2 days in Provence
 

We're planning on spending 2 days in Provence with 1 day to travel there and 1 day to travel back to Paris (for 4 days total). Any suggestions on a good itinerary? Thanks!

First I would suggest you take the TGV and have most of 3 1/2 days to spend in this delightful place. Driving from Paris is a long and not terribly interesting trip. Rent your car in Avignon and take off from there or near there.

I just got back from 5 days in Provence and I totally agree with Gretchen. If you take the TGV, you're there in 3 hours, so you can arrive around noon one day with the afternoon to spend there, have two full days and then most of a day before you return on the 4th day in the evening. Provence is too wonderful to have only two whole days there. As Gretchen says, definitely rent a car at the Avignon TGV and go from there.<BR><BR>Some suggestions on places to go:<BR>1. Les Baux de Provence - about 45 min south of Avignon; spectacular hilltop village with very interesting ancient chateau ruins to tour (with audioguide in English).<BR><BR>2. St. Remy - nice Provencal town; go on a market day, not Sunday when everything is closed.<BR><BR>3. Gordes - in the Luberon about an hour from Avignon; another beautiful hilltop town.<BR><BR>4. Rousillon - in the Luberon, beautiful village with ochre cliffs to see.<BR><BR>5. The Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct about 30 min west of Avignon, is a must-see - very impressive.<BR><BR>6. Stop in any number of vineyards for tastings and purchases.<BR><BR>7. Stay somewhere with a pool so you can enjoy the hot weather. We stayed at the Auberge du Cassagne in Le Pontet Avignon and it was lovely (you can find them on the www).<BR><BR>Have a great trip - Provence is fantastic.

thanks for the advice, but we're not planning on renting a car. is it difficult to get around without a car? we hoped to rely on local buses- perhaps taking day trips or overnight trips out of avignon? we were also considering using marseilles as a hub- i think there are just too many options right now!

SD,<BR>I wouldn't suggest Marseilles as a base... it's rather far from many of the more interesting sites - many of them mentioned in an earlier reply.<BR><BR>From Avignon, you can take day trips (either through the tourist office or with the Lieutaud Tour Bus service - http://perso.wanadoo.fr/cars.lieutaud/ <BR><BR>The largest market in St Remy is on Wednesdays (early morning until around 1 PM). I suggest a visit to Les Baux early in the morning or late in the afternoon to be able to see it all without the crush of thousands (it's close to my house and it's very busy during the vacation period).<BR><BR>A lovely restaurant for lunch in Roussillon is La Treille.<BR>I also suggest pairing a visit to the Pont du Gard with the village of Uzes...nearby and with a lovely, mainly pedestrian center.Another suggestion would be tosee Aigues Mortes in the Camargue - a walled city, rather like a miniature of Carcassonne.<BR><BR>PB