Apartment suggestions in Provence
May 22nd, 2014, 09:37 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Apartment suggestions in Provence
I will be visiting Provence for 10 days this September and thought I might want to rent an apartment for part of my stay. I'll be flying in to Marseille. Should I rent something in Marseille or Aix en Provence or somewhere else? I really don't want to stay in a different hotel every night but I do want to see as much of the area as possible. Thinking of driving up the coast too.
Am I trying to do too much in a short period of time?
Any itinerary ideas would also be appreciated. This may be my one and only trip to France so I want to be sure I am making the best use of my time.
Am I trying to do too much in a short period of time?
Any itinerary ideas would also be appreciated. This may be my one and only trip to France so I want to be sure I am making the best use of my time.
May 23rd, 2014, 07:45 AM
#2
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you want rent a flat, the simplest is to contact a real estate agency, but for 10 days. In France some people rent for short time, especially for the summer season.
If you don't find anything, you can also stay in a young hostel, take a shared room or a private room.
If you don't find anything, you can also stay in a young hostel, take a shared room or a private room.
May 23rd, 2014, 08:08 AM
#3
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 4,510
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you have a car, I would not recommend staying in a city. Driving in and out each day can be very stressful -- particularly in Aix, one of the worst places we've driven (for congestion and confusion).
We have visited Provence about 20 times, I think. We usually rent a small villa or an apartment for 2.
There are literally thousands of places on the market. You can find places on Homeaway or on vrbo.com or gite.com or the Gites de France website.
From our perspe3ctive, an ideal location was just outside Tarascon.
Why? it is 1. in flat countryside; 2. very near shops and other amenities; 3. well served by fast highways and 4. blessed with interesting things to see in every direction.
St Remy is another convenient place to base yourself, although I do not share the almost universal passion of my fellow Fodorites for that very ordinary town.
FWIW, here is the place we rented outside Tarascon. Rather too large for 1 person -- but it gives you an idea of what is on offer:
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-ren...8876a#calendar
We have visited Provence about 20 times, I think. We usually rent a small villa or an apartment for 2.
There are literally thousands of places on the market. You can find places on Homeaway or on vrbo.com or gite.com or the Gites de France website.
From our perspe3ctive, an ideal location was just outside Tarascon.
Why? it is 1. in flat countryside; 2. very near shops and other amenities; 3. well served by fast highways and 4. blessed with interesting things to see in every direction.
St Remy is another convenient place to base yourself, although I do not share the almost universal passion of my fellow Fodorites for that very ordinary town.
FWIW, here is the place we rented outside Tarascon. Rather too large for 1 person -- but it gives you an idea of what is on offer:
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-ren...8876a#calendar
May 23rd, 2014, 09:52 AM
#4
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Interesting. We found Aix easy to drive out of, must have lucked out and gone exactly the right way. However, Aix is not so near to the more popular sights in Provence.
I suggest you read up, decide on the places you most want to see and then look for a place convenient to those sights. As tedgale says, there's a big choice.
I suggest you read up, decide on the places you most want to see and then look for a place convenient to those sights. As tedgale says, there's a big choice.
May 23rd, 2014, 12:40 PM
#5
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 34,878
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I suppose you can rent an apt if you really want to if you stay in some place at least 5 days. But when you do that, you may be limiting yourself to having no car in Marseille. And in Aix, yo umay search a while to find a convenient place and it may be outside the city. Marseille is a big city and you aren't going to find an apt in it with parking and if you did, driving in and out of Marseille is not a pretty picture to me, every day. I don't think it would be a very good introduction to the city to stay in some place out in the country and try to get into it just to visit a few hours. I think that works better in a smaller place like Aix, and it would make more sense to have a car there, also. Of course, I would never recommend you stay IN Aix with a car, but it is smaller and you could stay on the outskirts and not miss as much of city life as you would in Marseille.
It can be hard to park in Aix, though, and lots of one-way streets, so if you stay outside it and drive in for some reason, you have to find out where the garages are. The ones right in the center can get completely full of course.
It can be hard to park in Aix, though, and lots of one-way streets, so if you stay outside it and drive in for some reason, you have to find out where the garages are. The ones right in the center can get completely full of course.
