Slavenya_Pek

Hello,

I am seeking your advice about choosing location base for exploring Provence region for family with 2 kids (4 and 2 yeas old) during last 2 weeks of September.

Interested in relatively small town (about couple of thousands of people) that will provide kids services such as pool, playgrounds, supermarket and will be close to hiking areas. Mainly required activity is hiking with kids couple of hours then enjoying life rest of the day

It looks like there are too many choices so I would like to ask your opinion in order to try and narrow it down.

Rental recommendation is highly valued as well, again, kids friendly (with kitchen)

Thank you so much, Slava

Christina

I don't think you are going to get that in a village of about a couple thousand people, that is very small. Of course you can find one close to hiking areas, but I think you may not find the rest in small villages. I think you should look more for small towns/villages of about 10-15K population. Small villages won't even have their own schools, I would imagine. Maybe I'm wrong and someone else can name a place that swmall with all that. I also would have thought you'd want a town with a weekly market, which you would get in a larger place.

I've stayed just outside Pernes les Fontaines a couple times and really like it. It is about 10-15K and does have several restaurants, some shops, public parks, and a municipal pool, and a weekly market. It's in-between Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Carpentras.

Here's a website where you can search for public pools. They do have the Pernes-les-Fontaines one on there, but don't in other well-known villages like Bonnieux, Gordes or Roussillon (they are more well-known than Pernes with tourists). Gordes has a population of 2500, for example, and Roussillon about 1200, and would have shopping or a market.
http://www.provence-en-famille.fr/ac...activites.aspx

Here's another good website with details on each town/village.
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/vaucluse/gordes/gordes.htm

here's the town website for the place I was suggesting
http://www.perneslesfontaines.fr/

zoecat

You might consider the town of Lourmarin, one of my favorites. It fits the description of what you're looking for and you can easily walk from the village to many hikes. There's even a hiking store in town. The town has a good selection of places to eat and an excellent weekly market (IMO the best in Provence). Parking is easy. There is a playground and soccer field and a good children's toy store for the kids to explore on a rainy day. There is a small market in town that carries a nice selection of local produce and products, but the closest supermarket is about a 10 minute easy drive away. The town is beautiful (and level- not on a hillside, which might be easier for the kids) and is set in a lovely location.

One of these apartments may work well for you-
http://www.olivettes.com/index.php

This is a link to a good site and guidebook for the area, especially if you base out of Lourmarin. They also have some suggested rentals-
http://www.provencebyways.com/byways.htm

DebitNM

We like The Luberon region. In particular, St. Saturnin les Apts and Apt too.

Not knowing what your budget is, hard to recommend places. We have stayed at gite(cottage) here - http://www.accommodationinprovence.com/Le_Chene.html and loved it.

You will need a car, but I am sure you know that. You are looking late and may have to bit of a search.

http://www.theluberon.com/places/st-...in-les-apt.htm

We love the Lourmarin market, a nice village too.

tower

I believe that St. Remy 25 kms south of Avignon will meet your criteria.
Book car right away, as soon as you pick town. St. Remy is larger than some of those mentioned, but for those characteristics that you've mentioned, they're all in its vicinity. When each of you is baby-sitting during nap time or early bed time, whenever, at least the other can walk around town and get some solo enjoyment out of it. ALSO, the nearby Roman ruins are worth taking a look at, as well as the sanitarium where Van Gogh spent some time.

KathyWood

Don't rule out smaller villages. Small villages in the Luberon often do have amenities and businesses to support local residents. Unless it's very small, most villages have their own elementary school. There may not be many classrooms, but elementary schools are close to home. (Our daughter attended the elementary school in Bonnieux for a year.)

St. Saturnin-les-Apt (population 2500) has a public pool, a small supermarket, two boulangeries, a butcher shop, and a market on Tuesday morning. There are bigger supermarkets 10 minutes drive in Apt. I'm not sure about a children's playground, but many of the villages have them. There's a windmill at the top of the village and castle ruins to explore too.

We have a second home in Bonnieux (population 1400) with similar businesses (small grocery, butcher, bakeries), about ten restaurants, a playground (but no pool), and a market on Friday morning.

Lourmarin is a good suggestion too and easy to get around because it's flat.

Any village in the Luberon is near hiking areas. We've never had a problem with the forest trails being closed in late September... that tends to happen in July and August... but good to be aware it's a possibility. If so, you could still hike on small roads and trails in the valley.

If you want a pool nearby, some rentals may have a pool shared with the owner or several rental cottages/apartments.

Good luck finding the right place for your family's vacation--

Kathy

Slavenya_Pek

Thank you for valuable suggestion.

We have 12 days so I am thinking that it will be wise to split it in 2 or 3 locations.

I think that as it was suggested here one should be Luberon area probably staying in St. Saturnin-les-Apt or Apt.

Second area I think could be St Remy de Provence

Third I was told that Orange area it quite nice but I haven't seen any confirmation of this.

Does it sounds reasonable?

KathyWood

Rentals are usually for a full week, Saturday to Saturday, so keep that in mind if you pursue rentals.

I think two locations may be good for you. Keep in mind that your trip will be more relaxing if you minimize the number of location changes. You could drive between any of these areas in about an hour.

Kathy

Slavenya_Pek

Oh, I see - an hour drive is absolutely reasonable.

Then I guess, I need your help in finding locations for two bases.

What would you recommend?

tower

as I said in my post above, Slavenya...St. Remy will fill your needs nicely. We've stayed there on five different occasions and enjoyed the feel of the medium size bustling town. It certainly can serve as a base of Western Provence and I suggest you consider Loumarin or Bonnieux for Western Provence

yipper

Sisteron Is the village you need. There is a lovely community pool fed by a river and surrounded by a park with table and grills. There is hiking everywhere and a citadel to explore. The population is around 7 thousand. The town is charming.