Julia Child's Former French Cottage In Provence Is A Fairytale Dream With Cozy Trappings

Most foodies are familiar with Julia Child and her love affair with France. While the American-born chef did live in Paris — where she studied at Le Cordon Bleu, established a culinary school, and began co-writing her first cookbook — she was only there for a handful of years. Many of Child's experiences in France actually happened in the colorful region of Provence, where she and her husband, Paul, built a cozy vacation home they returned to for decades. Today, their cottage near Grasse is a dreamy escape where travelers can take a cooking class — an ideal way to experience a country's culinary traditions — or even rent the entire property for a weeklong stay. 

Financed by the proceeds of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" (published in 1961), the villa was constructed in the mid-1960s on property owned by Julia's friend and collaborator Simone Beck and her husband. The cottage was named La Pitchoune (meaning "little one"), though Julia and Paul affectionately referred to it by its nickname, "La Peetch." The couple spent summers and winters there for years, hosting famous friends for dinner and enjoying the cottage's charming, rustic-chic interiors and quiet, fairytale-like gardens. 

Julia's final visit to her beloved Provence occurred in 1992, and the property was purchased by an American chef who renovated the house and turned it into a cooking school. Ownership has changed hands a few times, but La Peetch is still a gathering place for lovers of good food and conversation. Today, it's home to the Courageous Cooking School, where travelers can participate in weeklong culinary camps for $6,800 per person (at the time of writing; including lodging, food, and transportation) or private group classes for up to seven people (from $6,400 for a half-day, at the time of writing). 

According to those who've been there, La Peetch is every bit as dreamy as it sounds. "Each dusk did its best impression of a Provençal postcard," wrote one journalist from Travel + Leisure who attended a weeklong cooking course in 2025. "We'd list about the garden, where an enormous, centuries-old olive tree anchored beds of herbs, the rosemary planted by Julia's own hands [...] we'd sip wine on the front patio under wisteria that cast lacy shadows over us." 

Another recent participant described her experience on Frenchly, recalling mornings spent working on knife skills and the joys of "recipe-free" cooking. Staying in the cottage was a particular pleasure for her, noting that she slept in Julia's former office, now converted into a luxurious guest suite with cozy details, including high-end linens, fluffy robes, and organic toiletries. "There's a cashmere Hermès throw at the foot of each bed, and the kitchen is open 24/7 for snacks," she wrote. There's also a mosaic salt-water pool for guest use in warmer weather. 

Cooking school students are accommodated in the main house and a smaller cottage on the property, but travelers can also rent the whole place for a week (from a little over $11,000 for up to eight people, with higher rates in summer). Though weeklong rentals don't include cooking classes or other activities like market tours or winery visits, you can add them on for an extra fee when booking. La Peetch is a 35-minute drive from the Nice-Côte d'Azur Airport, which is a 1.5-hour flight from Paris. Spending time in the City of Light before or after your trip to Provence? Be sure to dine at Julia Child's favorite restaurant in Paris, Chez Georges, an iconic gem serving no-nonsense French food.