Top Ten of Provence

Go to Le Beax. Also there's a winery off the roadd approaching from the west that is very cool, but don't remeber the name. It's off a vista point, looking to Le Beax, and it is inside a limestone quarry. Wines good too. Nobody but us were there. Gotta see it.

Also, I thought Aix-en Provence was lovely. Lot's of college kids which give it an upbeat feel.

Les Baux would definitely be on my top-ten list, as would the Pont du Gard, Arles, St-Rémy, and Avignon.

We loved Aix-en-Provence and the markets there, also market day in St. Remy.

We recently visited the winery Mas Ste.-Berthe near Les Baux. You can take a self-guided tour of the fields. We really enjoyed it for both the wine and the natural beauty.
The website is
http://www.mas-sainte-berthe.com/site/visite/visite.php?LangueSite=en

I would put Uzès on the list too.

Rousillon, Apt market, Les Baux, Isle Sur La Sorgue.

We stayed in Menerbes last year and I often draw on the memories of serenity and peace that lovely village offered us. We stayed in the "La Forteresse" at the end of the road by the church and cemetery. Sweet village. Enjoy!

Going at the time you are, you'll unfortunately miss one of my Top Ten: The Lavender Fields.

Some day I hope to be brave enough to go to Provence when the lavendar is in bloom...I just do not do well with the heat!!

Top Ten Villages/Towns...

Brantes
Crestet
Cucuron
Joucas
Lacoste
Oppède Le Vieux
Saignon
Séguret
Vaison-la-Romaine
Venasque

With only four nights in Menerbes you are going to have to set some limits. I would explore Oppède Le Vieux and Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque near Gordes, Pont du Gard and Uzès Sénanque, St Remy and Les Baux. Because of your interest in good red wine maybe Châteauneuf-du-Pape plus Avignon or Orange one day.

Roussillon for sure! One of the most beautiful places I've seen .... the colors and textures are wonderful!

I like the Pays de Sault a lot.
Due to its higher elevation of appr. 800 meters it does not get really hot, not even during lavender bloom in July. And I found way less tourists in that area than around the "usual suspects" of Aix, Avignon, Pont du Gard, etc.

http://www.saultenprovence.com/

We just returned from Provence and only scratched the surface in 8 days. Here are some of our favorite places:

St Remy
Les Baux
Uzes
Pont du Gard
Cucuron
Lourmarin
Saignon
Roussillon
Oppede le Vieux
Seguret

crazyfortravel

where did you stay during your 8 days in provence?

Any restaurants that you can recommend?

I would really appreciate any info you might care to share


Di

We stayed 2 nights in St Remy at the Hotel du Soliel, 1 night at Hotel Liautaud in Cassis and 5 nights in Bonnieux at the Hotel Le Clos du Buis.

I am hoping to do a trip report but I have not been well so it may take a while.

We ate more picnic meals, light lunches and bought supplies at local markets to make some of our own meals on this trip. Our B&B in Bonnieux was great as we had a small kitchen in our room as well as access to a fully equipped kitchen downstairs. We ate out several nights but I can't say any of the meals were particularly memorable.

There's no shortage of natural beauty in this area with the vineyards, mountains and perched villages. There's some industrial sprawl around several towns but when you get out into the countryside lovely drives abound.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Stu Dudley's driving directions were an invaluable tool for us when planning our drives in this region.

I can recommend the restaurant Saveurs de Provence in St Remy, address 51 rue Carnot. We had a very good lunch there recently, cost about EUR80 with wine.

Everything is subjective. Some will say stay away from Les Baux and Roussillon, they are crowded. Trus but there is nothing like them, a must-see to me.
My favorite places are for various personal reasons, Eygalieres, Maussane, St remy, Lourmarin, Bonnieux, Saignon,Seguret, Avignon, Arles but let's face it. We've been going every year to this place I love, Like Paris, you never see it all. My cigales must be due there.

crazyfortravel, is your list in favourites order? I am in the area in 4 weeks for 10 days and need to manage my time.
Many thanks for your advice

Hi stevelyon,

No..I kind of grouped it by the area we visited them.

