avatar123

My favorite cousin wants to visit Provence with me next summer. She especially wants to see lavender in full bloom. Provence isn't my favorite part of France, but I like it. She has never been to Provence and since she is recovering from a prolonged serious illness, this trip is about what she wants.

With one full week--excluding the days you arrive via TGV in Avignon from Paris and return the same way--where would you stay? I am strongly leaning toward St. Remy for one half the stay, the other could be?? Some candidates include Saignon, Bonnieux, Gordes, Les Baux, L'Isle sur la Sorgue but I am open to others. Will be driving and as we plan to travel in late June or early July, lodging with a nice pool is a must! Budget max of about 250€ per night (double room) inc. breakfast. Prefer the second base to be within a three hour back roads drive of St. Remy and also within two hour drive of Avignon TGV station.

Murrsee buckup!

crazyfortravel

I loved Saignon but I think it is a little out of the way to make a good base for the Luberon.

I would also cross off Les Baux for a few reasons...its too close to St Remy to make a good second base. I loved Les Baux but it is congested with tourists so getting in and out is a pain...no free parking. There are not enough services to make a good base IMO.

Since you are leaning towards St Remy for your first base, I would choose the second base in the Luberon. Perhaps Lourmarin, Bonnieux, Gordes or L'Isle sur la Sorgue. We stayed 5 nights in Bonnieux at Le Clos du Buis and thought it made a great base for the region. It certainly meets all of your criteria.

My photos can be found at:

www.kodakgallery.com/crazy4travel

Good luck with your planning

Momliz

good question - bookmarking.

cigalechanta

I was also going to suggest lourmarin or Saignon because it's in the Luberon which is very different from St Remy in the Alpilles. I've stayed in all three.

avatar123

Good advice! Thanks! I would like to avoid spots that are teeming with tourists, but know that's a hard thing to pull off in Provence in July. So I'm hoping to find a place that at least isn't overwhelmed by tourists.

Usually I travel off season, but unfortunately the lavender won't be in bloom in November. That's what my cousin wants to see.

TuckH

Because the lavender fields are very important to you (and why not???), I strongly suggest that you locate yourselves anywhere to the north of the Montagne du Luberon.

Saignon, Bonnieux, Gordes, L'Isle sur la Sorgue fit this criterion; Les Baux and St-Rémy do not.

A famous lavender field is at the Abbe de Sénanque near Gordes.

Better yet, go further north, say around Vaison-le-Romaine. There are numerous fields near there and in the area of Vinsobres to Valréas. Also near Sault and Simiane-la-Rotonde. Don't miss the beautiful setting of the village of Brantes.

avatar123

Lavender fields aren't the only things she wants to see, even if they are on her must see list.
Thanks for the Vaison la Romaine suggestion. I think we'll start out with the lavender fields area base and then finish with St. Remy. I won't mind driving longer after we arrive at Avignon TGV, but on the way back, I don't want to be too far away. The trip will start with 5 full days in Paris, then down to Provence, then back to Paris for the final night and flight home next day.

Pendarb

My friends and I recently stayed at Bastide Saint Agnes, near Carpentras. Besides the main house, they have a separate cottage, which we rented. It was delightful and we were so glad to have a kitchen where we could prepare our own meals (although breakfast was included, and very good). They also had a lovely pool and garden for our use.

Christina

I would also go with the above idea, a place near Carpentras or in the Vaucluse, if not Vaison-la-Romaine or at least something above the river. I would never recommend Les Baux for lots of reasons, to me it's just a tourist stop, but it wouldn't be that convenient, anyway, and is right near St Remy.

I really enjoyed staying in Pernes-les-Fontaines for several days on one of my trips to Provence. It's a very convenient location (I did drive there from the Avignon TGV, it's not too far, and mostly on main roads) for touring the area -- not far to the Luberon nor Vaison-la-Romaine. It's a very pleasant small town with some interesting sights itself, but if you want to go to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, it's only about 5 miles up the road. I did go there for the market one day and to eat a couple nights, but am glad I didn't stay right in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue as I didn't like it as well.

The Hotel Hermitage is just lovely and has a great pool and gardens. It is on a D road so easy access to these places, but in the country a mile or so outside actual town, so has it's own enclosed car park. The gardens and place really do look at good as their website (the rooms even better):
http://lhermitage.ifrance.com/

lp_nyc

If you would enjoy a place in the countryside, near Carpentras, I can wholeheartedly recommend Domain Le Vallon.
http://www.vallon-provence.com/

We are returning there this September for the 4th year in a row.

The house and grounds are beautiful, there is a pool, and they also have an apartment to rent. If staying in a village where you can walk to restaurants is your preference, then St Remy or Vaison-La Romaine might be better choices for location.

