Le Prieuré

The sensibly named Le Prieuré was built as a priory in the year 1322, but since the Mille family bought the place in 1943, it’s been the site of a more worldly variety of quiet contemplation. The quiet life, once the purview of men and women of the cloth, is the perfect balm for the harried soul of the modern urbanite, and the ancient village of Villeneuve-lez-Avignon is an ideal setting for an escape from the present day.

This ivy-covered old priory building is home to the older, more traditionally styled guest rooms, and an annex contains a number of larger, more modern rooms and suites—these may lack some of the immediate charm of the older rooms, but many offer views of the courtyard and the swimming pool from private balconies. A recent renovation has left a contemporary sheen on these history-steeped spaces, proof that modern design and traditional architecture can happily coexist under one roof.

One imagines the pool to be a newer addition as well, though the prior himself certainly would have appreciated the respite from the Provencal summers. The restaurant is key to Le Prieuré’s appeal, serving fine regional fare in the dining room beneath medieval archways and timbered ceilings, or in the summer, outside on the courtyard terrace.