We're planning a trip for next June. We'll fly to Paris, spend a few days, and then fly via easyjet or ryanair (or maybe drive) to Provence (I'm not exactly sure where). My mother-in-law wants to visit markets and lavender fields (there will be 5 of us). The kids want beaches & shopping. I had originally thought we'd rent a house and just base from one central location. However, we are now thinking we can only spend 6 nights in Provence, not the entire week that most house rent for. Now I'm thinking it might be best to just drive through Provence and visit 2 or 3 towns and stay in hotels.... We must have air conditioning (for the mother-in-law). If we go w/ hotels, I'd like to keep the rooms under $140-150 USD per night...Is this possible? Should we fly or drive? Either way, we're prepared to rent a car...I'm lost here, and I'd really appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

You'll really need a car to see Provence, but I'd advise flying down from Paris or taking the TGV. You'll need to get a car like the Renault Scenic, which holds five in comfort--it's a cross between a sedan and an SUV but gets good mileage.

With six nights in Provence you could spend three in the area of St-Rémy and the other three over in the Côte d'Azur to see the hill villages and Nice.

For staying near Nice I'd strongly recommend Le Hameau, a delightful small auberge just down the road from the must-visit St-Paul-de-Vence. Another possiblity would be Juan-les-Pins, which has a nice beach.

You can search this site for the many suggestions around St-Rémy.

Question: are you thinking of hotel rooms for all five of you with A/C for under $150? That's going to be tough. For the price you'd probably have to stay at maisons d'hôte (B&Bs), but few, if any, will have A/C.

Thanks for the info. I know that we'll need 2 rooms, that's why I thought it would be best to keep the rooms under $150 USD, since we'd need 2. This, again may not be feasible. Let me know.

Underhill, I'm still not very clear...sorry. Our hotel budget would be $300 USD for 2 rooms; $150 for each.

1. Transport: no contest, TGV wins hands down (2 1/2 hours from Paris to Avignon, very frequent trains), and the five of you should get a good deal with a family ticket. Flying would only bring you to Marseille-Marignane, which is a bit useless if you consider the hassle of getting to Orly or CDG

2. Accommodation: you shouldn't be stopped by the fact that you are spending 6 nights and not 7, as most rental houses require. They won't put you in jail if you only spend 6 nights! (I know, I already did it - the 6 night thing, not the jail! ). The best choice of quality, reasonably priced houses in Provence can be rented through the "Office de Tourisme départemental du Vaucluse". Type this on yahoo.fr, and you'll get their URL. Everything is in English too, and they are very efficient. As for A/C, some of the houses might have it, but I doubt it. But frankly, provided you are in the country, which you will, there is no need for A/C at night in Provence. Mistral is the most effective A/C, and it keeps the ozone layer where it is! And you won't have the hassle of packing/unpacking (not to mention the financial part). Provence is relatively compact, and from a central location it's easy to visit its main sites.

At Le Hameau you can easily get rooms within your budget. It's really a charming place to stay and gives you easy access to Vence, Nice, and the other hill villages of the area. I really like the idea of staying in two parts of Provence--you could fly into Nice (the train takes too long: 6 hours), spend 3 nights at Le Hameau and then drive across to western Provence and visit that area for 3 days. After that the TGV to Paris would work very nicely; it's a trip of about 2-1/2 hours.

Elaine -

In order to please both mother-in-law (lavander) and kids (beaches) you will most likely need to split your time between inland Provence and the coast. Pick two places - 3 nights each. Coming from Paris, as others have said, take the TGV down to Avignon, then rent a car. For the return, if you end up staying on the Cote d'Azur, just drop your car off in Nice and hop on a shuttle flight back from Nice to CDG. Better yet, book your flights into CDG and out of Nice if you can.

As for A/C, you won't need it at that time of year here.

-Kevin

Le Hameau has a triple room...actually they call it an apartment that sleeps 3 in two separate rooms. I think it was around 150 Euro. That and one of their standard doubles should be under your budget.
It really is a lovely property, and well located for seeing the Cote d'Azur.

Note that the lavender tends to be in bloom from late June to mid-August. Some varieties will be just starting to bloom earlier in June, but you won't really get the full, stunning effect of all the fields in bloom until later in the month, or even until July (it depends on the variety and the area).

There is a very useful website that tells you which areas of Provence lavender is grown in, along with the different varieties and the flowering periods: http://www.routes-lavande.com/presen...iation-GB.html

I'm mostly with Kevin (I <b>have</b> needed a/c there end of June which is, as hanl points out, when lavender season <i>starts</i. Train to Avignon, rent a car and tour to see Lavender. Here's a thread on lavender

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34419601

Then move to the south and stay on or near the beach. While I love St Paul de Vence and have stayed there often, if the kids want beach, not only will you not be on or walking distance to the beach (15+ minute drive), but the closest beach is Cagnes sur Mer which is rocky not sandy.

