Mas des Cigales

Pros +

• Lovely roomy house that stayed cool under the brutal sun. Super clean, nicely decorated. Great outdoor terrace space with loungers, swing, big table and gas BBQ. We spent a lot of time under the two massive trees on the front concrete terrace. Wonderfully isolated and private on a massive plot of land. The pool isn't huge, but well maintained and perfectly adequate with enough furniture. Mosquito screens everywhere on the house, well appointed kitchen, air conditioning on the top landing which helped keep the bedrooms cool (although I had to keep the bedroom door open to benefit from it). We made good use of the ping pong and bikes - it's an easy ride into Avignon. Good road / track running through the green belt. Very close by bike / car to lots of shopping options. Fantastic value for money. Best thing is probably the cicadas - what a noise!

Cons -

• Not all the beds were super comfortable, but they were fine. The mosquitos were a pain in the evening, but that has nothing to do with the accommodation (the guy who came to clean the pool told me there's a lot less than there used to be). The location is in a strip of green belt between a very busy main road (which is too far away to be seen or heard) with shopping strip, and TGV tracks and a dyke on the other side. The sporadic roar of the TGVs is impressive - sounds like a plane. Some slightly weird activity on the isolated green belt roads near the house - men parked up alone, occasionally couples - and quite a bit of traffic on some of the small roads during peak times. There's a cycle path along the dyke to Avignon, but it's disappointingly un-picturesque. Lots of fly tipping and burned out junk, with almost no views of the river (Durance). Better to stick the green belt roads away from the dyke.