jt865504

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are planning a trip to France for 3-4 weeks next May-June. I've been to Paris and the Burgundy region once about 10 years ago and my partner has never been to Europe. We are planning to spend 8-9 days in Provence and are considering to spend the last seven days (Sat-Sat) in a gite in the Luberon. Prior to this we will be traveling by train/bus and spending one day visiting Arles and a second day visiting Avignon/Pont du Gard. We are picking up a rental car from Avignon and will have it for the rest of our time in Provence until we drop it off in Nice.

We are trying to figure out a village or small town that would suitable to spend a week (not interested in larger places such as Avignon, Aix, or Arles) as a home base to explore nearby villages and towns. We are looking for a gite that would be within walking distance of a village/town that has some character and is pleasant to walk around and has at least one good cafe, a place where we could get lunch or dinner if needed, a boulangerie, and a place to pick up some groceries. We are in our mid/late twenties, not looking for luxury accommodations, and are traveling on a budget. Some place that is not filled with tourists at least in the early mornings/evenings would be great. The furthest in any direction we might go would be west: Nimes, north: Vaison-la-Romaine, east: Apt, and south: Lourmarin (perhaps Aix). Places we have thought about are Joucas, Goult, Murs, Bonnieux, St. Remy, and Roussillon. I would greatly appreciate some recommendations and any advice you may have.

Thanks so much!!!

Jessica

Underhill

St-Rémy would be a very good choice, as it's fairly central for sightseeing trips. The Lubéron villages are not as conveniently located, and Vaison-la-Romaine, while a lovely little town, is a bit far north. Much depends on what you're planning to do.

You might also consider Uzès and Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.

winnick

We were in Provence last year and stayed in Roussillon at this lovely home just at the base of the town, very easy walk up for dinners in the evening. The day trippers are gone after late afternoon. We found this location ideal for day trips to the Luberon towns. http://villaquatresaisons.com. There is a large supermarket in Apt a short drive from Roussillon.

We also stayed in St. Remy for 4 nights to be closer to Arles and Les Baux. We thought the area in the Luberon was much more scenic than the area around St. Remy (although we did enjoy that town and Les Baux). You can easily see those towns from Roussillon as a day trip.

jt865504

Thank you both for your recommendations!

Other recommendations or advice on villages/towns for a home base anyone?

Royal

We used Gordes as our base for our Provence trip. It was just the right size. Agree with winnick that this area is more scenic than St Remy however we liked St. Remy itself. It's larger than Gordes and more cafes, shops etc.

We toured all the small towns in both regions and my impressions were that Joucas, Goult and Murs were way too small and nothing happening. They really looked deserted. Bonnieux and Roussillon are good choices.

Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is very interesting but very busy.

Don't miss Les Baux but I wouldn't stay there.

bilboburgler

Well its a little further out of your target but still should be of interest. The Tarn Gorge is sunken valley leading throuhg Millau (home of the Millau bridge) and the valley is generally very pleasant with little villages along its length. Choose a village or Millau itself and get TI to book you a gite.

justretired

This issue comes up here often. Where you decide to stay should be partially based on how far you want to drive each day and what you want to see. We prefer to use our base as the center of a bicycle spoke, driving an hour in any direction. In Provence, one can stay in several different locations or in one to visit many of the sites and markets.

Considering this, St Remy is between Avignon and Arles and the area is attractive, flat, and easy distances from areas in western and southern Rrovence. It is a great base for visitng les Baux, the Pont-du-Gard, the cities listed above, and the Cammargue. Aix-en- Provence is about an hour as is the western towns of the Luberon.

We prefer the Luberon and prefer to spend our time in one place. Gordes and Rousillion are in this region- Peter Mayle country- and is filled with hilltop towns and beautiful scenery. There are lots of towns to chise from. We stayed in Bonniuex for 3 weeks a few years ago and loved the location and the town. We chose to stay in the village so that we could walk to restaurabnts each night if we decided not to eat in at our apartment. WHile we could walk safely and comfortably at night, it is not a town filled with a lot of activity. We loved this apartment complex:

http://www.bastidemarechaldenier.com/fr/index.html

You can also chose to stay further north, either near L'isle Sur La Sorgue or even more north at La Vaison-la-Romaine, not far from Mt ventoux.

Good luck. Let us know if you have any further questions,

Margie

sap

Ditto to what everyone above has said, but Margie has just given you the full, perfect answer. Using all that information, you can just start researching more details about the aforementioned towns and the available properties and narrow your scope from there. If you've already visited Avignon/Arles/Pont du Gard earlier in the trip, then it's nice that you'll be able to focus solely on the Luberon for a whole week. Allowing for Sat-Sat and starting this early will increase your chances of finding what you want. I would recommend that you reserve as soon as you've made your choice as the best ones are sometimes booked solid even a year in advance. (Your spring time frame obviously makes this less of a risk.)

Once you've narrowed down specifics on your town and rental, you can post more queries here about those in particular.

Personally, I would recommend Bonnieux, Goult, Menerbes or Roussillon, but I've only been to the Luberon once (last June). Others seem to really like Lourmarin, but that's a bit far south to use as a central base. Bonnieux and Goult seem to have more restaurant choices, which is an obvious factor when you want to relax at your home base in the evenings at not eat at the same darn place every night.

If I were to go back, I would seriously consider this one in Menerbes: http://historicrentals.com/menerbes (It's actually three that can be rented separately or combined together -- quite highly recommended on various travel sites). I came very close to renting it and my husband and I were actually debating between his choice in Bonnieux and mine in Menerbes. I had good communications with the rental agency before I gave in to my husband's choice. Next time, I will likely book the Menerbes apartment, unless I find something better in the interim. One factor to consider about the Menerbes apartment, though, is that they are not open for booking until six months before and I had hoped to secure a property a year in advance so I could commence more detailed planning. For most people, that's not a problem. However, I was limited in my choices because we were trying to find the rare Tues-Tues rentals, which will not be an issue for you.

The Slow Travel website also has reviews and recs about Luberon gites if you're looking to expand your sources.

Finally, Stu Dudley posted a great discussion last summer about his preferred Gites-de-France and what process he has used for the last umpteen years he has been renting properties: http://tiny.cc/3dqo7. It's highly detailed and useful info, but I did find the Gites-de-France website to be a bit hard to navigate. You really have to know what you want and where.

Happy hunting.

nordhus

We rented a small house in St. Remy and loved the location. It was on a quiet side street, but an easy walk to the bakery, restaurants, etc. The couple that own it also have a hotel/cooking school at the edge of town. Go to www.mascornud.com, click on links and you will find their 2 rentals. We stayed at La Maison de Poupee.