jo021

Hi all. We will be in hiring a car to drive form Nice to Parpignan June 2-june6. Just looking for any suggestions on places to stop and stay or anything really cool to be sure we check out. And by we I mean my husband, 4 month old son, and my mother in law. I haven't booked any accomodations anywhere cause I'm just thinking it would be nice to have the freedom to stop anywhere we like for a night or two. We love the beach!!!

StuDudley

Where in France is Parpignan??? Do you really mean Perpignan???

I would spend time in St Tropez if you like beach. If you want to experience something different, I would head into the Gorges du Tarn for 2 nights & stay in St Enimie & explore the Gorge and the many caves around there. If you make this trip starting on a Saturday, I would try to make it to Pezanas for their Sat market & also explore the town.

Lots to see in the Languedoc/Roussillon, region in addition to the Cote d'Azur.

Stu Dudley

Bianca_P

Looks like a lot of people are getting their Es and their As mixed up today! Would that be PezEnas then Stu?!

Collioure is a lovely stop but a bit busy at that time of year.

TDudette

Not the beach, but have you been to Arles? I can't help about parking as I went there by train. It's a wonderful town.

StuDudley

>>Would that be PezEnas then Stu?<<

Yep

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

>>Collioure is a lovely stop but a bit busy at that time of year.<<,,

>>Looks like a lot of people are getting their Es and their As mixed up today<<

And their geography too - Collioure is not between Nice & Perpignan.

Sorry - couldn't resist.

Stu Dudley

Bianca_P

Fair do's then Stu! I am not much of a geographer All I know is that it is certainly not far away from Perpignan as my parents have a house near Perpignan and we visit Collioure from there regularly. I do second the suggestion of Arles though; lovely place

StCirq

I love Collioure, but wouldn't advise the OP to go there as it's out of the way and crowded as heck that time of year. In fact, the entire beach area is going to be crowded, assuming the weather is good. The OP says "we love the beach!" so going inland isn't necessarily the best advice. I'd head to Sète, which has its seedy side, but is also cheap and has wide, sandy, fairly uncrowded beaches. As for not making hotel reservations in advance, well, at that time of year you take your chances, especially at coastal locations. You can pay heavily for just winging it...or you can get lucky. Up to you.

Pvoyageuse

Collioure will not be crowded in early June.

dunia123

Winging it for hotel reservation with a 4-month old might be risky, along with a 3rd adult, as it would seem like you'd probably need two rooms. And having to drive around/walk around looking/worring about rooms wouldn't be how I'd want to spend my vacation time (seeing as the drive between Nice & Perpignan looks to be about 5 1/2 hours to start with). Hopefully some of the suggestions above will give you some ideas.

StuDudley

We were in the Collioure area the first two weeks of '04 and it was not crowded at all. In fact, June 6 is my birthday and we had dinner plans at the Michelin 1 star restaurant just outside of "downtown" Collioure, and we wanted to have a drink on the Collioure beach before dinner. There was hardly anyone there....

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

>>We were in the Collioure area the first two weeks of '04<,

Oops - first two weeks of June in '04.

Stu Dudley

jo021

Awesome! So I booked us for two nights at Le Bon Port hotel in COllioure as it looks and sounds wonderful and is only 30 from Perpignan where we will be dropping the car and boarding the train to Barcelona. So I need suggestions for a half way point between nice and COllioure to stay for 2 nights.

TDudette

Again, I vote for Arles if you haven't been there before.

jo021

Nope never been there. I will look into it. What's the best thing to do there?

StuDudley

>>What's the best thing to do there?>>

You've got to be kidding - you don't have any idea of what to do in Provence? We've spent 18 weeks in Provence & are still finding new corners to explore.

Get a guide book - any book - or do some searching here on Fodors. In 2 nights you won't even scratch the surface. I have a 27 page itinerary on things to do in Provence & Cote d'Azur. I've sent it to over 3,000 folks on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach a copy to the reply e-mail. Do so soon - we head out for 6 weeks in France in just a couple of weeks.

Stu Dudley

jo021

Obviously since we only have a few days, we cannot see or do a ton of stuff but if we stay in Arles, I was asking what is the very best thing to make sure we don't miss. I would love suggestions of people's favorite places and activities. I am not the biggest planner usually when it comes to traveling, I enjoy taking my time and some spontaneity so a 27 page itinerary might not be the way for me to go but some great suggestions for "must sees" are very welcome.

StuDudley

My 27 page itinerary is like a menu. You read it and you select what YOU want for an appetizer, main course, and a dessert.

I would certainly recommend a day driving through the Luberon countryside and a visit to several of the hilltop villages like Gordes, Bonnieux, & Roussillon.

If you visit Arles itself on arrival day, the Luberon may be the only other thing you'll have time to see in just 2 nights.

Stu Dudley

jo021

Thanks. That sounds good. I've reserved a room at Hotel Porte de Camargue I. Arles for 2 nights. Maybe I will email StuDudely to see what his menu has to offer.