Idle in Provence: Eric Idle and the Enduring Appeal of Cotignac
As Eric Idle prepares to publish a new memoir about more than five decades spent in Provence, we look at the village he chose to call home, and why Cotignac and the surrounding Haut-Var continue to attract international property buyers.
More than fifty years ago, at a time when Monty Python was beginning to turn Eric Idle into one of the most recognisable comedians in Britain, he escaped to Provence.
In 1971, Idle bought what was, by all accounts, a decidedly ramshackle property close to Cotignac. There was no bedroom, kitchen or bathroom. It didn’t have windows, electricity or even running water.
It was hardly the dream Provençal home. Naturally, he bought it.
More than half a century later, that house – and the life that developed around it – has inspired his new book, Idle in Provence: A Brief History of Thyme.
The memoir tells the story of Idle’s long relationship with this corner of southern France: buying and rebuilding a home, attempting to master the language, making friends, entertaining an extraordinary cast of visitors and gradually becoming part of the life of the area.
Fittingly, Idle is returning to Cotignac to celebrate the book’s launch, with a special weekend on 4 and 5 September featuring book signings, dinners and screenings of Monty Python films. It is a story that will resonate with many international homeowners who have fallen for this beautiful and relatively discreet corner of Provence.
Eric Idle and his fifty-year love affair with Provence
When Idle discovered Cotignac in the early 1970s, the village was a very different place.
Monty Python’s Flying Circus had first appeared on British television just two years earlier and success had arrived remarkably quickly. Provence offered an escape from the increasingly hectic world surrounding the group.
What followed wasn’t simply the purchase of a holiday house.
Idle has maintained his connection with the area for more than five decades, gradually transforming his original property and building a life around it. His new book tells stories of home-building, friendship-making, imperfect French and the inevitable disasters along the way.
The attraction will sound familiar to many people who have bought homes in Provence.
People may initially be drawn by the climate, landscape and beautiful old stone houses, but what persuades many of them to stay is something less tangible: market mornings, village cafés, local vineyards, long lunches and friendships that develop over many years.
So what is special about Cotignac?
Anyone visiting Cotignac for the first time quickly understands its appeal.
The village sits beneath an extraordinary ochre-coloured tufa cliff, with old houses, fountains and narrow streets spreading out below it. The main Cours Gambetta is shaded by plane trees and lined with cafés and restaurants, while the surrounding countryside is a mixture of vineyards, olive groves, woodland and traditional Provençal estates.
It is also a village that has evolved considerably in recent years. The restoration and reopening of Lou Calen has brought a new level of hospitality to Cotignac, with restaurants, a pastis bar, microbrewery, art centre and beautifully landscaped grounds.
Yet the village has managed something that isn’t always easy in Provence. It has become more sophisticated without becoming overly polished. Cotignac is increasingly chic, but it doesn’t particularly behave as though it is, and that is an important part of its appeal to international property buyers.
A discreetly international corner of Provence
Eric Idle is far from the only internationally recognised name to have discovered this part of the Var.
Brad Pitt’s Château Miraval is close to the village of Correns, George Lucas owns Château Margüi at Châteauvert and George and Amal Clooney bought Domaine du Canadel close to nearby Brignoles.
The Clooneys in particular have become closely associated with the area and are regularly seen in and around Cotignac, yet describing the area simply as a celebrity enclave rather misses the point.
The reasons high-profile owners are attracted here are often remarkably similar to those given by many of the international buyers we work with at Home Hunts.
Privacy is important.
There is space here.
A country property can sit amongst several hectares of olive trees, vines or woodland, yet its owner can still drive into a lively village for dinner.
Cotignac has certainly become better known internationally, but its international story began long before the current generation of famous residents arrived. Eric Idle has more than fifty years of renovation bills to prove it.
Why international property buyers are looking at the Haut-Var
At Home Hunts, we have seen increasing international interest in Cotignac and the villages surrounding it for a number of years.
Part of the appeal is the lifestyle, but property undoubtedly plays an important role too.
Prime Provençal property has become extremely expensive in locations such as Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Eygalières, Gordes and parts of the Luberon. The French Riviera is another market altogether, particularly around Saint-Tropez, Cannes and Cap d’Antibes.
Cotignac and the wider Haut-Var offer something different. Buyers can find traditional bastides, stone farmhouses, village houses, vineyard properties and larger country estates surrounded by substantial land.
For international buyers searching in the €1 million to €3 million range in particular, the area can offer a level of space, character and privacy that would be considerably more difficult – and expensive – to replicate in some of Provence’s most famous markets.
That doesn’t mean Cotignac remains undiscovered. Far from it.
Property prices have risen substantially and particularly desirable houses – renovated stone properties close to the village, with views, land and swimming pools – can generate considerable international interest.
But travel ten or twenty minutes from Cotignac and the possibilities widen considerably. We usually encourage clients to explore the wider area.
Entrecasteaux is one obvious alternative, an exceptionally pretty village dominated by its château and gardens. Salernes is larger and practical for year-round living, with a long ceramics tradition and a lively Sunday market.
Villecroze combines a beautiful old village with its famous caves and park, while hilltop Tourtour – officially classified as one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France – offers spectacular views across the Var.
Aups is another lively Provençal town and an excellent base for exploring the Verdon, while closer to Cotignac are Carcès, Correns, Châteauvert and Montfort-sur-Argens.
A little further east, Lorgues has developed a particularly strong international following and offers a larger selection of restaurants, shops and services.
Each provides a slightly different version of inland Provençal life. Some buyers want to walk into a village every morning for bread and coffee. Others want ten hectares, olive trees and no visible neighbours. The beauty of this part of the Var is that both are possible.
The enduring appeal of Cotignac
Eric Idle arrived in Cotignac long before Instagram, before Provence became quite such an international lifestyle brand and decades before anybody talked about a “Clooney effect”. He simply discovered a beautiful part of France and decided he wanted to make a home there.
More than fifty years later, the houses may be more comfortable, the swimming pools smarter and the journey from London or New York rather easier, but the fundamentals haven’t changed very much.
A beautiful house. A good village. A café terrace beneath the plane trees. Friends arriving for lunch. Vineyards and olive groves disappearing into the distance. And, perhaps most importantly, somewhere that still feels like an escape.
Eric Idle found that in Cotignac in 1971. More than half a century later, it is easy to understand why the area continues to capture the imagination of property buyers from around the world. Buy the new book from Eric Idle here
Search through a huge selection of properties in Provence here
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