In the Luberon, there is a slowtravel member who owns a B&B
http://www.masperreal.com/

you can search for my screen name both here on fodors and the slowtrav website to find posts with info and photos that might help you

luvparee

I did the same trip in the summer of 2006. We stayed at LeLavandin B&B/guesthouse in Pernes les Fontaines and we found that to be very centrally located to the villages/towns we wanted to visit.
(www.lelavandinprovence.com). Pernes is a charming little town that boasts of 39 fountains, each of which is older and more charming than the last.

The property is absolutely gorgeous (lavender, roses, hydrangeas, etc., etc.), air conditioned, pool, and Georgia, the owner, is American so language is not a problem. The breakfasts each day are wonderful. There is a large terrace with table and umbrella where we would dine some nights on our market goodies. Or, Georgia would recommend various restaurants and then make reservations for us (along with directions!).

We loved every minute we were in the Luberon! We found the driving to be fairly easy (with Georgia's detailed directions).

Enjoy the planning ..... what a great thing you're doing for your cousin! She's very fortunate to have you.

joy/luvparee

ExplorerB

avatar,

Allow me to chime-in with another vote for Vaison La Romaine. The Cotes Du Rhone is so very attractive and what a joy it is to tour this region's villages, sipping good red wine and trying to lower your pulse to the "on holiday, no calls please" level. Vaison L-R is not overly touristic, yet has enough restaurants and sightseeing possibilities (fine Roman ruins and medieval hill town) to satisfy your touristic needs. What a great base it is to explore this part of Provence.

Vaison L-R played an enjoyable part of my '07 European holiday. There's plenty of related photos to be had at explorerbear.blogspot.com

Best of luck.

DeeDee_Goose

Last September my husband and I stayed in Isle Sur La Sorgue for a couple of days. The hotel we stayed at was Lou Soloy Du Luberon. There was no pool but the ambience and character more than made up for that. The hotel is located right on the rivers edge. We dined Alfresco on a bridge that goes over the river. The scenery is something that artists paint!
Sunday is a Huge market day. Being able to walk out your hotel door and attend the market sure beats driving around to find parking. This market is every bit as good as the one in Nice. Lucky you !!
We can not wait to plan a return visit.

Travel_Glutton

avatar- We just returned from doing almost the same itinerary, except we also spent 3 nights on the coast before retuning to Paris.

We stayed at the Mas Dom Pater (http://www.masdompater.com/indexa.html) in St. Remy for 109€ per night including a hearty breakfast served by the charming owners every morning under a gazebo out by the pool. The pool is large and very refreshing after a hot day of site-seeing. They also have studios and cottages for rent but we didn't actually get to look inside any of them.

We followed that up with a 3-night stay at the Mas Perreal, which is very popular with Fodorites and is set in a small village, St. Saturnin-des-Apt, which we didn't find to be crowded at all (last week of June). Only one caveat, there is no air conditioning, if that is important to you in July. Breakfasts were scrumptious, the setting beautiful and the pool fantastic. We were within short easy drives of many lavender and poppy fields.

We usually travel only in the off-season too, but I have to say, the experience, if not the photos alone were worth it.

ekscrunchy

saving...

Micheline

Travelglutton - Masdompater looks beautiful. Is it far from the center of St. Remy?

Travel_Glutton

Micheline-

Dom Pater is about 3 miles, maybe less, from the center of town. A bit far to walk before/after dinner but less than 5 minutes by car; which we did 2 out of our 3 nights there.

The house is rustic and homey; some might think it is time for an update but we found it charming, and the owners could not be nicer.

The grounds are lush and lovely with huge olive trees and wild flowers here and there. The pool is large and clean and there is a fridge with cold drinks right under a tree next to it.

cigalechanta

Remember these places are not in St Remy but on the outskikts, When you are in the car you look for the nearest big town like St remy on the road signs to find the village in that direction.

avatar123

The cat got me up early, so first, thank you all for your helpful suggestions. It looks like we will start with either Vaison la Romaine or Pernes les Fontaines then move down to St. Remy. We have scratched Les Baux off the list thanks to the comments here.

The accommodations in VlR and PlF that seem right for us are both under our budget, so I think we will splash out a bit for our stay in St. Remy, either Chateau des Alpilles, Hotel Les Ateliers, or Exclusive Ateliers Image.

Or if we opt to stick with our budget, who knows where the dollar will be next summer or what our finances will be like, then Les Figuiers or Mas des Carassins would be fine. Looks like we won't have any problems finding nice lodging with a pool.

flygirl

bookmarking!