# Winter in Provence



## barge1914 (Jun 6, 2020)

Anyone spent winter in Provence? Nice area but for us too busy in summer. If all goes well could be tempting for Nov/Dec for a final fling before Brexit.
Wondering about climate, snowfall etc. And availability of aires etc with services open in winter. Feedback and ideas welcome.


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## n brown (Jun 6, 2020)

wintered in Montaulieu near Nyons . snowed in for weeks . first time i ever saw diesel turn to lard. can get a bit nippy.


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## barryd (Jun 6, 2020)

You should read "A year in Provence".  Very extreme I gather.  Can be blisteringly hot in summer but arctic if short winters at times.  Coast should be ok but not warm.

I love Provence though.  Its just amazing but summer it has to be for me.


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## n brown (Jun 6, 2020)

we'd been stuck for a couple of weeks . snow 2 foot deep on the multi-hairpin road up to our little village , totally impassable .the village was deserted except for us ,the houses were all owned as summer places by parisian margineaux.
one night we were all huddled in blankets with the burner roaring and the eerie howl of the Mistral as it rattled the shutters ,when we heard a spooky and unexpected noise ...
someone knocking on the door !
it was late ,dark ,and the snow was blowing small drifts under the door , our nearest neighbour was over a kilometre further up the mountain track .who could it be ? i opened the door slowly, to reveal - a pompier , a bloody fireman ! casually ,'' bonsoir m'sieu, would you like to buy a calendar to support your local brigade ? ''
i think we still have it somewhere


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## Mr and Mrs Tupcox (Jun 6, 2020)

The camargue can be nice over winter . Slowly moveing along the coast to warmer Spain. Plenty of aires and wild camping spots .
Will need to keep checking weather for snow on return trip .


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## jagmanx (Jun 6, 2020)

Maybe go a bit earlier (if allowed?) ?


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## barge1914 (Jun 6, 2020)

n brown said:


> we'd been stuck for a couple of weeks . snow 2 foot deep on the multi-hairpin road up to our little village , totally impassable .the village was deserted except for us ,the houses were all owned as summer places by parisian margineaux.
> one night we were all huddled in blankets with the burner roaring and the eerie howl of the Mistral as it rattled the shutters ,when we heard a spooky and unexpected noise ...
> someone knocking on the door !
> it was late ,dark ,and the snow was blowing small drifts under the door , our nearest neighbour was over a kilometre further up the mountain track .who could it be ? i opened the door slowly, to reveal - a pompieur , a bloody fireman ! casually ,'' bonsoir m'sieu, would you like to buy a calendar to support your local brigade ? ''
> i think we still have it somewhere


Bearing in mind we normally head up to the highlands in winter, we don’t mind cold too much, but getting snowed in more than a couple of days could be problematic! Is there any particular time or month from when the snows start?


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## n brown (Jun 6, 2020)

barge1914 said:


> Bearing in mind we normally head up to the highlands in winter, we don’t mind cold too much, but getting snowed in more than a couple of days could be problematic! Is there any particular time or month from when the snows start?https://www.google.com/maps/place/2...:0x408ab2ae4bfbff0!8m2!3d44.357869!4d5.223915


can't remember dates ,but we were right on top of a small pointy mountain in an extremely exposed ''village perche'' . at ground level it would have been very different


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## barge1914 (Jun 6, 2020)

n brown said:


> can't remember dates ,but we were right on top of a small pointy mountain in an extremely exposed ''village perche'' . at ground level it would have been very different


Ah. I was thinking perhaps a bit further south, like Parc Regional de Luberon and Verdun and Prealps Maritme.


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## barge1914 (Jun 7, 2020)

I guess plenty of you Spanish Snowbirds must travel through France in winter. Have you been able to find aires with services open in winter. Because of chronic pain problems I can only drive max 2 hours in any day, so we need to make a lot of relatively short hops to go anywhere...so lots of stops.


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## Canalsman (Jun 7, 2020)

The aires where you need to pay for services by jeton will normally be functional.

The water supply is not turned off because it is housed in an insulated and possibly heated enclosure.

If you find other taps or supplies that are turned off there is often a stopcock nearby that can be turned on for the duration. This I have done a few times.

I spend the Winter, or did pre-Brexit, meandering along the Med with occasional sorties inland. Generally the weather is quite mild and sunshine fairly plentiful. Nighttime temperatures inland can be quite low but it soon warms up.

Prolonged windy spells are commonplace.


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## mark61 (Jun 7, 2020)

Can’t think of a better area to go and spend some time and explore.
As already mentioned, inland you can pretty much guarantee the nights will be cold, very cold. Days, same as anywhere else, variable.

Even in summer, you don’t have to go that far away from the main tourist spots to have a bit of solitude. Explore the smaller roads, there will mainly be locals on them. Plenty of spots for night stops.


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## Canalsman (Jun 7, 2020)

Lots of POIs listed too


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## mark61 (Jun 7, 2020)

Great place here, very quiet even in summer. Loads of room and well off road.  Might be a bit bleak in winter, but great in summer by the river.

https://goo.gl/maps/xaVFZCHkVq2WT6ck8


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## Clunegapyears (Jun 8, 2020)

Ian, it’s gotta be warmer than Scotland where you often overwinter!!!!


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## runnach (Jun 8, 2020)

I spent one winter in frejus and one in beziers it often read -1c on the way to work in a morning , by mid morning light cardigan at worst. Late autumn flooding wind and hail a bigger problem imo. The touristy things are similar to home open seasonal.

The good bits were it is easier to integrate within local villages I thought ....for Sun Spain Portugal a better bet


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