence of the village. The nights were pretty chilly so we bundled up in blankets. Gerise got her phone screen time in while Tiffany and I enjoyed the silence.

A Day in Avignon

The last afternoon, we drove into Avignon for lunch at Hôtel La Mirande. The hotel sits just beside the Palais des Papes which was once a fortress- now turned historical theatre.

Lunch there was as lovely as the photos suggest. White tablecloths, softly designed interior detail, and thoughtful service by the staff. Antique rugs in every room that would make my grandma so jealous. The difference is felt between authentic french styling created not to appease tourists but for the preservation french detail.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Avignon walking through Old Town, letting ourselves get a little lost. At one point, we realized we were driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Definitely on brand for the girls and I.

The streets are narrow and warm-toned, lined with small shops, linen dresses, handmade soaps, ceramics, and cafés tucked into corners. It moves slower than you expect for a city. Easy to wander without a plan.

There was a Labrador retriever walking around completely unleashed, calmly weaving through the streets like he belonged there. That felt like the mood of the entire place.

Give yourself time to walk, browse, and stop for a long lunch. That’s really the point.

Avignon was much busier than the countryside we had been staying in, but the commune still holds its old world charm. Walking through the streets near the Palais des Papes is like stepping into another era of time. It was the perfect contrast to the quiet stillness of Murs that we had been feeling all week!

End of the trip thoughts <3

I cannot condense provence into its own single blog post. At Crillon Le Brave the experience was intentional and curated. Our raw experience Murs it felt unedited and slow. In Avignon it felt historic and alive. Each place carries its own pace and rhythm.

Provence is less about what you do and more about how you allow yourself to move through it. Slowly. Quietly. Without needing to fill the silence with social media, but to exist with your own thoughts.

With love,

Hailey Grice