One idea is Cap d'Antibes. A while ago another Fodor's poster wrote about Hotel Castel Garoupe which has some rooms with kitchen facilities and is located just on or near the beach. I know Underhill complains about traffic there but I think June shouldn't be too terrible. (Keep in mind late May-early June is Cannes film festival and Monte Carlo Grand Prix) I'll try to find the post about this place.

I found the mention of Castel Garoupe as follows

Author: Francie
Date: 11/29/2002, 01:53 am
Message: Hi Anthony,
As you mentioned Antibes...Have mentioned this a few times before, but a place we stay while in Cap d'Antibes is at &quot;Hotel Castel Garoupe&quot; located right on the Cap. It is more of an apt-style hotel/Villa nestled amongst some of the finest villas around. It has a small swimming pool and tennis courts plus nice breakfast included in price. It is a few short blocks from the beautiful, posh Eden Roc Hotel just to give you a hint of the nice area it is located at. They also have a website, if interested. If you will be driving a car, there is free parking in the back. We have always experienced good times here. Good luck.
Francie

I'm leaning toward splitting our time in Provence, 3 nights in one place, and 3 in another. Hubby still wants one central location from which to base...Since our trip will be at the beginning of June, will there even be any lavender? Now I'm wondering if my mother-in-law might be appeased w/ markets and other sorts of fields of flowers. What do you guys think? Byt the way, thanks so much for the input so far. I knew I could count on this board. I'll be away for a few days; but I'm looking forward to any additional advice waiting when I return. Thanks!

As Kevin points out, unless the kids give up the idea of beach, if you only stay in one place, it's basically predetermined to be the south. I can understand not wanting to pack/unpack and for just 3 days. I can't tell you about the lavender but there's certainly enough diversity between the coast beaches, shopping and hill towns (which are more provencal in feel) to please everyone. In that scenario I would try to fly to Nice and possibly fly home from there.

The website provencebeyond.com might help you make up your mind.

We're going to Provence in early October for six nights and splitting it up into two sections. When I looked at the map, I realized we'd be doing to much backtracking otherwise. We're staying at Domaine des Clos, a former winery, now B&amp;B, in Beaucaire on the western part of Provence, and then moving over to a small town east of Aix. Like you, we wanted to see the mountains and the sea. Take a look at www.avignon-et-provence.com; that's where I found Domaine des Clos.

elaine123,

I agree with Vincent, TGV to Avignon is the best choice. There are several rental car agencies in the station.

My personal preference is to base in one location. However, when traveling with kids, it's sometimes better to keep moving. Still, basing in one place and going on day trips can be most enjoyable. There's something reassuring and relaxing about returning to a familiar spot each night.

Why not look for a house with a pool?

Marcy posted a thread about her recent trip to Provence with a link to many photos. The pictures of lavender fields and sunflowers in bloom are stunning.

JoeG

Le Hameau has another &quot;apartment&quot; that has one large bed in one room and a smaller double bed in an adjoining room. The problem is that there's only one bathroom, and it's off the entrance hall of the big bedroom. The toilet, however, is in a separate cubicle; so it might work for you and the kids, with your mother-in-law in a nearby room. Because the room configurations at Le Hameau are so different you can almost certainly find ones that suit you; some come with kitchenettes, and there are some bungalows in the grounds. Our favorite room is a twin, #2, above the reception area; it has a loggia with a view down the mountains to the Mediterranean. The pool is fabulous!

You will likely see few or no fields of blooming lavender in early June. We have been in Provence in late May and early June and have seen lavender blooming in small protected gardens. I think your mother in law will be delighted by the markets.

I agree it will be early for lavender. Perhaps she'll enjoy the poppies in bloom.

For the $$$ you are probably still better off renting a house for six days than hopping from hotel to hotel.
We just returned from Provence last week. We stayed at Mas des Comtes de Provence in Tarascon. The centrl location to the region was great. (Air conditioning was big on my husband's list of must haves.) It has very large rooms (we are a family of four and stayed in a very noce sized room) (I think one of the rooms sleeps 5 - check out their website www.mas-provence.com) They also have a great sized, roman style pool that might appease the kids.

If your mother in law loves markets make sure you go to Isle de la Sorgue (spelling may be off here). It was the best market we saw while in Provence last year. I agree with your husband, find a central base a do day trips. Driving around that area is half the fun, and you are sure to see your lavender that way.