ansouis, france
By this time in the trip, we’d figured out the best villages to visit were the ones featured on the Les Plus Beaux Villages list! We decided the next two to tackle would be Ansouis and Ménerbes. We visited Ansouis in the morning because our AirBnB hosts had told us about their weekly Sunday market! Ansouis is more of a sleepy town than the others we had visited though, and when we showed up at 9am the market had not begun! By the time we left around 10:30am the market was starting to pick up. Even though we didn’t get a chance to do the market, I loved wandering around this tiny village!
Each little street was more charming than the last, and the chapel at the very top of the hill was stunning. Definitely take the time to walk in and look around – some beautiful art and stained glass windows! Below are more photos from our trip to Ansouis, and keep scrolling for our visit to Ménerbes!
You might recognize this dress… I love it so much I bought it in two different variations! I originally bought the floral print style and immediately fell in love with the flattering smocked bodice, puffed sleeves and effortless linen silhouette. I love the florals, but also thought having a solid white style would be useful and a little more versatile – so I ended up with two!
I decided to have the thigh slit closed up a little bit on both dresses, as it was a little too risqué for me before. I wore the floral one a couple times before having the slit sewn up, and let’s just say some people might have gotten an eyeful thanks to a gust of wind…! For sizing reference, I’m wearing a small – I’d say this dress runs true to size.
ménerbes, france
We visited Ménerbes in the afternoon, which couldn’t have been more pleasant as the clouds had burned off to a perfectly sunny day!
We loved this spot so much we decided to stay in town for dinner! Since none of the restaurants in town opened until 7:30pm, we sat down for a drink at Bistro le 5 beforehand – this spot has great views of the countryside below. For dinner, we chose an al fresco table at Le Galoubet! Meghan and I both ordered a crispy goat cheese salad, classic beef Daube (stew) and crème brûlée. It was all so delicious and the ideal hearty French meal! The service was great and the owners/servers were super friendly too.
I took a bunch of photos here, so definitely be sure to scroll down and take a look at this breathtaking village!
domaine de fontenille
You can’t visit the French countryside without a visit to a winery, #amIright?! We’d found this grand hotel and associated winery while doing research for this trip, and it just so happened to be a pretty short distance away from where we were staying. While the hotel and winery are actually separate entities now, they used to function as one! They are just across the street from one another, so we made sure to pop by the hotel after our wine tasting… and I’m so glad we did! Definitely inspo for a future trip on where to stay!
I liked that Domaine de Fontenille wasn’t right in the middle of a busy town and truly a retreat in the countryside. From the stunning interiors (bar, library, multiple seating rooms, to a pool, rose garden, outdoor dining and large lawn, this seems like the ideal place to take a breather from your regular life. I’d have liked to grab a good book and settle in!
Whether or not you stay at the hotel, Domaine de Fontenille features a Michelin-starred restaurant, and is definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in the area! And be sure to stop by the winery for a tasting of their delicious rosés and reds!