We stayed in St Remy first. It was our second time there but the last time we visited years ago we did it as a day trip from Avignon. This time we made it our home base and for us it was a good choice. It was every bit as charming to us as we had remembered. Even more so early in the morning and later at night when we seemed to have the town to ourselves.

Les Baux...even though very busy with tourists was much more interesting than I had expected. It far exceded my expectations. The views were incredible and its hard to imagine 6000 once lived within these walls.

My list if by order of preference would go something like this although we enjoyed them all:

Saignon
Cucuron
Oppede le Vieux
Les Baux
Roussillon
Seguret
St Remy
Pont du Gard
Uzes
Lourmarin

There are some other notable towns that we very much enjoyed as well:

Brantes
Crestet
Bonnieux - our base
Goult
Simone de la Rotonde
Gordes
L'Isle sur la Sorge Sunday Market

Thanks crazyfortravel, any reason for your choice? I was comparing your list with that of DK Eyewitness Travel's Top 10 Provence Villages which are:
1 Moustiers-Ste-Marie
2 Les-Baux-de-Provence
3 St Paul de Vence
4 Fontaine de Vaucluse
5 Bormes les Mimosas
6 Rouissillon
7 Seguret
8 Cassis
9 Sisteron
10 Roquebrune Cap Martin

Hi stevelyon,

I think it depends on where you base yourself. We were no where near some of those towns on the list you mention. I think with any trip you make choices based on things you read both online and in print. You can't see it all so you promise yourself that you'll be back again one day.

My list is based on the places we visited on this trip and a previous trip we took to Provence some years ago. I'm sure many of the towns you mention are on someone's list..no ours because we didn't visit them.

Hope that helps

Actually, we did visit Cassis on this trip for 1 night and very much enjoyed our stay. I didn't mention it as the OP was looking for points of interest near Menerbes...but I do see it's on the list you posted.

My photos are now posted at

www.kodakgallery.com/crazy4travel

You're welcome to have a look.

Fabulous photos - cant wait to visit some of these places. It was interesting noting your original post to Fodors (prior to your actual visit) and whether places you were looking forward to visiting disapointed and vice versa - would you (with hindsight) leave some out?

That's a good question. Reflecting back, I would have left out Villeneuve les Avignon. We had not researched it and it was a last minute choice to go. We wandered around looking for the entrance to the castle...walked for what seemed like miles from where we parked our car and never did find the entrance. Ended up getting stung by a plant..just like a bee sting x 10 as I had approx 10 welts that hurt so much I thought I was going to pass out. Luckily the pain subsided rather quickly..within a few hours.

I would also have left out Pernes les Fontaines...didn't find the town particularly interesting or attractive.

Our last day we decided to do a drive to the Dentelles. I wish I had taken that last day to just chill at the B&B and soak up the atmosphere in our home town of Bonnieux. It was a hot day and I was feeling rather tired. I started the trip with a foot ailment that came out of the blue. A unilateral edema..my foot had been swollen for 3 weeks with no real explanation. I had one pair of shoes that would fit. The day started out with Pernes les Fontaines which as I mentioned I did not care for.

Crestet is a sweet little town with wonderful views but the climb is straight up...and it was hot.

Seguret..another picture perfect town but you always feel the need to get to the top of town and see all corners of it.

There was constuction on the road between Seguret and Sablet so we had to go out to the main road and go around. Sablet has little interest outside of wine in my opinion but made a very good lunch stop...we were hot and exhausted by this time.

We did a drive thru of Gigondas and from the car could not see the immediate charm so moved on...you can see by this point that I have lost all enthusiasm as I'm sure the last two towns on our list were likely wonderful little towns. We stopped at Beaume de Venise at the Winery outside of town and bought several bottles of wine as well as some pottery. Looking back it was not a day well spent but we sometimes don't know when to just stop the madness and take a break.

The other town that had no charm for me was Sault. I could see that in Lavender season it would be in its glory but other than the drive to and beyond it, the town itself was rather bland.

