Shops in Village
You can walk to Seillans village by turning right out of the gates and along footpath alongside garden. Keep following path, cross the road and on up bearing slightly to the right. It is very steep! It takes about 10-15 mins to go up (depending on how fit you are!) but less to come back. If you do this walk at night, be sure to take a torch and leave the outside lights on to welcome you back – it is very dark! At the top of the steps is the centre of the village – bar, good butcher and baker, grocery shop, chemist and newsagent. (You can, of course, drive up - there is a car park at the top and two about half way up) At the foot of village is “Huit a Huit” a mini supermarket (only open 9.00- 7.30pm!) – you pass it if you drive up to the village. It has a good selection of everything basic. All shops in village close at lunch time (12.30 – 4.00pm) including Huit a huit. There are also good public tennis courts (8 euros per hour in 2004) and a public swimming pool at the foot of the village, 5 mins walk from La Feniere.

Supermarkets (stay open all day and up to 12.30 on Sundays in high season)
Closest (apart from Huit a huit) is “Super U” in Fayence – turn right at the mini roundabout if you are coming from Seillans – good for all food. Also “Intermarche” & “E.Leclerc” beyond Fayence on road to Grasse. They are bigger and have more household things. All good value. Fayence has a good market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Restaurants & night life
In the village there is a bar, which does drinks and snacks, and 3 restaurants: Les Deux Rocs, at the top of the village, which is excellent, but quite pricey; La Gloire de mon Pere in the Place du Thouron near the top and also, in the same square, Le Relais d'Olea, both of which are very good and share the space in the square under the plane trees for outside dining in the summer. It is wonderful to sit here for a long Sunday lunch or on a warm summer's evening. These are all run by French locals. There is also a fourth restaurant, La Chirane, which had closed down when we were last there but may have reopened by now.

Fayence, a larger village about 10 minutes drive away, has more shops and restaurants, and an excellent market on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. Good Restaurants in Fayence are the Auberge Fleurie (at the foot of the village by the roundabout), La France, La Strega (pizza), La Farragoulet (a bit more pricey but very nice) at the top by the look out point (lovely view from this point!!) Les Temps des Cerises, which has been excellent whenever we have been, and several others which we have not tried. There are various events in high season, that take place in either the car park or the square in Fayence. Go to the tourist office for information.

The Chapel
The chapel of Notre Dame de L’Ormeau (our lady of the elm tree) is very old and worth a look inside if you catch it open. There is an organised tour of the village and the chapel (in English if you require) on a Thursday morning starting at the Tourist Office at the top of the village – opposite the Gloire de Mon Pere.

Local villages, Bargemon (lots of art galleries), Mons (fantastic view and good lunch restaurant) and Callian (nice bars and good restaurant – Pizzeria au Rendezvous) are all a short drive away and worth a visit.

Cannes has lots of restaurants, nice beaches good shops and a large car park by the port (35/40 mins). Antibes is a lovely town, with lots of good restaurants and an excellent market on a Sunday morning. (40/45mins). Nice also has a good market every morning except Monday, in the Cours Saleya, in the old town. Also a good shopping opportunity is the Friday market at Ventimiglia – just across the border in Italy. It is good for leather goods in particular. It starts early in the morning and ends mid afternoon. You can have lunch at restaurants on the beach, just through the market. Trains go from stations all along the coast, but Cannes is the easiest, and has a car park next to it. It takes around an hour and a half by train – so you will need to start early. (Not recommended in high season as trains and market are very crowded and hot).

Beaches
Closest beaches are St Raphael/Frejus, Agay (which has a good fish restaurant on the beach – Auberge de la Rade), Cannes – about 35/40 mins. There are also little stony beaches at the Lac St Cassien (about 20 mins drive away). Here there are pedalos and swimming, and cafes serving snacks and drinks, at various points along the road.

Further afield
Take a day trip inland to the north west and visit the spectacular Gorges du Verdon or, for a more glamourous day out, take the Autoroute east to Monte Carlo and Menton or west to St Tropez. The hill-top town of St Paul de Vence, where you might catch a glimpse of some familiar celebrities, and its neighbouring, less touristy, towns of Vence and Haute Cagnes, are about 50 minutes away. Worth a visit, but very busy during high season.