Coming from the North, we recommend the route via Lyon as it is certainly the fastest and easiest way to Southern France. From there you can chose between the toll motorway A7 which may be the most convenient but also most costly option. Or you use the ordinary highway N7 which offers a closer and more impressive experience of the lovely landscapes but passes through many towns and villages and takes more time. 

►Motorway: From Lyon take the A7 towards Marseille. You will to pass through Valence, Montélimar, Orange, Avignon, Cavaillon and Salon-de-Provence. At the intersection ahead of Aix-en-Provence turn onto the A8 (towards Nice). Leave it at exit # 34 "Saint-Maximin-La-Sainte-Baume" and immediately after the toll station turn right to Bras.

►Highway: Follow the N7 from Lyon (or where you connect to it) all the way down to Saint-Maximin. In the town centre it leads to a circle with an obelisk fountain. Leave the main road here towards Barjols and after 50 Meters turn right (just in front of the building with the almond green shutters) into the country road D28 to Bras (9 km).

In case you arrive from the East (when coming from Italy and via Brignoles), no need to enter Saint Maximin. Just ahead of the town leave the N7 towards the toll motorway and in front of the toll station turn left to Bras.

►In Bras: After entering the village stay on D28 continue uphill, in front of this nice old house with the brown shutters, towards Brignoles / Le Val into the centre. You'll find yourself now on a little square (Place du 14 juillet) with the Cafe "Nemrod" and the church on your right and a tobacco and news-paper kiosk on your left. Follow the road towards the eastern edge of the village.

After 50 meters, at the fountain by the plane-trees, leave the road and turn left into Rue Emile Combes. Here you will already see the first of our blue signs indicating the rest of the way up to our guest house.

Drive on for another 600 meters by staying on the same road (a little later called Chemin du rail) through fields and a vineyard to the edge of the forest at the bottom of our hill.

Here, a second blue sign will indicate the way up to the hilltop. After 350 meters the tarred lane ends in a hairpin bend and becomes a dirt track that you should follow for another 250 meters until it enters our property.

(Those 4 markers can also be found in the map on the right)

By the way: You can drive directly to the house and leave your vehicle at our secure car park.

A printer-friendly version illustrated with a series of photos is available here...

If your GPS requires a street name, please enter "Emile Combes", which is the first part of the access road from the village centre to our guest house. After a short distance this road will change to "Chemin du rail sur le chemin" which leads directly to our site. As it crosses mainly private properties, most maps and GPS ignore it.

Should you prefer the Maps of click here...

Be advised that our hilltop property is nestling amidst sylvan surroundings about 1.5 km outside the village. The single-lane approach road crosses private properties and may not be drawn on all official maps. It ends as a short dirt track (250 m), which might cause some difficulties for low-slung vehicles.

You wish to avoid the stress of a long drive? By train, you can visit Provence just as easily. The high-speed rail line Eurostar-TGV London-Paris has a connection to Marseilles and Aix-en-Provence.

Aix-en-Provence or Marseilles? When taking the TGV high-speed line your final station is either Marseilles-St.Charles or Aix-en-Provence - TGV (both about 70 km from our village). You will find all major car rentals there if you wish to rent a car for the rest of your journey to us (see our recommendations below). Otherwise, you may take an express bus to Saint Maximin (about 10 km from us), where we will be pleased to pick you up at the bus stop. Note that bus connections to Saint-Maximin are better from Aix-TGV than from Marseilles Saint Charles station. A schedule in French is available on the Regional Express Lines website (phone +33 821 20 22 03) but you are welcome to ask us, if you have problems with reading it.

We also offer a pick-up service directly from Marseilles or Aix-TGV train station at 70 € per trip (subject to availability of car and driver).

Marseilles-Provence: The Mediterranean capital is only 80 km from Bras away and will therefore certainly be the first choice for most of you.

Nice-Côte d'Azur: the distance to Bras is a little longer (about 130 km). As France's second-biggest airport, however, Nice offers much more national and international connections.

For the trip from the airport to our village we suggest to rent a car (see our recommendations below). Or you can take the express bus to Saint Maximin (about 10 km from us): at Nice Airport Line LER 20 "Les Phocéens" (Tel. +33 493 85 66 61) provides two daily connections to Saint Maximin. At Marseilles Airport it is Line LER 36 (Tel. +33 821 20 22 03) with four busses per day to Saint Maximin. For the remaining short trip from the bus station in Saint Maximin to our village you would have to take a taxi or we may pick you up there. Departure times of the express busses can be found on their respective websites but we will be pleased to assist if required.

We also provide an airport pick-up service at 80 € from Marseilles / 150 € from Nice (per trip, subject to availability of car and driver).

If you wish to rent a car: To find the best deal we advise to book as far ahead as possible and to search via a comparison site. We can recommend Auto Europe or Rhino Car Hire. Note that Rhino offers to all our guests an additional 10 % discount on their standard rates. To benefit from this special offer, kindly contact us before you book your car.

You travel without a car? Please remember that our guest house is located 1,5 km outside Bras. Although the village has a variety of cafes, restaurants and local shops all within walking distance (it's a 15 min walk down to the centre), we strongly recommend a car for sightseeing or city trips as public transport is rather bad out here. We may provide transport to the nearby towns of Saint Maximin or Brignoles where busses of the VARLIB public transport network are available, but due to constraints related to our daily work schedule we cannot guarantee the disposability of our car and driver.

B&B "Terre d'Ocre" B&B "Fleur de Garrigue" B&B "Brise de Mer" B&B "Nid de Cupidon" B&B "Oiseau de Paradis"
Studio flat "Le Garlaban" Studio flat "Le Verdon"