cigalechanta

sorry, it's spelled Calendal.

benjinho

I would follow Stu on the Collioure recommandation. However, you should be able to rent a Avis car at the train station if booked (SNCF has a partnership w/ Avis). There should be buses also.

Rainbow, looks like a nice itinerary.
For wine tastings, yes there are a lot of wineries in Rhone Valley (Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas...) and Provence (Bandol, Les Baux, Cassis, Aix..). If you stay in St Remy, I would suggest Domaine Milan, wonderful bodied red wine. Cassis has very nice white wines (Clos Magdeleine is the best). Chateauneuf du Pape is great but quite far north compared to your trip. And by the way, Collioure red wines are probably the most underated wines in France (buy a bottle of Domaine de la Rectorie, and tell me about it !).

In Paris, do not forget to see Place des Vosges and walk around Marais area (the "swamp" in french !), strolling down rue des Francs Bourgeois. And also go to Palais Royal, inside you will find the best square garden of Paris.

For the Aix/Cassis day, It would be better to go to Cassi directly (1h15minutes), stroll on the port, do the boat trip :no need to do the full trip to Marseille (very nice but if u do not have the time), the best calanques are "En Vau" (link sent), "Sormiou" and "Morgiou". Have a pastis and late lunch on the port. Then drive to Aix, evening walk in the pedestrian streets, dinner there and back to St Remy (long day but better this way). Other option is skip Arles and go to Aix the day after or skip Aix (hard to tell, very different places and both superbs), i will not be the one choosing for you there ;o)

For Burgundy, love the place. One nice drive around Beaune is the wine route to Nuits Saint Georges. You'll see all the grands crus. You can walk around "Romanée Conti" estate(top of the pops rare wine), it's probably smaller than your garden ! I personally prefer Beaune to Dijon (smaller, nicer). Both have great restaurants. Les remparts in Beaune is wonderful.

abbydog

I don't know much about Aix but I agree with the idea of going to Cassis first thing in the morning. The calanques tours tend to get filled up, and so you might have the best luck buying your tickets early and then strolling around. Lunch in Cassis would be nice too.

A note on calanques tours -- it's nice to be one of the first ones on the boat for a good seat up front. The enclosed seats don't afford as good views, and the ones in the rear get blasts of diesel exhaust pretty regularly.

katzen

rainbow, sorry to jump on your thread but I noticed a few people were talking about Cassis and doing the calanques tours and I am looking into this as my sister who I am going to Provence with in August would love to go down to the Mediterranean.

Is it possible to go on this tour and go swimming or is it strictly a tour. In some of the pictures I see people swimming next to the boat but wasn't sure if this is something that could be done on the tour or not.
I know in Hawaii we took a boat tour and the boat docked at Captain Cook and we were permitted to jump into the water and go snorkeling.

Thanks!

Huitres

St. Remy is difficult to get to without a car (I visited there via bus from Arles); and, frankly besides Van Gogh's landmarks, there really isn't too much more about the town. It's a lovely place, as so many of the towns in Provence are; however, I prefer Arles as a base. Arles is central to everything and accessible by train to all the areas in Provence. There are a lot of famous Roman monuments, Van Gogh sites, and plenty of cute shops, cafes, restaurants, etc. It is a very charming place and one of my most favorite places in Provence.

cigalechanta

And in Arles, visit the ruins and the Museum Arleten that was founded by the poet Mistral. It's all about local customs and traditions in 32 rooms.

abbydog

I'm losing track of this thread, but are you market people? Sounds like you could be in Arles Saturday morning and its market is fantastic. (Can't tell if that's been mentioned before. . .)

wren

Three summers ago, we stayed 4 nights in a little town 10 minutes away from St. Remy. Perfect...except I could have stayed longer! We were there on market day, and it was one of the highlights of our trip...just a wonderful day...the sights, smells, sounds, and of course the shopping!

Two summers ago, we went to Barcelona for 3 days (which we absolutlely adored) and then took a train to Perpignan where we picked up a car and drove to Collioure for the night. One afternoon, evening, and morning was enough to see everything and get the feel of the town. I can't imagine staying 3 nights...one was just right for us.

