ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Jean Chiotti, a Provence native, founded Provence Antique in 2022 after a long career in international business that took him to 120 countries. Jean is fluent in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and English and dabbles in German and Japanese.
OUR SERVICES
Provence Antique organizes and leads custom-made tours for small groups in the interior of Provence, away from the tourist magnets. Our tours incorporate hikes, bike rides and stays in medieval villages rich in history, traditions & architecture. We finish each day around a good table to enjoy local culinary specialties.
We arrange meetings and mini-tours with local experts in the local fauna and flora, architectural restorations of centuries-old buildings, history of the fratricidal religious wars, the resistance of WWII and visits to local wineries and cheese-makers.
We hike on nature trails away from development in an area unperturbed for centuries; we ride bikes on small country roads with little traffic; for lunch we picnic or stop at one of the many excellent family-owned restaurants before visiting a 12th-century Abbaye or another architectural marvel.
In one spot in Provence, one can see a 2d century chapel, standing next to the well-conserved ruins of a Greek temple built in B.C. while in the near background stands a 21st century bridge built only to accommodate the TGV which passes by at more than 240 mph. Where else can you contemplate 3 building spanning 2500 years of history?
ABOUT OUR TOURS
The one special thing about our tours is that they are designed with you in mind; before booking the tour we will meet and discuss your likes, dislikes and agree on the type of activity you want to enjoy, the intensity and the duration of it. Do you want to hike or bike every day or every other day?
Because we cater only to very small groups of 2 to 4 people (6 if all are from the same party) we can be very flexible, we encourage groups of folks who know each other and enjoy similar activities. While we include hiking and biking, our tours are not marathons. Hikes and ride will be done at your own pace – electric bikes are available to make it a lot easier to pedal and enjoy the trip.
The location, the hub, is always a medieval village with a rich history ready to be discovered on foot. On a 10 to 12-day tour we will stay in 3 different villages for 3 to 4 nights each and will use this village as a hub from which we will venture each day in a different direction to discover the regions’ trails and sights.
We stay in very comfortable lodgings – we have the option to stay in local farms accredited by the French Tourism Ministry – those rural B&Bs are great places to immerse yourself with the local folks and discover not only a new lifestyle and culture but home-made French foods.
We are flexible and can adapt to changing circumstances quickly. On a recent tour the couple traveling asked if we could add a side trip to Italy and Switzerland. We did and took them to Piemonte, visited the Barolo area, before going into Zermatt and finishing the tour in Gruyeres.
Before you book a tour we will meet face-to-face or over a web conference to get to know each other, to answer all your questions and to ensure you are comfortable with me being your lead guide and travel companion for ten to 12 days. I want this to be a very positive and pleasant experience for all my customers and I think that if we are going to spend 10 to 12 days together we must be pretty confident we’ll be getting along.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
PARTNERS, AFFILIATES AND SUPPORTERS
Experience the authentic beauty of Provence with us
GET IN TOUCH
If you are interested and want to inquire regarding bookings and date availability, please fill out the form with your contact information, and we will get back to you at our earliest convenience.
We are dedicated to providing you with the best possible service and are always available to answer any questions you may have.