Advice needed for South of France itinerary please
 

Hi,
we are a family of four, with two young adult daughters. We will be in South of France from 5/28 to departing 6/14.
Arriving in Nice and departing from Marseille.
Please advise if i need to change, add or delete a location.
I'm planning on renting a car after seeing Nice and dropping it off before Marseille.
Here is my itinerary so far.
5/28-6/1 in Nice
6/2-6/3 in Moustiers Sainte Marie
6/4-6/5 in Arles
6/6-6/7 in Aix-en-provence
6/8-6/10 in Cassis
6/11-6/12 in Marseille
open day that needs to be filled - can added to another listed city to make it 3 days.
I haven't made any lodging reservations yet, just airline reservations.

Thank you in advance.

Arles can easily take more than one day.

https://flic.kr/p/og9GQT https://flic.kr/p/og95UC https://flic.kr/p/oxmTB6

I don,t see any countryside or small hill villages in your itinerary. They are the reason we return to Provence quite often.

If this is for 2022, non-food shops in both Arles & Aix will be closed on Sunday & Monday morning.

Here is something from my Provence itinerary (attached ) Something to be aware of when visiting the cities, towns, & villages of Provence

In many towns & villages, shops are closed on Sunday & Monday. Some shops open on Monday afternoon. We never plan to visit a town (for shopping) on a Sunday or Monday unless we know in advance that the stores will be open. Most non-food stores in Aix, Nimes, and Avignon are closed all day Sunday, and Monday morning. While in Aix in late June ’17, I did a “survey” of 27 shops that had opening & closing days & times posted on their storefronts, and were not on the Cours Mirabeau (lots of chain stores there). Of these 27 shops, 7 were open all day Monday, 8 were closed all day Monday, and 11 were open Monday afternoon only. Only 1 shop was open on Sunday. In Avignon, of the 17 shops I surveyed, 7 were closed all day Monday, and 10 were open Monday afternoon only. None were open on Sunday. Shops in very “touristy” towns like St Paul, St Tropez, and Gordes are always open. We were recently in St Remy on a Sunday. My wife visited 11 shops that interested her (she likes housewares – no clothes or souvenirs). Two other shops looked interesting from the outside, but were closed on Sunday. Of these 11 shops, 5 were closed all day on Monday, 2 were only open Monday afternoon (around 2:30), and 4 were open all day Monday. The very touristy shops that are prevalent in almost every tourist destination village in Provence (Olivades, Souleiado, Terre de Provence), are usually open on Sunday & Monday.



http://about-france.com/holidays-sundays.htm



Most shops & sites close for lunch – usually from 12:30 to 2:00, or 3:00, or 3:30, or 4:00. If you really want to “shop” a town, do so in the morning as soon as the stores open (usually at 10:00). If you roll in at 2:30, the shops might be closed for another hour. I’ve had numerous people tell me how disappointed they were when they drove to a town to shop, only to find almost all the shops closed – something that doesn’t happen in the US.



When stores are closed on a Sunday/Monday or for lunch, they will often pull down ugly aluminum louvered shutters over their beautiful storefronts – so you can’t even window shop. In some towns, these louvered shutters might be covered with graffiti, and the town will look like a war zone. Also, as you drive through a town around lunch time, it might seem deserted, unfriendly, & very uninviting. They’re actually closed for lunch and all the pretty storefronts will seem like abandoned buildings. These closings make it much harder to pack as much into a day as you might expect. Stores stay open late (around 8:00 or so), but most vacationers usually stop their sightseeing by then and are settling into their hotels or getting ready for dinner.



Stu Dudley

Advice needed for South of France itinerary please
 

Hello! It seems a very good plan to visit the south of France... I would just add the Porquerolles île along the Côte d'Azur if you like to mix trekking and a breathtaking view with crystalline and shallow waters. :)

Two comments:

Sounds like you've thought some things through. Anyone listing Moustiers has clearly done some research already. I would be tempted to hit Entregues before arriving to Moustiers. And I find it very easy to take a day (or more) away from Nice.

Arles doesn't seem to fit, takes you pretty far west, so I am wondering if it's a priority for you. Lots of places you can reach from Aix if you have some more time there.

The Luberon villages are beautiful, such as Gordes, Rousillon, Menerbes, Loumarin. St. Remy is a good base for visiting the Luberon. Because Arles is furthest away, maybe delete Arles? And omit a night from Nice? Seems a shame to go to Provence and not see the Luberon villages. Maybe omit a night from Cassis? We visited Cassis as a day trip.

I would prioritize Roussillon with its ochre quarry. Though a caveat: I got filthy descending into the quarry. It's like walking into a paint factory. Marvelous with kids. I went there on a day trip from Aix.

What do you think of the following changes I made. I want to keep Nice at 4 nights since we will be doing a lot of day trips from there. Such as Antibes, Cannes, Monaco, Eze and maybe Menton.
I will keep the 2 nights in Moustiers Sainte Marie, but from there I can do 4 nights in Luberon, such as Gordes, then 2 nights in Aiz-en-Provence, then reduce to 2 nights in Cassis, then reduce 2 nights in Marseille.

Thank you

That's fine.

Moustiers is nice - but unless you also want to visit the Gorges du Verdon (not my favorite in France) 1 night might be enough. Make sure you are not in Moustiers on a Sunday or Monday morning when the faiance places will be closed. It is kinda zoo-ie & difficult to park on their market days also - so check when that is & try to avoid visiting that morning. Don't be in Aix on Sunday or Monday either.

Here is my Wife's Shutterfly book from one of our recent visit t the Nice area and Provence. In there is Moustiers, Luberon, Aix, Menton, Nice, Antibes, etc

https://stududley.shutterfly.com/28

Click "Full screen"
Due to some recent Shutterfly enhancements, test is often missing or truncated.

Stu Dudley