Cigale, StCirq, and StuDudley were all integral in helping me plan our previous trips...they know their "stuff"!

rainbow007

Wow! I just started reading all of your replies, so I have a lot more work to do. Wren, I agree, the postings by Cigale, StCirq, and StuDudley have been a great help! (Stu, I will take a look at fitting in Gigondas, Seguret and Vaison into the itinerary.) I also appreciate JoeG's suggestions and information – like you, we will probably have a follow-on trip to this area that is more leisurely. Benjinho, your wine information is wonderful! I need to read over all of the suggestions tonight a couple of times so that I can digest them all.

In the meantime, Wren, if you have any information you’d like to share regarding your 3 days in Barcelona, I’m very interested. I’ve been focusing on France, though once I get our hotels booked, I will turn my attention to Barcelona.

Thanks to everyone!
Rainbow

cjindc

No matter what it sounds like it will be a trip to treasure! I can't believe you are going to be in Avignon and not tour the Pope du Palace (art, architecture, great audio tour) at the least. The twisted walk up thru the streets, little gardens, the view of the town and the river and bridge from the top, and note the Virgin Mary statue at the top of the adjoining church was re-guilded in gold 2-3 years ago and just glows in the sunlight...beautiful at sunset - perhaps you can tour it before you leave?
Exploring the many unique fountains thru out Aix are a fun walking tour if you do go there - it will take you through out the most romantic streets. 2 years ago Aix's tourist office was also a hub for day trip tours throughout Provence, and we went on a coastal trip all the way up to Monaco, stopping at villages and markets along the way, and back in one long but rewarding day. I had the best almond croissants ever in Aix. If you like Matisse - this is his home.
I agree about Cassis: incredibly beautiful intimate bay and romantic village. Great sand, clear blue waters and the cliffs are picture perfect, and a beautiful twisting drive down to the village.
Like I said - no matter what you do, have a great time - but realize every three days you will need half a day unscheduled at the pace you are planning, or else I fear your nerves will get frayed, especially when you are doing the driving, not a taxi driver or a local. I did take a taxi from Aix to Avignon and it cost $50US for the two of us, and we practiced our French with the driver and enjoyed the drive, and took the local bus - clean and comfortable -back to Aix. I would suggest trains and buses when you can, except that you are on their schedule. Cassis is definetely a rental car trip.
I wish I was going with you! it sounds great!

flagger74

I am so jealous that you will be in Provence. My parents rented a house in Maussane de Alphins three years ago and I spent a week and half there and touring around. This is a small village not far from St. Remey. I would totally recommend town. You can walk a block to the bakery and outdoor cafe. I would not recommend Arles, too congested and commercial. As someone else stated, you must visit the Pope's Palace in Avigion. It is wonderful. Maussane is very central. Le Beaux is nearby and is a must. Driving is very easy in France. Another spot we spent two nights was outside of St. Tropez. If you are that close you must see it. I wouldn't even recommend stopping in Aix. Someone broke in our car and stole all our luggage out of our trunk. There is not much interesting to see there. Have fun. Just allow yourself enough time to savor this "piece of heaven."

benjinho

funny thing is we live in Marseille, and all we can think of is go as an ewpatriate in California or Latin America!
Funny how one always want to go far from home !
Don't get me wrong however, i love the place here !
by the way, i'm leaving tmw for one week in brazil for work ; do u know the place ?

rainbow007

So true, Benjinho. Maybe it's human nature to think the grass is greener somewhere else or to just want to see what's out there beyond.

Thank you so much for all of your help. I am still working my way through the details of this itinerary, though I'm now much closer to having a spectacular vacation plan, thanks to everyone's input.

I've never been to Brazil - have a good trip! Hope to catch you when you return.

Merci,
Rainbow

JoeG

Rainbow,
Just curious - what is your price range for accomodations?
JoeG

rainbow007

JoeG,

For this trip, we are fairly budget-minded - ideally clean, simple, easy to get in and out of with a car, around 100 euros or so w/o breakfast. Some cafes or restaurants within walking distance would be nice. There are four of us, my husband and I plus two close friends.

If we stay in Arles for this trip, the Hotel Le Calendal that you recommended would probably be my first choice. I think the idea of a smaller town is more attractive to the rest of our group, so that's why I've been looking at the St. Remy area. When I tried to access Hotel Gounod's website, I saw a lot of red and heard music. (Have I been looking at this screen too long?) One of the other places in St. Remy that is not mentioned much is Le Castelet Des Alpilles - seems like a nice location.