We got to Brantes in the most fantastic rain and lightening storm and there was a great flood while we were there. We would have loved to have driven through the Gorge de Nesques on the way back but the weather did not cooperate. We'll have a nice little memory of Brantes as we ducked into the little chapel to get out of the rain. We didn't see one person in town while we were there...a truly remote village and we had it all to ourselves.

Overall, we were happy with our choices.

Wonderful photos - thanks for sharing.

Crazyfortravel: fantastic photos! May I ask what kind of camera you used? We are leaving for a 3-week trip to the South of France (Grasse) and the Luberon (Menerabes) this Friday (I'm doing the happy dance!)and I now think our CoolPix won't do the area justice. Too late to get an SLR which I'm thinking you have. Please share! Thanks so much for sharing your photos - I'm all reved up and can't wait!

I LOVED Villeneauve-Lez_avignon, enough to spend almost three weeks there and able to walk into Avignon. There'a famous Provençal garden there besides La Chartreuse and Fort St-André and an excellent Saturday Flea Market.

St Paul de Vence: We stayed there several times either as a birthday or anniversary present at the famous Colombe D'Or. Sitting at the café that overlooks the pentanque(boules) court where Yves Montand often played is fun. Yves and Signoret married at the Columbe D'Or
Upstairs in the post office are photos of all the celebs who hung out in town. A not to miss is the fabulous Maeght Foundation. A wealth of art indoors and o the grounds.
If one goes to Moustiers, noted for it's faience, dine at Les Santons and visit the nearby Gorge Du Verdon. Climb the path of the 12th century chapel. The view across the Verdon is magnificent

We have a kodak DX7590. It's not an SLR but it has a 10X optical zoon which comes in really handy. We've been very happy with the photos it turns out.

cigalechanta...I'm sorry we didn't connect with Villeneauve-Lez_avignon. It was a last minute decision to go there and we had no literature on the town. We really botched our visit by treking around without any real plan. We had heard good things about it so we wanted to see it but things did not turn out for us I'm afraid. Maybe next time.

Crazyfortravel: Thanks for the camera info. I feel a little better about our cameras. My husband has a 10X optical on his camera so between the two of us we hopefully will be fine. 3 more days!

Les Beaux, St Remy, Pont du Gard, Avignon, Arles, Aix, Uzes, Camargue Horse treks.

mauigal...I look forward to seeing your photos when you return. Bonvoyage and safe travels.

crazyfortravel, Your photos are fantastic. Thank you for sharing. This September we're only in Provence for three nights (sigh) so will focus on just a few things and hope to be able to stay longer next time. We're staying in Tavel, about 15 minutes from Avignon and not technically Provence but near enough. Tavel is noted for its rose so I plan to post a report on it (the wine and the village) if I remember anything. All: I have toured the palais du Papes in Avignon and don't really want to do it again--am I being unfair to my husband and best friend by steering them away? It was interesting but..... Opinions??

Cathinjoetown...I am intimately aquainted with Tavel rose. I love it and can't get it here in Nova Scotia. In fact, we can't get any really good rose wines here. Provence is the best place on the planet to get rose wines. They have such a wide selection at great prices!! I would likely be pickled and not go anywhere if I stayed in Tavel.

I don't think you're being selfish at all. We found the Palais du Papes interesting but not the highlight of our visit to Avignon.
My favorite side trip while I stayed in Avignon my first time was St Remy. This time we stayed in St Remy for two nights and visited Les Baux (loved it)..the Pont du Gard and Uzes. These all rate very high on my list for the area.

The best Provence Rosé is from Bandol, the Domaine de Templier

The owner of the vineyard has a wonderful cookbook, LULU's Provençal Table.

OOPS! Tempier
http://hubpages.com/hub/Domaine-Tempier-Bandol-Review

Thanks, cigalechanta, I'll do a comparison tasting for you! Tavel technically doesn't qualify as a Provencal rose but they claim that their standard is very high. We'll see--am no expert but am a willing consumer!

I'll have to try that one next time. I certainly sampled a good variety this time around.

