10 rue Turion Sabatier, Gard
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A French village needs only a handful of things to work, and Castillon-du-Gard, on its hill a few kilometres from the Pont du Gard, has every one of them. Inside it sits a second, smaller village with the same handful. Le Vieux Castillon is eighteen medieval houses joined by walkways in mid-air and shaded patios, first stitched together more than forty years ago by the Traversac family out of abandoned homes. Today they hold thirty-four rooms and suites, and they do everything a village should, only with room service.
A village needs a square, somewhere to do nothing in public. The hotel's square is its patio, shaded by fig trees and strewn with cushions and Berber footstools. All summer long, the cicadas in the branches supply the only soundtrack. They do not take requests.
Then there is the lookout, a job that here falls to the pool. Old stone walls close it in on three sides, while the fourth opens onto vineyards rolling away towards Mont Ventoux, the great bald mountain of Provence. Castillon was fought over in the wars of religion, passing between Catholics and Protestants like treasure. Today the only contest is for the loungers along the open edge.
A village needs a place where everybody ends up, so Le Vieux Castillon went out and opened one. Joio sits on the little square of Castillon-du-Gard, a few lanes from the hotel, and cooks Provence with a generous splash of Italy. Its name is Provençal for joy. The small village has started to spill into the big one.
A village needs a night out now and then. The grand version is dinner at La Table du Castillon, where the kitchen saves its real ambition for the evening and serves a gastronomic menu on a panoramic terrace. On some summer nights an old film is projected onto the stone walls by the pool, an open-air screening straight out of Cinema Paradiso, with loungers instead of folding chairs.
Steep lanes come with any hilltop village. A room can sit several stairways from the front desk, and the bags have to make the same climb. At the top, the rooms are calm, in pale stone and old terracotta, and the terrace suites come with the village rooftops as their view. The spa is a modest affair, and the pool is heated only from May to October. Le Vieux Castillon rewards the curious, guests who enjoy getting a little lost in medieval lanes. Those who want everything along one short corridor will spend the first day muttering.
Last of all, a village needs locals. Le Vieux Castillon makes them in about two days, roughly the time it takes to reach breakfast without a single wrong turn.
Village history
Castillon-du-Gard was once a residence of the bishops of Uzès, and in the wars of religion it changed hands between Catholics and Protestants.
The patio is the hotel's shared living room: fig trees overhead, low sofas, cushions and Berber footstools on the gravel, and a corner for reading. It sits between the houses rather than beside a lobby, so guests cross it on the way to rooms, pool and dinner. In summer the cicadas in the branches are louder than anything else in the village.
Old stone walls close the pool in on three sides; the fourth opens onto vineyards running towards Mont Ventoux. It is reserved for hotel guests and heated from May to October. At lunch, Azur serves sharing plates and plancha dishes beside it, though diners from outside cannot use the loungers. On some evenings a film is projected onto the walls.
The Terrace Suites have the hotel's best outlook: a large private terrace above the village roofs, with the church tower close by, loungers and a table for breakfast outside. Inside, pale stone and white walls, a sitting area and, in some, a spiral stair. At 32 to 37 m² they are no larger than a Junior Suite; the terrace is the difference.
The gastronomic restaurant occupies a Renaissance building reached by a small bridge over the old lanes, with gargoyles and copper-and-glass lanterns in view on the way. In fine weather the tables move out onto a terrace looking over the countryside. The kitchen keeps its full menu for the evening, from Tuesday to Saturday; reception takes bookings.
At a glance
Where
10 rue Turion Sabatier, 30210 Castillon-du-Gard, Gard, Occitanie; in a medieval hill village between vines, olive groves and cherry trees, overlooking the Gardon valley and the Pont du Gard; a few kilometres from Avignon. A9 exit Remoulins 5 km; Avignon TGV 30 km, Nîmes station 30 km; Nîmes airport 30 km, Montpellier airport 70 km, Marseille-Marignane airport 110 km. Shuttles to stations and airports on request
Why this one
Eighteen medieval houses, one hotel.
Walled stone, then vineyards.
Terrace Suites face the church tower.
The Edit Notes
Six categories share 34 rooms, and they differ more by outlook than by size. The Standard rooms are on the first floor and look onto the medieval lanes; a Terrace Suite adds a large private terrace above the village roofs, with the church tower in view. At 32 to 37 m² it is no larger than a Junior Suite, and the plain Suites are bigger, so the terrace is the only reason to move up. Anyone who wants rooftops at breakfast should book that category by name.
La Table du Castillon serves dinner from Tuesday to Saturday only; Joio on the village square opens Wednesday to Sunday, for lunch and dinner. So Sunday evening means Joio, and on Monday neither kitchen lists a dinner service, which leaves a drive to Uzès, Remoulins or Avignon. Azur by the pool is a lunch menu. Reception books tables for both hotel restaurants, and the hotel advises reserving before arrival, which matters most for a short stay that includes a Monday.
Cars cannot reach the door. There is a drop-off point a few metres away, where a valet collects the bags, walks guests to reception and parks the car in a secure lot 400 metres off. The valet service runs only during set daytime hours; outside them, guests park and fetch the car themselves, through an intercom gate. Rooms are spread over eighteen houses joined by stone steps and walkways, so a late arrival with heavy luggage is better avoided.
The hotel is a village of linked houses with period tiles, Gard-stone staircases, massive steps and suspended bridges, and a room can lie several flights from reception. The hotel lists one room adapted for guests with reduced mobility and wheelchair users, and it is the only one described that way. Anyone who finds stairs hard should book that room specifically, rather than a category, and confirm the route to the restaurant and pool when reserving. A car is useful too: the nearest shops are several kilometres away.
The price question
The money buys a night inside a medieval village rather than beside one, with a pool that looks out over vineyards, dinner across a small bridge and a second restaurant on the square. It does not buy convenience: there are stairs between almost everything, the car stays 400 metres away, the pool is heated only half the year and on Monday evening neither restaurant serves dinner. The comparison is a village house rented nearby, with every meal out.
Book it for two or three nights from late spring to early autumn, when the pool is heated and the patio is in use, in a Terrace Suite, with dinner at La Table du Castillon booked before arrival and a car for the Pont du Gard and Uzès. Guests who need step-free rooms, or a winter break built around a spa, are better placed elsewhere.
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The Extra Edit
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