Your creative journey through the South of France begins the moment you land. Elizabeth and your hosts welcome you at Montpellier Airport, where you'll meet your fellow artists before stepping into a private transfer that carries you through the sun-golden countryside to your retreat — a four-star sanctuary nestled in the living landscape that will inspire your very first brushstrokes.

Settle into your beautifully appointed room and let the pace of the Languedoc wash over you. The afternoon is entirely yours — drift toward the shimmering pool, find a quiet corner on one of the sun-warmed terraces with your sketchbook, or raise a glass of local wine at the elegant wine bar as the Mediterranean light begins its evening descent. This is France at its most restorative.

As dusk settles, join Elizabeth, your passionate local guides, and your fellow creatives for an intimate Orientation Evening. You'll discover the full arc of the week ahead — a thoughtfully curated itinerary of plein air painting sessions at some of the region's most breathtaking locations, each one chosen to unlock something new in your artistic eye and your imagination.

The evening culminates in a chef-prepared three-course welcome dinner, where Mediterranean flavours, regional wines, and the warmth of new friendships set the tone for everything that follows. By the time the last glass is raised, you'll already know — this week is going to be extraordinary.

Begin your second day the way all great creative days should start — with a leisurely breakfast, the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee, and absolutely no rush. The morning is a gift: sink into a sun-lounger beside the pool, book yourself a restorative massage or spa treatment at the on-site wellness sanctuary, and let your mind soften into the gentle rhythm of the South of France.

After a light, flavour-forward lunch, the creative journey begins in earnest. Gather in the hotel's dedicated art studio, where Elizabeth Allison introduces you to your materials and opens the door to the expressive world of painting. This first workshop is thoughtfully crafted for every level — whether you're lifting a brush for the first time or returning to a long-loved practice. You'll explore essential techniques in brushwork, colour mixing, and compositional expression, building the confidence and intuition you'll carry into every outdoor session that follows.

As the afternoon light shifts to gold, step outside with your local guide for an unhurried cultural walk through the storied streets of Pézenas. Wander into independent artisan workshops, pause at sun-drenched café terraces, and discover the living heritage of one of southern France's most beautifully preserved medieval towns. Every cobblestone, every shuttered façade, every burst of bougainvillea is an invitation — to observe, to sketch, and to fall a little in love with where you are. 

After a leisurely breakfast, the day opens into something truly special — a full immersion in art, history, and the celebrated wine culture of the Languedoc. Your destination is one of the oldest vineyard estates in the Pézenas region, a fifth-generation family château presiding over more than 170 hectares of sun-ripened vines. Few settings on earth are more naturally inspiring, and fewer still offer this kind of access.

Set up your easel in the château's elegant courtyard, sheltered by the dappled shade of centuries-old plane trees, as Elizabeth Allison guides you into your plein air painting session. With the rhythms of a working vineyard all around you — the scent of warm earth, the shimmer of vine leaves in the breeze — you'll find your creative instincts come alive with remarkable ease. Sketches, studies, full compositions — this is a morning to follow your artistic curiosity wherever it leads.

While painters lose themselves in the landscape, non-painting partners set off to discover the ancient walled town of Agde, exploring its characterful artisan workshops and the compelling history written into its dark volcanic stone streets.

As midday arrives, the brushes are set aside for an equally sensory experience. Roll up your sleeves for a hands-on culinary moment, assembling fresh appetizers from locally sourced ingredients and crusty baguettes — before the château's owner personally leads you through an intimate tasting of the estate's finest vintages. It is generous, convivial, and deeply French.

The afternoon unfolds at your own pace — return to your canvas, descend into the ancient wine cellar, or step into the luminous orangerie, where light pours in and time seems to pause entirely.

A day of vines, vintage, and vision — this is the South of France painting experience at its most unforgettable.

Begin the day with a fresh and flavourful breakfast before stepping out into the golden morning light for one of the week's most enchanting experiences. Led by your expert local guide, you'll wind through the cobblestone heart of Pézenas — a town that wears its history with effortless grace. Once the favoured residence of Molière himself, its medieval lanes are lined with independent art galleries, centuries-old artisan ateliers, and architectural details that stop you mid-stride. This is the kind of place that makes artists of everyone.

After the guided cultural walk, the morning opens into the vibrant sensory theatre of the weekly farmers' market. Move at your own pace through stalls piled high with sun-ripened seasonal produce, fragrant bundles of Provençal herbs, handcrafted goods, and regional delicacies that tell the story of the land. Bring your sketchbook, your camera, or simply your full attention — the colours, the characters, and the cheerful noise of it all are pure plein air inspiration waiting to be captured.

The rest of the day belongs entirely to you. Claim a terrace table at a sun-drenched café and give yourself over to the deeply pleasurable art of people-watching. Lose an hour in the boutique shops tucked within the circular historic centre. Or lace up your shoes and take a gentle scenic walk, gathering impressions and ideas to bring back to the canvas in your next painting session.

Unhurried, immersive, and alive with local flavour — today is southern France at its most authentically beautiful, and a vivid reminder of why artists have been drawn to this corner of the world for generations.

After a generous buffet breakfast, board your private coach for a short and scenic journey through the sun-bleached countryside to one of the most breathtaking sacred sites in the whole of France — the Abbaye de Valmagne. A listed historic monument of extraordinary beauty, this magnificent Cistercian abbey has stood since the 12th century, its honey-coloured stone mellowed by eight hundred years of Mediterranean sun and silence.

