richiemccaw

Dear all,

I am bringing my family on a trip to France this coming July. We are really excited about being able to check out the lavender fields. However, before that we are considering the idea of visiting Italy as well between the Paris and Provence legs of our trip.

We have tentatively booked accommodation in Aix-en-Provence as our base. Based on some preliminary research, we are looking at visiting two cities out of Venice/Rome/Turin/Milan during our 6D5N stay in Italy.

Can someone advise which two cities you would recommend that we visit, keeping in mind that we are trying to find some form of direct transportation option between the Aix-en-Provence and the second city.

Most options we have found, for instance for Venice-Aix, requires flying from Venice to Nice and then train to Aix. My wife has indicated she would like to cut down on transportation transfers to save time.

Thanks in advance.

ellenem

Can you share your interests? What do you like to do when visiting these places? Knowing something about your likes and dislikes will help us offer better suggestions.

richiemccaw

Thanks ellenem. We have decided to fly from Venice to Marseille instead. =) Cheers.

StuDudley

I don't recall seeing any lavender fields close to Aix. Perhaps the Valensole Plane is the closest - 1 hr away by autoroute.

Stu Dudley

TDudette

Hi richiemccaw, we took a van tour from Aix and, although not in bloom, saw lavender fields around Abbaye de Senangue/Gordes area. Our guide warned us of vipers in the lavender. Don't know if that is the same as what Stu refers to above.

We used bus service from Marseille to Aix but it was a couple of blocks from the train station and we didn't have luggage so training it might be simpler for you and your family. It's about 1/2 hour--not a bad ride at all. Lots of taxis at bus terminal in Aix.

I've been to all 4 of the Italian cities you mention above and they all have their merits. In 5 days you wouldn't be doing them justice (as I expect you realize). You don't mention your children's ages but I expect they'd enjoy the Roman ruins and the idea of "everything by water" in Venice. I'd choose those 2 first if you haven't been before. You'll need to look at what the cities offer tourists to decide just what you want to see and how many day's it might take.

We stayed at Aquabella hotel in Aix and loved it. It has a pool warmed by natural springs, parking, a restaurant and a spa. Kids would love the pool after a long day.

StuDudley

The Valensole Plane is 1 hr northeast of Aix off the A51 autoroute - around the town of Valensole. The lavender fields in the Luberon (Gordes/Senanque, etc) are about 1 1/4 hrs away.

Stu Dudley

TDudette

Thanks, Stu. Because we took a tour, I wasn't as cognizant of our exact location as if we'd been navigating ourselves.