In winter, Haute Provence is like most of France in the country side. The summer holiday makers have gone home, the businesses that depend on them from cafés to restaurants, from sports to bicycle rentals, close for the off-season. Esparron is the same. The summer activities clearly cease, the summer visitors are gone and the village becomes its quiet, sleepy self. The mini-supermarket is open but not all day and not all days. It may close for up to a month so the proprietors can take their vacation generally in January. But they change their schedule from year to year. I am told that the Tabac is open part of the time on a reduced schedule.

Whiles the cafés are closed as are summer oriented activities. But the village goes on with the year-round residents enjoying peace and quiet. The Rule of Thumb on closings is the end of October to mid March but it depends on the year, the weather and the whim of the proprietors. They stay open if there are enough people to warrant staying open. There are no hard and fast rules.

The villa was built as a winter hunting lodge for the original owner, so it is more fully insulated and designed for year-round living than its neighbors. With electric heat and a fireplace it stays comfortable. We provide a portable fan electric heater to move into rooms that need some extra heat.

To maintain a comfortable temperature in the house, you will have to keep the heating on all day long and at night. The wall mounted electric wall heaters have thermostats to maintain comfort levels. But expect to pay quite a bit for heating during severe winters.

We do not include fire wood in the price. If you wish to spend time at the villa in the off season, it will be necessary to order firewood well in advance (the spring before the rental period). It costs 60 Euros per cubic meter payable in advance. When winters are severe, both the fireplace and the electric heaters will be required. Once the villa has heated up and the walls and furniture has absorbed the heat, it will not take as much heating to maintain the comfort level. Depending on the temperature you are accustomed to, you will have a higher or lower heating bill. The heat rises, so the upstairs bedroom is always cozy. We provide a floor fan so that you can circulate the warm air that rises to the high ceiling around the room, thus maintaining an even temperature and lowering the cost.

It is a lovely time for wood fires, hot drinks, walks around the lovely lake, visits with the locals as you get to know them, and the owner of the Chateau who claims to live there year-round and says that there are tea dances in the social center. There is skiing within a few hours. The Truffle season starts up and the Restaurant Notre Dame in Quinson serves its famous scrambled eggs with truffles. They also have a marvelous duck with olives cooked in an iron pot.

Generally, the days are sunny with nights that often drop below freezing. If it rains then freezes, the roads can become slick. It has been known to snow, so expect to keep enough food in stock to get through a few days when the roads may be impassable. Occasionally with heavy, wet snow some trees have toppled and knocked out the power to the village. So make sure to buy candles and batteries for the flash light/torch. But this is exceptional and does not happen very often.

The towns in the area like Greoux and Riez keep going but at a reduced rate. Manosque is unaffected by the off season. It is not a tourist town so its pace barely changes. There are still the market days, many cafés are open, certain restaurants are open although January tends to be the month many restaurateurs close for their annual break. Those that close for the season tend to do so from the end of October to sometime in March but this varies and depends on the individual restaurant. Of course, cities like Aix-en Provence are undiminished.

The Tourist Office claims 300 days of sun per year in Provence. But weather in Europe is variable so be prepared for anything. Take rain gear, prepare warm winter clothing and layer. Definitely a warm, winter coat and sweaters as well as long underwear if you are from warm blood regions like California. It is a marvelous time to be in Provence if you like winter activities, don't mind sleepy villages and are prepared for the season in this region of France. If you read Peter Mayle's book "A Year in Provence" it will help. The Michelin Red book on restaurants and hotels will list the local restaurants and their annual closing times. The "Botin" and the "Gault & Millau" food and hotel guide books will also help with this. It is a good idea to do your own research on the area if you are to enjoy this special region to its maximum and not to be disappointed in your expectations.

For longer off-season rentals, we offer very low rates knowing that expenses will be much higher than in summer. We do require a large utility prepayment in advance. If a long term rental is established complete with discounts, there is no refund for early rental termination. But if your are prepared, and I hope this section will help with that, the off-season and the winter can be a marvelous time to enjoy the life of Haute-Provence that does not exist in other seasons.