3 days -- Best way to visit Arles/Avignon etc
 

Regretably, just 2 full days to visit so many great Provence sites. Will have parts of the days before and after, as we arrive from Carcassonne midafternoon on a Tuesday to our hotel near Les Baux, and leave that hotel Friday morning for Aix, hoping to go through a couple of Luberon towns en route to Aix. These are our musts: Pont du Gard, Arles. These are the logical others to fit in: Nimes, Orange, Avignon, St. Remy, Les Baux. What is most efficient way to divide the time, combining two or three a day?

If you're staying near Arles, do you combine Arles and Les Baux? Also, do you include the Camargue, or does that just complicate the timing too much?

>>musts: Pont du Gard, Arles. These are the logical others to fit in: Nimes, Orange, Avignon, St. Remy, Les Baux<<

I would suggest a greater variety. Aix, Avignon, Nimes, and perhaps Arles are large cities with lots of similarities. I would only visit 1 or 2 of them - sounds like Arles (for the Roman stuff), and Aix because it is your next destination (and my favorrite of the set). I'm not a fan of Nimes at all, and every time we've visited Orange, the theater was covered with props or other distracting things.

I would visit the Pont, Arles, and Les Baux on one day. Next day St Remy, then drive through some Luberon villages. On departure day, visit Lourmarin then off to Aix.

Stu Dudley

I would add Uzès and drop Orange. I agree that, despite many visits, the theater is always covered up with something awaiting a concert or whatever. I do like Nîmes, but by no means consider it a must-see in a short visit to the area.

If you can visit Arles on Tuesday when you arrive, I would agree with St Cirq to visit Uzes when you are in that same region visiting the Pont.

So:

Tues - Arles

Wed - Uzes at 10AM till lunchtime, Pont du Gard till mid-afternoon, then Les Baux late in the day after the hoards have left

Thurs - St Remy at 9:30 before the hoards return. Then Oppede le Vieux, Menerbes, Saignon, Bonnieux, Roussillon, and Gordes after the hoards leave. You won't be able to visit all these Luberon villages - but get as far as you can. Perhaps skip Bonnieux & save it for tomorrow.

Thurs - Bonnieux, Lourmarin, Aix.

Wednesday morning is market day in St Remy - but I don't recommend visiting it then. I think the market detracts from the enjoyment of the village. Also, you'll be in Aix on Sat - which is their market day. I think the markets in Aix (Cours Mirabeau for fabric, crafts, clothes and Ste Marie Madeleine & Hotel de Ville for food) are much better than the market in St Remy.

Stu Dudley

This is great to know. Thanks to both of you pros, Stu and St. Cirq.

I agree with Stu as always. In Aix, after you see the Cour Mirabeau, go north to the Hotel de Ville Mairie area. Where one of the markets is located is covered with food in the a.m. and cafe tables in the afternoon! In my report, I said I wouldn't have liked Aix if Cour Mirabeau was the only place visited there.