The drive from Calais will take about 10-12 hours.. It can be done in a day, but if you add the time it takes to get to Calais, that day can be a very long one. One option is to stay overnight en route. Chains of motels that are good and cheap are Formule1, Ibis, Clarines. Premiere Classe and Campanile, which are often situated right off the motorway.

To get to Calais, the options are Eurostar, or a (ferry, etc). It is probably possible to get an overnight ferry further down the coast to Bordeaux, but we’ve never done it.

Péages on the motorway will cost around 400FF from Calais-Avignon. For more information check out the Autoroutes web site, or better still the Michelin web site (type in Calais and Cavaillon and it will give you times, distance, peage fees etc). The exit to take on the D7 after Avignon is the one for Cavaillon. Go straight over the roundabout (sign to Centre Ville), then follow signs to Apt. (Just after the roundabout is the Leclerc supermarket, a good place to stock up, which also has a cashpoint machine.)

Go through the villages of Les Taillades and Robion, and just after Robion take the turn on the right to Menerbes and follow the road all the way to the village. There are four roads into Menerbes, but they all meet in the small square. Park either in the car park below the Clémentine restaurant, outside the épicerie, or in the area by the pharmacy.

See a map of the area here.