kakiebell

We are leaving exactly one month from today, April 25th. Our first destination will be Barcelona and then we are taking a train from Barcelona to Perpignan and then picking up a rental car (Auto Europe) at the train station. Because we are travelling on May 1st, train travel and auto rentals are difficult. The fee for picking up the rental car in Barcelona and driving it to France would have cost $1,400 additional so that is the reason for the broken up trip.
We are staying in St. Remy at the Les Chateau des Alpilles and will arrive there sometime in the afternoon. Below is our schedule and I would dearly appreciate your comments on what cities I have chosen to visit and if I have added too much or not enough in each day. This is my sixth trip to Europe and we do not feel compelled to do and see everything. We would just like to visit the places that are feasible and come home with great memories. We like to take it a bit slower and do not have to see everything on this trip. Like to save time to sit at a cafe, stroll through the streets and just drink in the atmosphere. So, here goes.

May 1--Thursday
St. Remy

May 2--Friday
Les Baux
St. Remy

May 3, Saturday
Arles (market day)
Nimes
Avignon

May 4, Sunday
Isle-sur-la-sorgue (market day)
Pont du Gard
Gordes
Roussillon
Menerbes

(I have been to Nice, Monaco, Menton and Canne before)

May 5--Monday
check out of hotel and go to our hotel in Eze (Bastide aux Camelias)
Leaving St. Remy, stop in Aix-en-Provence and Antibes
check into hotel in afternoon
Dinner in Nice or Eze

May 6, Tuesday
Villefranche-sur-mer
Beaulieu
St-Jean Cap Ferrat
Eze
dinner in Nice

May 7, Wednesday
"The Hill Towns"
Haut-de-Cagnes
Vence
St. Paul-de-Vence (lunch reservations at Colombe d'Or at 1 p.m.)
Grasse
Valbonne
Mougins
Vallauris
dinner and exploring Eze

May 8 --Thursday
check out of hotel in Eze, drive to Aix-en-Provence to take the train to Paris. As this is May 8th, we could not take a train from Nice to Paris. Warning to all who are planning their trips in the future. Try to avoid travellig on May 1 and 8 as many things are not open or running.

Paris---I have been there 4 times so we have our plans already decided.

Thanks you to anyone who can give me advice on what is too much, what I am missing or what would you add to each day.

jamikins

I can only help with day 3-4 and I think you will struggle there. Towns close up in the afternoon and aren't attractive so we have found we can see 2 places a day...

Day 4 pont de gard is a good match with Nimes - that was one day for us

Avignon was a day for us

Luberon villages were a day as well

Just to give you an idea...don't forget you will need to drive and find parking etc...

kerouac

Arles and Nimes are pretty redundant in my opinion. You might be better off seeing a more unusual town like Aigues Mortes near Arles.

TDudette

Agree with jamikins (except for Avignon was only half day for us, but we didn't go into the Pope's castle). Parking and closing times are factors.

None of us will ever complete agree on what's to see--it's so personal. I loved both Arles and Nimes but we spent more than 1/2 day in each of those.

In Aix, I hope you have time to get to the Place Richelme/Rue des Cordeliers area and not just the Cours Mirabeau. We never had a car but we did see an underground lot near Rue des Cordeliers and were stunned that the people actually found it!

Do google parking garages! Can anyone help with a good source for parking?

StuDudley

I agree with kerouac about Nimes & Arles being redundant. We prefer Arles. Also, three rather large cities on the same day doesn't seem to fit your "bit slower" pace that you mentioned. I would just visit one city (Avignon) - and then some countryside.

If you are staying in St Remy, I would not allocate any time to seeing it. It's small, and if you did it as a day trip from elsewhere - it's a 2 hr visit max - more if you are a big shopper. Therefore, I would just plan to visit it at the beginning and end of your day-trips as time allows. Arrival day would work (as you have planned) but not the next day.

You could almost say the same thing for Les Baux. It's so close to St Remy that you could just scoot up there for a couple of hours if you return from a day-trip by 5PM or so. You don't want to be there mid-day when everyone else is there.

On Friday I would visit Uzes & then the Pont du Gard. You'll probably have time left in the day so do the Les Baux visit then.