Chances are pretty good that my husband and I will come back in the future for a follow-on trip, and then I would really like to stay in a place like you did on your 6 nights in Provence/1 night in Paris trip. BTW, great report!

Rainbow

Barbi48

I'm reading this thread with great interest, and may I butt in please? We are to have an unexpected but joyous first trip UK & France (5 weeks) and thought just 5 days in Paris would do for us first timers. We're spending 2+ weeks in Dorset, as is our son's wedding (incl. day trips to Bath, Devon etc); then at least 5 days London; eurostar to Paris for 5 (?) days before home to NZ from there, mid Sept. After reading these replies etc we both feel like shortening our time in the UK esp London in favour of a very similar trip as yours to Southern France before Paris, then home. Would anyone be a kind enough to advise us if this is a sensible first time approach to UK & France please, that's if it is not out of place for me to ask in the midst of this thread? Thanks heaps, Barbi

JoeG

Rainbow,
Le Calendal will fit nicely into your budget. There are rooms that face a courtyard that offer a nice view and are quiet. However there is a room(Chambre#4)that has a terrace that has a great view of the street below and the amphitheatre. If you strain your neck to the right you even get a glimpse of the Roman arena. It also has a large, spotlessly clean bathroom.
I think we paid about 75E/night which we thought was a great value. they also offer a nice buffet breakfast for about 7E and I believe parking was about the same per night. They also have internet access in the lobby and most of the staff speaks fluent English and are very helpful. This isn't the Ritz - they don't have a lift - not a problem for us. but it is a very comfortable clean hotel in a great location. They also have a fireplace in the lobby for cool evenings.

If you look, you may be able to find my trip report - Arles! Plane, Train, Auto.

One other note. It is great to have an itnerary. It's unbelievable how seemless these trips can be. But also be flexible enough to abandon the itinerary when other opportunities arise.

You will have a great time.
JoeG

wren

Maribel used to be a regular on this board, and she gave us a wealth of info about Barcelona. Here is her website with even more info added to it: www.maribelsguides.com Because you will be there a short time, I recommend what we did: take the hop-on hop-off bus around town. It is a great way to see a lot of things. Barcelona is huge and it would take a lot of planning and effort to see all the things you will see on this bus ride, plus it is fun! We bought the 2 day pass and it worked out well.

rainbow007

Thanks, Wren, for the Barcelona tips! I’ll take a look at Maribel’s information.

JoeG, I found your Arles trip report – thanks! Like you said, it’s great to plan (and right now I can’t stop thinking about this trip), though once we’re there, other opportunities may open up, or we may just need to take a break and do nothing occasionally, as Cjindc suggested.

One thing that has been weighing on my mind is the driving for this trip. My husband and I both like to drive, and I’m a good navigator. Driving allows us more flexibility, plus, there will be four of us, so it may also be less expensive than train travel. On the other hand, long stretches of expressways or even scenic drives may not be as pleasurable for those in the back seat.

We are set on taking the train from Barcelona to Collioure to avoid the monstrous car drop-off charges. From Collioure, we could take a train to Nimes or Avignon, and then rent a car and drive to St. Remy. (I’m sure we’ll want a car to get around Provence.) Another option is what you did, Wren. Take the train to Perpignan, rent a car there and drive to St. Remy. After our tour of Provence, we would drive to Dijon, possibly keeping the car so that we could day trip to Beaune on Sunday. (I’m thinking now that staying in Dijon would make more sense than Beaune so that we can walk across the street to catch the train Monday morning.) We’d catch the TGV from Dijon at 6:30 AM Monday morning, arriving at CDG about 3 hours before our departure time.

So we will need a car in Provence, and it would be nice to have one in Dijon. It’s the Collioure (or Perpignan) to St. Remy and the St. Remy to Dijon portions of the trip that I’m wondering about.

Suggestions?

Thanks,
Rainbow

JoeG

Rainbow,

We have taken the TGV from CDG to and from Nimes and Avignon. I would favor Avignon. It's a modern facility with easier access out of town.

You are correct. The driving through country roads and villages in Provence is easy and vey enjoyable. Plus, it's diffult to navigate this area with public transportation very efficiently anyway.

One thing you may want to consider is renting car at the Avignon station then return it and take the TGV to Dijon. You could rent a car in Dijon if you needed to.

JoeG