Mr & Mrs Smith

After a frenetic start to our South of France escape (budget airline to Nice, queuing for car hire, meandering mountain road drive), nothing could have been more soothing than the welcome we received. When we arrive at Mons' pretty hilltop town square, it feels deserted – except for our smiling host, David, who is kindly waiting in the car park on this sunny autumn evening. He chaperones us down the pedestrianised central lane to Place Frederic Mistral. Here, in the postcard-perfect cobbled courtyard stands the refined residence that houses our luxury apartment for the night.

It may sound trite, but it truly feels like a French film set. All the feel-good clichés are present – hand-painted street signs, centuries-old buttery-coloured buildings, nothing neon or garish – all that’s missing is the Jean de Florette theme tune.?? We admire how these 15th–19th-century houses have all acquired that perfectly aged appearance – nothing is new-buildy and nowhere is a crumbling wreck. A scene fit for canvas, shutters are in signature shades of soft green and grey, rooftops are terracotta’d, and beyond the tiny town sprawls a vision of green hills and valleys with antique-blue skies above.

Maison de Mons, while utterly in keeping with its locale from the outside, has a fabulously modern  interior. All of the six apartments, spread across four floors, feel utterly private and independent – yet Maison de Mons is just as appealing to anyone wanting to commandeer a whole house for a group celebration. Our tip-off? The penthouse with its Provençal panoramas across the rooftops right down to the sea.

When Arja and David Suddens bought this aristocratic mansion (originally the home of the town’s most distinguished nobleman), it was in need of a dramatic renovation – particularly to make the cut as stylish holiday accommodation. Arja, a Dutch designer, was the driving force in the makeover of this ‘maison de seigneur’. Striking original features – honeycomb tiling, age-old stone floors and heavy wooden doors – make it timelessly elegant. Combined with all-white walls, iconic mid-century furniture classics and gallery-worthy artifacts from the Suddens' travels and the overall effect is thoroughly contemporary and drop-dead sophisticated.

A quick tour of the house complete (computer and internet in this ground-floor cubby, help-yourself bookshelves over there, honesty drinks cabinet here) and David feeds us all the insider information. We instantly feel part of this friendly tourist-free community, and go for an explore. In about 20 minutes max, we’ve traversed the town north to south, east to west, past the bell-ringing church, and noses poked into its handful of shops. Mons is in many ways the ideal urbanite’s hideout: it has all the rural charm of a remote Provençal village but with enough on your doorstep to keep weekend-awayers happily entertained.

Our advice is that you embrace local life and keep things simple. Stock up on just-baked bread, butter, cheese, meats and confitures from the epicerie and boulangerie; dine in friendly local bistros. And, if you can, cycle everywhere. Exploring the local villages on two wheels will maximise your sense of place: chances are your flabber will be well and truly gasted by the soul-stirring South of France landscapes. Just imagine how relaxing it must be in the height of summer. While others sweat it out on the packed beaches of Cote d’Azur, up here in the Haut Var, it’s breeze-kissed and tourist-free. We have already earmarked it for a romantic long weekend in spring.