On Saturday, I would visit Avignon, then visit a few villages in the Luberon in the afternoon.

On Sunday - the Pont & l'Isle sur la Sorgue/Luberon are in opposite directions - and I hate to traverse the area around Avignon to get from the Pont area to the Luberon. It's quite un-sightly with all the urban sprawl. That's why I recommended seeing the Pont & Uzes on another day. Just do the market and Gordes, Roussillon, and some wandering by car in the Luberon on Sunday. Your plan for Sunday is really not advisable. If your plan was to visit the market first, then traverse the ugly Avignon suburbs to get to the Pont, spend 3 or so hours there, then traverse the ugly Avignon suburbs again to get to Gordes/Roussillon - you are not going to have a memorable day. The market may exhaust you - what happened to the "bit slower"?

Monday - most shops will be closed in Aix in the AM - so that's not the best day for a visit. Even if this was not a Monday, fitting in 3 hrs of driving, and half-day visit to Aix, and a half-day in Antibes is really not what you stated in your "bit slower" objectives.

Wed the 7th. I'm not a big fan of Grasse - we've been there 3 times & it's always felt a little grungy to me. My wife thought the perfume tour was just OK - nothing special. I would substitute Tourrettes sur Loup and the "Loup Loop". Also, I don't think you have time for all of these villages plus a 2+ hr lunch in St Paul. Cagnes is a little hard to get to and even harder to park near. I think it's the "least" of the hill villages you've listed - so I would skip it.

Stu Dudley

Sarastro

<i>Because we are travelling on May 1st, train travel and auto rentals are difficult. </i>

Difficult is an understatement. Expect everything, particularly auto rental offices, to be closed.

TDudette

I'd never choose Avignon over Arles (see, no one agrees!)

Here's some market possible help:

http://www.provencelive.com/practical/daily/market/

Unless things have changed (and the link above is incorrect), Place Richelme has a market in the morning and a giant café in the afternoon. We lived in that area for a few days and just loved it.

Maybe we should be asking what made you choose the places on your list so we can consolidate more?

Christina

I don't think Arles and Nimes are redundant, I think they are very different. But I am interested in the top museum/site, I guess, and they are different in the two places. Nimes has that maison carree, and Arles has that ethnographic museum, which was my favorite thing there. I just love those kind of local museums, though, for the local history, styles, decorative arts, etc. That is the Arlatan museum, although I think it was closed for a while for renovation. So I'd check on whether it is open or not. I was also in Arles for the annual Rice Festival which was really fun, they do the running of the bulls in the street and it was very festive (that was n the Fall, as I recall). That is unique to Arles, I believe, and then there is the Van Gogh connection if you are interested in that. this is a list of the Arles museums http://www.tourisme.ville-arles.fr/us/a2/a2f.php

Here is info on the local festivals in Arles. The Easter Feria begins 4/18 so you may miss that, actually, it is a big one. http://www.arlestourisme.com/the-ferias.html

So I don't consider Arles and Nimes the same at all, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Arles, and it is the one I visited first.

I can't even imagine visiting three major cities in one day!! (AVignon, Arles and Nimes). These are not little tiny hamlets.

If it were me, I'd combine Pont du Gard with visiting Arles perhaps, which frees up Sunday a little. I'd drop Nimes. If you have time after Arles and Pont du Gard, you can enter Avignon which is just direct east of it, pretty much. Or add Avignon to the day with Les Baux. I can't imagine devoting two days to St Remy myself.

StCirq

IMO, May 2 you have too little going on. May 3 and 4, too much.

joannyc

Bookmarking

tuscanlifeedit

I too am bookmarking for our trip in September.

kakiebell

Thank you for all your responses. They have been very helpful in reducing the number of places each day, what to see and what to take out of our itinerary. My mistake was comparing Provence to Tuscany. We spent some time in Tuscany staying in Siena and there was no traffic, parking was easy and you could get in and out of the towns in a hour or two. I have come to realize Provence is NOT Tuscany. I have changed our itinerary and I would appreciate any comments if you care.