It is here, within the abbey's serene Romanesque cloister, that Elizabeth Allison leads your most atmospheric plein air painting session of the week. Settle beneath the canopy of an ancient vine as it trails across centuries-old stone archways, let the soft, rhythmic sound of a trickling fountain still your thoughts, and allow this profoundly inspiring space to guide your hand across the page. Few places on earth offer this quality of light, this depth of stillness, or this sense of painting in communion with something timeless. Your easel has never been set up somewhere quite like this.

While painters lose themselves in the cloister's extraordinary atmosphere, the non-painting group embarks on their own coastal adventure — exploring the sweeping shores of the Étang de Thau and discovering the fascinating world of the lagoon's celebrated oyster farming tradition, guided by their knowledgeable local expert.

Art, architecture, and the ancient rhythms of southern France — today is the kind of day that stays with you long after you've returned home.

The morning begins as the best mornings in France always do — with buttery croissants, a bowl of fresh fruit, and a cup of coffee strong enough to make the day feel full of possibility before it has even begun. Then it's time to gather your materials for one of the week's most visually stunning painting destinations.

Your private coach carries you through the Languedoc countryside to a magnificent 18th-century château poised gracefully along the sun-dappled banks of the Hérault River. With its sweeping Italian Renaissance façade, tall symmetrical windows, and gardens that seem to have been composed rather than planted, this historic estate is less a location and more a painting waiting to happen. Whether your eye is drawn to the interplay of light and shadow across ancient stonework, the gentle curve of the river beyond the grounds, or the soft geometry of the formal gardens, Elizabeth Allison will help you find your own way into this breathtaking scene and translate it into something entirely your own.

While the artists work, non-painting partners set off to discover Sète — the Venice of the Languedoc. This beguiling hillside port city rewards every kind of explorer: browse the colourful market halls for local delicacies, photograph the bold and beautiful street art tucked into lanes and stairwells across the town, or simply watch the fishing boats move through the canals as the morning light shifts overhead.

At midday, the group reunites beneath a canopy of centuries-old plane trees for a leisurely alfresco lunch — locally sourced, lovingly prepared, and best enjoyed slowly. It is one of those effortlessly perfect southern French moments that no itinerary can quite plan for, yet somehow always arrives right on time.

The afternoon is yours to savour. Return to your canvas to add finishing touches, wander the château grounds with your camera or sketchbook, or simply absorb the timeless elegance of the estate before the coach carries you back to the hotel for a well-earned rest and a peaceful evening at your own pace.

After one final leisurely breakfast in the heart of Pézenas, the last creative day of your week unfolds with a gentle drive through the sun-warmed Languedoc countryside to a destination that feels like a fitting farewell gift — a beautiful family-owned olive estate near Béziers, where silver-leafed groves shimmer in the Mediterranean breeze, contemporary sculptures emerge unexpectedly from the landscape, and the gardens carry that particular quality of stillness that only truly loved places possess.

This is where you'll create your final plein air painting of the week. With Elizabeth Allison beside you one last time, you'll draw on every technique, every observation, and every moment of creative discovery from the days that came before — and pour it all into a single canvas that captures the soul of this serene and luminous landscape. It is a morning designed for reflection as much as creation, a chance to look back at how far your artistic eye has travelled in just a few extraordinary days.

While painters work among the olives, non-painting partners set off to explore Béziers — one of Europe's oldest cities, rich with history and famous for its extraordinary trompe l'oeil façades that transform entire buildings into breathtaking works of art in their own right.

At midday, everyone gathers for a vibrant and convivial buffet lunch prepared by a local artist-chef whose medium happens to be food — creative, generous, and rooted in the finest vegetarian Mediterranean tradition. It is, like everything this week, a feast for every sense at once.

The afternoon invites curiosity. Tour the estate's olive oil production room and discover the craft and patience behind pressing and blending different olive varieties, before settling into the elegant tasting room for a guided olive oil tasting that will forever change the way you dress a salad. Afterwards, wander through the property's contemporary art gallery — one final reminder that beauty, in this corner of France, is simply a way of life.

A little free time follows — for souvenir hunting, quiet reflection, or simply sitting in the afternoon sun with a glass of something cold before the coach carries you back to Pézenas.

And then, as the golden light of the Languedoc performs its final magic, the week reaches its most emotional and joyful moment. Gather together one last time for a farewell cocktail dinner — a celebration of new friendships forged over shared canvases, of regional wines and Mediterranean flavours, and of the quietly transformative creative journey that brought this particular group of people to this particular corner of the world. Raise a glass to Elizabeth, to the South of France, and to the artist you have become.

Savour one last unhurried breakfast at your beautiful retreat — a final croissant, a last cup of coffee, one more look at the light falling across the Languedoc rooftops — before boarding your private transfer to Montpellier Airport. The bags are packed, the canvases carefully wrapped, and the sketchbooks full.

What you carry home from this week goes far beyond luggage. It is a new way of seeing — the particular attentiveness that only a week of looking, really looking, at one of the world's most beautiful landscapes can give you. It is the warmth of friendships formed quickly and felt deeply, the shared laughter over a painting that surprised you, the memory of light on ancient stone and vines heavy with fruit.

Elizabeth and the whole team send you off with enormous gratitude for the creative energy, openness, and spirit you brought to every session and every shared table this week. 

We hope the South of France has left its mark on you — in your artwork, in your memories, and in the quiet pull you'll feel, sooner or later, to pick up a brush and do it all over again somewhere new.

Until then — keep painting, keep exploring, and keep seeing the world like the artist you are.

À bientôt.