Bookmarking. We are based in Aix in September.
By the way, crazyfortravel, where were you standing when you took that beautiful shot of the town of Rousillon?
Also, in high school French in the 60's, we were taught to say Aze en provence-now I hear it's X en provence? What's correct???
TD

What a fantastic trip you will have. I spent two weeks in Provence two years ago. Absolutely beautiful:

Les Baux
Roussillon
Aix en Provance
Gourdes

We also did a "lavendar drive" one day and spent the whole day driving through lavendar country, but I think you will miss that.
Have a wonderful time,
Susan

Enjoy it!

Top 10? Not an easy task. We stayed a week in Isle sur la Sorgue (in town, actually a "block" from the church) and loved it. Not just the Sunday market, but the entire week, including glasses of pastis or wine at the cafe across the square from the church in the late afternoon.

Outside of Isle sur la Sorge? We really enjoyed the Dentelles Loop (including particularly a couple of degustations at local winereies in Gigondas and Seguret). The Fontaine de Vaucluse was really cool, but we were there when the water was REALLY flowing. Roussillon of course, and Gordes. Oppède le Vieux was kind of magical, and the ruins of the Marquis de Sade's castle in Lacoste were neat (with spectacular views of the Luberon). Lourmain remains one of my favorites - the market was unexpectedly great, and the chateau was certainly worth an hour or two.

But my absolute favorite? A lazy 4-hour lunch with friends at their house in Gordes overlooking the Luberon. I thought about asking them to adopt us.

Photos of our time in Provence (as well as week in Paris and on the Côte d'Azur) are at: http://tinyurl.com/5bofte.
They are not nearly as cool as those posted by crazyfortravel, but still pretty inviting.

You can probably tell I'd be willing to go back.

Sam

Crazy for travel. Your photos are wonderful beyond belief. My husband and I are taking my daughter and her husband to Provence in September 2008. I can't wait to show them your pics--in addition to the ones we took a few years ago. I am trying to refine the two week trip so that we don't bore them with too much Roman stuff or small cute towns. We have reservations in Uzes for the first week and in Lourmarin for the second. I hope this will allow us to see Cassis and perhaps Marseile. We will go to Tavel and Lirac for the rose. If you can make suggestions beyond what you have already shared, please let me know. I too tend to do too much and I think the other travelers will have a better time (and me too) if I can slow down the pace at least a little. Thanks again for your very helpful review and pics.

Bookmarking, (Lulu's Provencal Table, reminder to pick up tomorrow!)

We really loved St. Remy, Les Baux, Orange, Pont du Gard. We drove to the sea on day. We went to Monaco, which wouldn't have been my first choice, but I did absolutely love the opportunity to see the sea (so to speak!).

annie

tuduette: My niece studied in Aix for a year. She pronounced it, more or less, as X en Provence. There was some vowel sound before the X but I can't duplicate it phonetically.

Ohio,

I had the good fortune of visiting Provence last summer, using the towns of Vaison la Romaine and St. Remy as springboards for a five-day exploration. The countryside around Vaison was particularly attractive, with many charming villages yearning for exploration.. Quality red wine is in abundance, so get ready to be spoiled.

Some highlights included:

-Roussillon, arrive early or late in the day to avoid the touristic crush; have a lovely meal at Le Bistro de Rousillon with a table overlooking the strangely beautiful ochre cliffs. What a lovely way to spend your holiday.

-Les Baux is impressively situated, not far from St. Remy. Like Roussillon, it's very popular, but should you arrive late in the day, a walk among the 12th century ruins is most atmospheric, and the views of the surrounding countryside are terrific.

-Lastly, make a point of seeing Pont du Gard, the remarkable remains of a Roman aqueduct that spans the River Rhone. Here you can walk through an area where water once flowed, and it's a dark, mysterious, experience. Another glass of good Provencal red wine is surely n order.

Best of luck.

Thank you nametaken. We had visited Avignon, Arles and St Remy on a previous trip. We arrived in Arles on a Monday and literally nothing was open so I would say that we didn't have the best visit. Apparently it is quite common to take an extended weekend for no reason other than they can.
You may want to keep that in mind when you are planning an outing on a Sunday or Monday.