May 1 - Thursday
arriving by train and car from Barcelona
ST. REMY

May 2- Friday
AVIGNON
PONT DU GARD

May 3 - Saturday
ARLES 9 (MARKET DAY)
AIGUES MORTES
LES BAUX

May 4 - Sunday
ISLE-SUR-LA-SORGUE (MARKET DAY)
GORDES
ROUSSILLON

May 5 - Monday
Does it make sense to stop in Aix-en-Provence on a Monday? If everything is closed, would it be worth our time?
Would it be better to skip Aix and spend more time on the French Riviera. We cannot check into our B&B until 6 p.m. so we have some free time.
ANTIBES

May 6 - Tuesday
VILLEFRANCH-SUR-MER
BEAULIEU
ST-JEAN CAP FERRAT

May 7 - Wednesday
VENCE
TOURETTES SUR-LOOP (if we have time before our lunch at 1 p.m. in St. Paul)
ST. PUAL-DE-VENCE (lunch at 1 p.m. at Colombe D'Or)
VALBONNE
MOUGINS
VALLAURIS

(how long would it take to see Valbonne, Mougins and Vallauris? If you were to cut one, which?)

TDudette asked what made me choose the places on my list. Basically from reading FODORS FRANCE 2014, Frommers and hours of reading blogs.

When I said we wanted to take it slow, it is not because we are physically unable, rather this is a vacation and we do not want to be like mice on a treadmill. That is why I so appreciate the comments that guide me in the direction of not trying to do too much.
Thank you for your time and advice.

rosemaryoz

I think it would be a shame to be in St Remy, without visiting the Glanum ruins and the St Paul Asylum (where Vincent van Gogh painted some of his most famous works), which are both about 1km south on the outskirts of the town. You could easily visit them both in your first afternoon in St Remy, as they are not large. And I too believe Arles is well worth a longer visit, so I would consider dedicating 3 May to Arles and Aigues Mortes only (there's plenty to explore on foot in each town). It would also be a shame to go to Les Baux, and miss the Carrieres de Lumieres, which is on the D27 just below Les Baux, and well worth an hour's visit. Both the Carrieres and the Les Baux Chateau sites are open Mondays, so maybe you could visit them on May 5 (after you check out of St Remy accom) rather than a stopover in Aix? From there you could drive straight across to Antibes, and arrive easily in time for dinner.

StuDudley

Your revised itinerary looks fine.

The first time we visited Aigues Mortes in the early 90s after we had spent a total of about 3 months vacationing in Europe, we thought Aigues Mortes was fantastic. In about the latter 90s after 12 months total in Europe, we thought it was interesting - but quite touristy. In around 2006 we stayed there overnight before a flight home. This was after spending around 2 1/2 to 3 years in Europe (we retired in '99 so we could spend 2 months in Europe every year) we thought the walls were great, but the architecture within the city was about a C+ (compared to other places we've visited in France & Italy), and it was VERY touristy. Instead you might consider a scenic drive around the Alpilles and visit some of the smaller villages like Eygalieres and Mausanne before Les Baux.

Since you would have visited Avignon and Arles, I would skip Aix and perhaps instead swing down and spend some time in Cassis & have a nice lunch there on the port.

Here is something I wrote for my Provence itinerary about Aix on a Monday.

While in Aix in mid June ’10, I did a “survey” of about 30 shops that had opening & closing days & times posted on their storefronts. Of these 30 shops, 5 were open all day Monday (including a Gap and Monoprix – chain-type stores), 10 were closed all day Monday, and 15 were open Monday afternoon only.

Stu Dudley

albatrost

Wow, that was a busy schedule. For me this would be way to much to see in a few days, specially when you also mentions that "We like to take it a bit slower".

I think you might loose some of the charm of the relaxed Provence when you are rushing through cities like this.

But of course this is just my opinions.
A

kakiebell

I think I am missing how big some of these cities are. Since part of our trip will be Barcelona and Paris (big, big cities), I am thinking of skipping Avignon and pairing Pont Du Gard with something else. Any suggestion for adding something or moving something from one day and putting it with Pont du Gard?
Help, I am struggling here. The guide books give Nimes 2 star ratings (out of 3) yet other people think it is redundant. I appreciate all your feedback.

