does this itinerary for provence sound ok
 

We will be traveling to provence in July and rented a villa for 7 days. Below is what I thought might be a good itinerary (there will be 2 children 7 and 10 w/us as well)<BR><BR>day 1<BR> DAY 1 L'Isle Sur La Sorgue (market day, Fontaine de Vaucluse, Gordes and Roussillon<BR>DAY 2 Avignon<BR>DAY 3 Chateauneuf de Pape, Orange (if time allows), Pont du Gard, Uzes and Beaucaire (show)<BR>DAY 4 St Remy, La Baux<BR>DAY 5 Cassis<BR>DAY 6 Luberon - Bonnieux, Lacoste. Memerbes, Oppede<BR>Does this sound good? Is there any town that I should really add or remove? I tried to make some days lighter than others<BR><BR>Beth<BR><BR>

Don't miss Les Baux, and you might want to add Arles. it is close to Les Baux. Lots of neat Roman ruins.

Assuming your market day in Isle sur la Sorgue is Saturday or Sunday you might want to check market days in Arles or St. Remy for that experience.

Beth,<BR>I'm not sure I'd bother with Chateauneuf du Pape if I were you. My fianc&eacute;e and I were very disappointed; a shell of the Pope's old castle and a lot of places selling the wine. Not a lot of feeling about the place. But we may have caught it on a bad day, I suppose.<BR>That way you'd have more time for Orange, The P du G (absolutely stunning-highlight of highlighs!) and Uzes which is where we were staying and loved. There is an exceptionally fine market (arguably the finest in the region) in Uzes on a saturday morning and another (flower market) equally good on a sunday morning. Be there early though (8.00am for that full Provencal experience!)<BR>We also stayed in a villa and did daytrips and enjoyed the drive up Mt Ventoux for some spectacular views and also the Roman city of Nimes which was spectacular (but that maybe a bit too far west for you...).<BR><BR>Anyway have a really great holiday! If you have any questions about la vie en provence just ask!

I think it looks like a pretty good itinerary in general. Perhaps you meant to include this, but I'd make sure to see the Abbaye of Senanque as you are there in July and the lavender fields are so beautiful (the abbaye is interesting, also) -- it's not far from Gordes. That would take precedence over the Fontaine de Vaucluse to me. <BR><BR>I also likes Arles but don't see that you can really fit it in much. I haven't been to C. de Pape or Orange but I've also heard they are probably not the top notch places to schedule. Your day 1 looks awfully full to me as Gordes And Roussillon get a lot of tourists and are small, so you'll have to spend time just walking to the place from where you'll have to park (outside center city). I didn't see the Fontaine but from what I've read, that's no driveby either just due to traffic and how far you need to walk.<BR><BR>Up near Orange and Chateauneuf de Pape, I liked the Gigondas wine country myself, and seeing the Dentelles de Montmirail. But, you don't have any empty time as it is, that's for sure.

Your plan is a good one and is plenty full of activity. I'd go along with others who advise to drop Chateauneuf de Pape.

Thank you all so much for the advice. We do plan to hit St Remy on market day and vist Abbaye of Senanque. We planned on Chateauneuf de Pape just to visit a wineary, but it sounds like we would be better off planning more time in Uzes. Thanks again<BR> Beth