We very much enjoyed St Remy so knew we would like to base ourselves there for a few days. Uzes is a lovely town..one of my husbands favorite towns with a nice central square. Similar layout to St Remy where most everything is located inside the ring road...only there seemed to be lots of great shops in Uzes.

The first part of our trip seemed more leisurely and overall we enjoyed it more. When I reflect back, I wish we had taken things down to an even slower pace. Our time in the Luberon was exhausting. It could be that the perched towns got the best of me since I had an issue with my foot.

We really enjoyed our visit to Lourmarin and Cucuron. We seemed to have Cucuron to ourselves...very untouristic and lovely. We felt the same about Saignon and Goult. I think you'll really enjoy Lourmarin.

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask.

For those of you who don't know Cucuron, there's a scene in A VERY GOOD YEAR when russell crowe and the star of La Mome, who looks so goreous in this film(shows what a great actress she is)
Th scene takes place when they are watching an outdoor fil around the pool where they have the weekly market,

bookmarking

I will be in Provence for 5 days in August. Would I be better off spending a Monday touring Luberon hill towns or visiting the Pont du Gard and Uzes? I know a lot of things are closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Thanks for your input.

We just returned from Provence and were very taken with the small town markets. We did Isles-sur-la-Sorgue on Sunday, but our favorite was the Monday market in Bedoin, near Carpentras. It was small enough to see everything before the noon heat set in, but very lively and colorful - and something to do on a Monday!

June -

Either choice would be fine. The more touristy villages in the Luberon will have just about everything open as you are coming right in the heart of the season. If it is a really hot day, and you decide to go to the Pont du Gard, don't forget your bathing suit !

-Kevin

If you visit Cucuron you MUST dine at La Petite maison- fabulous dinner and decor is so French country.

We just got back, stayed in a tiny town called Montjustin, ventured out every day to explore small towns.

Our favorites were:
Joucas (lunch at Hostellerie des Commandeurs)
Loumarin (market day)
Goult (just stopped for a beer, stroll, but would go back in a heartbeat--so small, non-touristy, charming)
Cucuron (market day)
Oppede le Vieux (wear hiking/sturdy shoes if you want to climb all the way up--a very nice climb!)

Unlike others on this board, we did not really enjoy Aix...after all our time in small towns, Aix just seemed too crowded, hot, busy! We enjoyed smaller, more pastoral atmospheres.

Petite Maison in Cucuron has been closed for over a year.
It was WAY-Y too pricey.

I read this thread, and realized how wvery much we loved Provence. We went 2 years ago and it was fabulous. I have to say knowing just enough French to get by, we had a magificent time in St Remy, Gordes, Arles, and Aix with all the day trips from them. I can not think of a more perfect place . The list is well covered IMO.

I too did not enjoy Aix as I thought i would.

bookmark

bookmarking!

Monica

I guess that you would have some time to pay a visit to Avignon

I suggest that you have a dinner at a wonderful and astonishing restaurant "New ground" in the old city (29 rue de la Saraillerie Tel 0490852183); Provencale cuisine mingled with exotic flavors and a lot of creative ideas; the decoration and "ambiance" is great; be surprised ! and the prices are very reasonable

Bookmarking for future grand trip to Provence...

Dining and natural beauty-in the Camargue dine at La Chassagnette, an organic farm and restaurant that under the helm of a new cook is still putting out great food. Sitting outside in front of the herb patch while butterflies danced overhead was a treat. The former starred chef has opened his
own place in the smack of things in Arles.v Rabenal has not lost his touch in this busy melee. In Uzes. I loved the Trois seasons. In ile-sur-la-Sorgue, le jardin du quai.
Eygaliers, The Bistro de Eygaliers, aka, Chez Bru..
Bonnieux, Le Fournil

Bookmarking. Ahhhh, Provence...........

There's a great book about the markets of Provence. We used that as a starting point each day - going to the market town, then planning an additional trip after that. Such lovely food and such fun to cook it. If you're staying at a place where you can cook, be sure to take along an insulated bag to keep your market buys fresh while you do a bit more exploring.