Try the small town of Fontvieille, not directly on the tourist track. Paradou would be another option.

In Fontvielle I stayed severaltimes at the Villa Rigaledo, great food, rooms,garden

In Fontvielle you are getting farther & farther away from the lavender fields in the Luberon & around Sault. About 1 hr 10 mins away from the closest fields in the Luberon and about 2 hrs away from Sault.

If you want to be close to the lavender fields in Sault, try to see if les Pins in Bedoin has some rooms. Bedoin has a great Monday morning market.

Stu Dudley

Stu, that was no big deal for us, we loved the ride to get there and finding unexpected things.Our French friends think nothing of a two hour drive to visit someone.

You may have already seen this in my trip report, but we recently had a mostly wonderful stay at Mas des Tourterelles in St. Remy, a 5 minute walk into the center of town.
Found St. Remy to be a delightful base.

I will check those out-how about staying in villenueve lez avignon? I found a nice place there, i know it's on the outskirts of Avignon, but seems to be a convenient base for lavender, and maybe another day trip to le baux and st remy?

>> villenueve lez avignon......seems to be a convenient base for lavender,<<

To get to where you can start exploring the lavender fields around Sault, it is a 1 1/2 hr dive through ugly urban sprawl around Avignon, then not-so-scenic stuff until you get past Carpentras.

To get to the fields around Saignon in the Luberon, you have the same drive through ugly urban sprawl around Avignon and not-so-scenic until you get past Cavaillon & Coustellet. This is a 1 1/4 hr drive.

These drives will not be the "vision" of Provence you'll want to remember.

If your main objectives are to spend time in & around lavender fields, stay in the Luberon or close to Sault at the southern foot of Mt Ventoux or near Vaison.

>>and maybe another day trip to le baux and st remy?<<

St Remy is 40 mins away and Les Baux is 45 mins from Villeneuve.

IMO, Villeneuve would be a good base for visiting the Pont du Gard, Uzes, Arles, Avignon, St Remy/les Baux - but not the lavender fields or the Luberon if you have only a "few days" to see things. Too much needless driving through not-to-scenic stuff.

Stu Dudley

Villeneuve-lèz-Avignon is just across the bridge from Avignon. It is basically the same as staying in Avignon.

Thank you for your advice stu, is it not convenient to gordes and l'Abbaye de Senanque? Also I don't mind an hour drive (although i'd prefer it to be scenic) if it means i can see the fields/explore the area.

I don't understand why you want to stay in Villeneux-les-Avignon, what's the attraction? If you were mainly going to see things west of the Rhone, sure it makes sense, otherwise, no. And it isn't the same as staying in Avignon in terms of being in the main part of the city and being able to walk to things around there, like restaurants, cafes, etc., or the sightseeing you might actually want to do in AVignon (I love the Petit Palais museum, the park is very nice, and the cathedral, and I like the main square in front of the Hotel de Ville with the outdoor restaurants. Maybe places are cheaper or it is easier with a car in Villeneuve, don't know. But if you stay there, you are going to have to cross the bridge to Avignon and drive on the major highways to get around it (north or south). It would make more sense to stay on the opposite side of Avignon (SE). It might be an hour drive to Gordes from Villeneuve, but through urban sprawl mostly, and major highways).

So sure you can do it, if you only wanted to drive there once and loved where you were staying in Villeneuve, you can do it.

Note that a number of people have reported that the wonderful lavender in the fields around the Abbaye de Sénanque have vanished. We haven't had a report so far this year, at least not one I've seen anywhere.

The Senanque lavender fields were not there in '10 when we visited them (or, tried to). A friend said there were "back" in '11, however.

Stu Dudley

There's no major attraction to Villeneuve-lèz-Avignon just that i'm having difficulty finding places to stay and I found a nice one there. My goal is to see St. Remy and Le Baux, Some part of the "Lavender Route" (ideally with Gordes or Rousillon), possibly L'isle sur la Sorge, and Avignon. If you have better ideas for villages or towns that's a good base for these I'll check into those further. I'm limited in availability but am open to village/town suggestions as a base. Thanks!

If your only plans are to visit the sites you mentioned, then Villeneuve would be fine. Just expect to see some ugly urban sprawl if you head out in any direction - except west.

Get to Gordes, Roussillon, Les Baux, and St Remy either early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid huge crowds. If your plan is to visit l'Isle sur la Sorgue for their Sunday market, get there at 8AM, have a cafe creme & croissant by the church, and "do" the market starting at 9AM.

Stu Dudley

Thanks again stu. I have your itinerary, but now with this plan, what would you recommend (after I pass the urban unscenic part) be the primary destination for the lavender fields or within the lavender route? If I spend the day exploring by car. Thanks

If you want to visit Gordes & Roussillon plus some lavender fields, get an early start and do the Luberon Drive. When we were in Provence in '10, there was a "new" remarkable lavender field just south of Gordes. But as I stated earlier - they come & go. There are usually several around Saignon. And of course, around Senanque Abbey.

The massive lavender fields are around Sault. Head out of Villeneuve & get on the D942 to Carpentras. Navigate around/through Carpentras (difficult), through Mazan, and then stay on the D942 and D1 to Sault. Follow my Lavender Fields itinerary from Sault.

Stu Dudley

Thanks so much for all of your help!