The high-speed train from Paris usually takes just under four hours to reach Avignon, the gateway to Provence. On leaving the city, most travelers drive southeast into the Vaucluse. However, if you cross to the west bank of the Rhône River, you enter the department of Gard in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon. Bounded by the Cévennes mountains to the north and the Mediterranean to the south, Gard offers much of what American travelers love about Provence but with the added allure of being an unspoiled and uncrowded area, where the traffic on the plane tree-shaded back roads usually amounts to little more than a tractor or two.

True, visitors flock to Nîmes (pop. 150,000), an ancient and atmospheric city of great charm, as well as to Uzès, one of France’s most beautiful towns, and to the first-century Pont du Gard, the highest and most dramatic of Roman aqueduct bridges. But much of Gard remains a serene, village-dotted landscape planted with orchards and vineyards.

Le Vieux Castillon

We arrived in time for lunch on a shaded terrace overlooking the pool. Afterward, we toured the property, which was created from 18 old stone houses. On a previous visit, eight years prior, the hotel had displayed a traditional Provençal design scheme of chintz fabrics and heavy wooden furniture. Since the renovation, however, it has acquired a new visual identity that is much lighter and more contemporary. Our Terrace Junior Suite was painted white and came with limestone floors, a white writing desk, a cream-colored sofa and sea-green throws and pillows. The limestone-faced bath had a single stone vanity and a combination tub and shower, while a private terrace was appointed with a table and chairs and two sun beds.