7 days in Provence
 

We're leaving on the 12th of May for a 10-day anniversary trip to the French Alps & Provence. We'll spend the first 3 days based in Annecy, and then move on to Provence for the last 7 days. I've been to the French Alps region before and we know pretty well what we want to do, but we're still organizing our plan for Provence. Stu has kindly sent his Provence documents and that's helped us put together the following plan--input is very welcome!

Day 1-Monday: Drive from Annecy to St-Remy-de-Provence, where we'll be basing ourselves (didn't want to do a lot of hotel shifting). Since it's a 3-hour drive, we're not going to plan on much of an "agenda" for this day other than a leisurely drive getting there. (Any suggestions on a good place to stop for lunch between Annecy & St-Remy?)

Day 2, Tuesday-Explore St. Remy.
Day 3, Wednesday-St. Remy market in the early morning, followed by Les Baux and Arles. Is there time here to also visit Uzes, or is that too ambitious?
Day 4, Thursday-Day in Aix, arriving early to get to the market.
Day 5, Friday-Carpentras market in the morning (why yes, I love markets!) followed by a wine drive through Beaucastel & Chateauneuf.
Day 6, Saturday-a loop through the Luberon--Gordes, Menerbes, Bonnieux, Apt, Roussillon. Suggestions as to where we should have lunch, and dinner, if we're returning to St-Remy for the night?
Day 7, Sunday-market day (of course) in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. At the end of the day, we have a four-hour drive to Geneva where we'll stay (sadly) at an airport hotel in anticipation of a noon flight back the next day. Now, since we don't have to get up horrifically early the next day, we wouldn't mind getting into Geneva later in the day; if we eat lunch in L'Isle and then drive toward Geneva, does anyone have any recommendations on the prettiest route and/or a place to eat dinner that's more interesting than the Geneva Airport?

Thanks for any suggestions!

You really won't need the whole day Tuesday to explore St Remy. I'd suggest that you visit the Pont du Gard and Uzes on Tuesday afternoon, after perhaps a visit to Glanum in the morning.
The market on Wednesday morning will end around 1 PM, so you'll have plenty of time to visit Arles and Les Baux in the afternoon... hit Les Baux late in the day (After 4:30- 5PM) to avoid the groups brought in by bus.

Franky, after hitting the markets in St Remy and Aix, I wouldn't bother driving to Carpentras for another market. If it were November, I'd say yes, so you could check out the truffle sellers, but at this time of year, you'll find pretty much the same stuff in St Remy that you'll see in Carpentras.

A great place for lunch if you head up to wine country is La Beaugraviere in Mondragon.

A couple of suggestions in St Remy for dinner:
Jardin de Frédéric
Small, cozy restaurant with a small outdoor terrace. Good seafood dishes. Friendly owner and service is good.
Closed Sunday and Monday lunch
Dress - Casual
8, boulevard Gambetta Tel: 04 90 92 27 76
Menus offered at 25 and 28 euro (dinner) 16 euro (lunch)

La Serre
Charming restaurant in an old greenhouse in the village - chef is the grandson of Gaston Lenotre. Very good, inventive food, reasonably priced. Plan to spend several hours....
Dress - casual
8, rue Commune Tel: 04 90 92 37 21

La Source
Charming, small restaurant fairly off the tourist path. Very good food, beautiful shaded terrace overlooking a garden for summer dining. Closed Wednesday
Totally non-smoking
13, avenue Liberation Tel: 04 90 92 44 71
Lunch menu around 21 euro Dinner menus 30/40 euro

Outside of St.Remy, on the D5 just outside of Graveson:

Moulin d'Aure

Also a B&B, the restaurant is wonderful. The owners are Italian, so many of the dishes are Italian inspired. Reasonably priced, with a decent wine list that includes some good Italian choices.

Patricia

En route from Annecy you could stop for lunch and a nice look 'round in the medieval town of Pérouges, used in a number of films.

Of course, there's always Georges Blanc's place in Vonnas--pretty little village, fabulous food.

Thanks so much to you both! These are exactly the kinds of specifics I was looking for. So PB, if we eliminate Carpentras from Friday, should we just expand our time in wine country? (I'm sure that will make my husband very happy!)

I'll plan on adding Uzes to Tuesday, then; that'll be great.

And I love the suggestion of Perouges for a lunch stop on the way from Annecy; it sounds perfect!!

Yes, I'd say just spend the day in wine country... you can drive around Chateauneuf and visit vineyards in the morning, have lunch (again I recommend La Beaugraviere in Mondragon) and then perhaps drive to Vacqueras or Gigondas, etc. and make a really full day of it.

Patricia

We visited Beaucastel last year and had a wonderful tour. I hope you are aware you must arrange it in advance. Unfortunately they don't sell their product there.

If you are interested in gardening do not miss Le Jardin d'Alchemist at Mas de la Brune in Eygalieres. We were there in late May several years ago and the roses were in full bloom - spectacular! For a very special and romantic dinner we loved L'Oustau de Beaumaniere in Les Baux. We had Champagne cocktails on the lovely terrace as the sun set over the valley, followed by a sublime dinner.

Enjoy your anniversary!

You will love Annecy - it's lovely. I was based in Lyon for a international business course in graduate school, and my group stopped in Annecy on our way back from a day trip to Geneva. My only regret was that we only had a few hours to explore.

Your plans sound great, but I just can't help suggesting you visit Lyon. You can see the highlights in a couple of days. Check out this link if you are interested:

http://www.frommers.com/destinations...624010029.html

Whatever your route, have a good time!

Will you be on the Lake in Annecy? It is lovely and there are some wonderful restaurants.