Yoga and Meditation Week in a Private Provence Chateau

The week runs Saturday to Saturday. You fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle, catch the 11:58 TGV down to Aix-en-Provence, and are picked up and driven to the chateau. That first evening there is a restorative yoga class, dinner and an orientation. Sunday is the softest day: sleep in or take a yoga and meditation class, then a late-morning welcome lunch and a trip to nearby Chateau La Coste for a wine tour, tasting and a walk around the grounds. The afternoon is free, with a late yoga class and dinner outside under the stars.

From Monday the pattern settles in. Yoga and meditation in the morning, lunch at the chateau, then out for the afternoon. Monday is Ansouis, classified as one of the most beautiful villages in France, with a walking meditation through the village and free time to photograph. Tuesday is Aix-en-Provence and its open-air markets. Wednesday starts with an early class and a 10:30 departure for the 45-minute drive to Cassis on the coast, where you can walk the little port, shop, have lunch on your own or take a boat trip in and out of the calanques. Thursday is Cucuron, lunching at a restaurant beside the etang that features in the film A Good Year. Friday is Lourmarin for gift shopping and lunch, then a late yoga class and a farewell dinner. Saturday you are dropped at the Aix TGV station between 06:00 and 08:30.

What separates this from a standard yoga retreat is that the yoga is the frame, not the whole picture. You are based in a private chateau with its own grounds, and the days are built around the food, wine and villages of the Luberon and the Mediterranean coast. Constance Gabrielli has spent over four decades living and travelling in France and cooks the daily dinners herself, so the meals are part of the trip rather than a catering arrangement.

The chateau sits just outside Pertuis, in the Vaucluse, with the Luberon hills to the north and the Rhone delta and the sea to the south. Aix-en-Provence, Cassis, Ansouis, Cucuron and Lourmarin are all within day-trip distance, and the drive to the coast takes about 45 minutes. The region is the one Cezanne and Van Gogh painted, and the light is the reason they came.

What's included

- Transportation to and from Aix-en-Provence TGV train station to the chateau - Accommodation at the chateau - Daily transportation during your stay - All breakfasts - All dinners - Wine with dinners - 2 lunches - Daily yoga classes - Daily meditation - Sightseeing - Wine tasting - Shopping the village markets - Swimming - Tennis - Trampoline - Hiking

What's not included

- Airfare to France - Train tickets to and from Provence - Lunches out (approximately 4) - Travel insurance - Personal expenses