Renting a mas in the Luberon

A mas is a farm. The word comes from the Latin mansus, a dwelling, and in Provence it means a working building: a stone house with thick walls, built to shelter a family, its animals and its harvests under one roof. Nothing in the word says luxury or swimming pool — two centuries of usage loaded it with those promises. So the first useful distinction is this one: a mas is a form of building, not a category of comfort.

Mas or bastide. The difference is visible. The mas is low and long, open to the south and almost blind to the north; it was built by additions, generation after generation, and its rooms run into one another rather than opening off a hall. The bastide is taller, often symmetrical, built in one go for an owner who did not work the land: ordered facade, aligned windows, sometimes a pediment and a formal staircase. The two words are sometimes used for each other; owners are not confused, and the difference shows in the photographs.

What the walls do. Sixty to eighty centimetres of stone neither heats nor cools quickly. In July, a mas whose shutters stay closed by day and open at night holds several degrees below the outside temperature with no air conditioning: that is the principle, and it is why openings to the north are few and small. In April or October the same inertia works the other way — the house takes a day or two to warm up, and the fireplace is not there for decoration.

Three questions worth asking. First, access: many a mas sits at the end of a track, and five minutes from the village can mean five minutes of gravel. Then water: in an area where summer drought orders are common, ask whether the pool is filled on arrival and what happens if restrictions come in. Finally the farming: a mas is often surrounded by working land, and the grape harvest, the cherry picking or a machine passing at six in the morning are part of the place rather than an intrusion.

Where to look. The northern slope — Gordes, Roussillon, Murs — gives the views and the grey stone, and that is where summer crowds are heaviest. The southern slope — Ménerbes, Bonnieux, Lourmarin — is more lived in year-round, the villages work out of season and the roads are quieter. Further east, around Apt and Saignon, distances grow: a good compromise for anyone willing to drive twenty minutes more.

When to book. Houses in the range are usually let by the week, Saturday to Saturday, and July and August go between January and March. May, June and September can still be found in spring, and those are the months when the countryside is at its best: cherry blossom in April, lavender from late June to mid-July, the grape harvest in September. Out of season many owners take shorter stays, and the question can be put to them directly.

Our Luberon addresses are rented direct from their owners. The price shown is the price you pay, and the questions above go to the person who knows the house — not to a customer service desk.