StuDudley

Put Pont du Gard with Uzes - like I suggested earlier.

Nimes - it depends on how much you like spending time in museums and how much you like Roman Ruins. Both Nimes & Arles have amphitheatres. Arles has Roman Bath* ruins plus a theatre**, and les Alychanps*. Nimes has the Maison Caree*** and the Jardin de la Fontaine** area. These are all Roman Ruins. If you want to visit all the Roman Ruins that you possibly can - then visit both. If a few ruins are enough - then just visit one. Both have several Museums. We've only visited the Musee de l'Arles Antiques** in Arles - and liked it. Nimes's Musee Archeologique* description in the Michelin Green Guide seems to describe it as similar to the one in Arles. If you like visiting lots of museums - visit both.

If lots of Roman Ruins and museums don't appeal to you, and you just want to wander around in a city - I think Arles is more appealing (and easier to drive into).

We've visited both Cities at least 3 times, and had dinners in both.

Stu Dudley

dugi_otok

I would flip flop May 2nd and 3rd with some changes. You do not need to go to two large markets, Arles and Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue.Some of the same sellers. Skip the Arles market. It is good local color, but very blue collar. There is a lot to see in Arles without the market.Plus the crowd and parking will will be a problem.

May 2- Friday
ARLES
AIGUES MORTES
LES BAUX (if time allows, or perhaps Sat. after Pont du Gard)

May 3 - Saturday
UZES (wonderful small Sat. market and lovely town)
PONT DU GARD ( 10 min from Uzes)
AVIGNON (might have time to see the Popes Palace and the nursery rhyme bridge)

StuDudley

I agree with dugi about visiting only one market for your short visit. However, I would not visit Uzes on a Saturday morning if you want to visit a "lovely town". If your objective is to visit a colorful market - then visit Uzes on Sat, but skip both the Arles market AND the l'Isle sur la Sorgue market (not advised). The Uzes market hides the wonderful arcaded passageways and the fantastic Place aux Herbes. It's shoulder-to-shoulder people & the stalls & umbrellas interfere with the enjoyment of the "lovely town", IMO. Other Fodors visitors to Uzes on market day have stated this opinion also. Great market on market day and great town on non-market days (Wed is market day too). We've stayed in a gite just outside of Uzes for 2 weeks.

Stu Dudley

kakiebell

Now, this is what I am talking about. This is the kind of information that you cannot get in travel books or online travel information.
Dugi_otok, I like your suggestion of flip flopping Friday and Saturday.
StuDudley and Dugi_otok, thank you for telling me that one market is enough.
If we go to Pont Du Gard first, then by the time we get to Uzes, the market will be over and hopefully the town will not be so crowded. And, hopefully everything will not be closed.
Stu, we are more of the "outside" persuasion to see ampitheatres rather than museums. We will have just spent a week in Barcelona visiting Gaudi, Picasso, Historical Museums, etc. so I think we are looking forward to being outside more than in more museums. And, in Paris, if it is raining, there are endless museums to view there.
With all your suggestions and guidance, here is my new itinerary:

May 1-Thursday
ST REMY

May 2 -Friday
ARLES
AIGUES MORTES

May 3- Saturday
PONT DU GARD
UZES
LES BAUX

May 4- Sunday
ISLE-SUR-LA-SORGUE (MARKET DAY)
GORDES
ROUSSILLON

May 5- Monday
CASSIS
ANTIBES
check into hotel in Eze, 6-8 pm

May 6- Tuesday
VILLEFRANCH-SUR-MER
BEAULIEU
ST-JEAN-CAP FERRAT

May 7- Wednesday
VENCE
TOURETTES SUR LOOP (if we have time before 1 p.m. lunch in St. Paul-de-Vence)
ST-PAUL-DE-VENCE (lunch at 1 pm)

these are optional: Valbonne, Mougins, Vallauris

May 8 - Thursday
drive to Aix to take train to Paris

That about does it. I will have to do some more research on the smaller towns you suggested Stu in lieu of Aigues Mortes. I will have to get a book just on Provence to get more information on some of the smaller towns.

Thank you, I really appreciate you time and valuable information.