BooFit

My husband and I are fairly active seniors.
We love visiting France and have done so a few times previously but we have not visited Provence before. In June this year, we are planning to go to Provence and will be spending 12 days there before we make our way to Portugal.

I would appreciate suggestions and comments on the following itinerary outline --

Day 1 (Wed)
Fly from London to Marseilles. Arriving in the early afternoon. Pick-up rental car and drive to St Remy (where we plan to stay for 4 nights).
Overnight: St Remy
Question:
-- is St Remy a good choice to use as a base for exploring the surrounding regions? Or should I choose Arles or Les Baux instead?

Day 2 (Thurs), Day 3 (Fri), Day 4 (Sat)
We will be using [St Remy] [or another place] as a base.
Plan on visiting Arles and Les Baux, Uzes, Avignon, Nimes and Pont du Gard.
Questions:
-- is there any particular order as to how we should visit the above places? For example, spend a day visiting Arles and Les Baux, another day for Nimes and Pont du Gard and the third day for Avignon?
-- Since Arles has a Saturday market, should we visit Arles on Day 4 (Sat)?

Day 5 (Sun), Day 6 (Mon)
We would like to visit the Cotes du Rhone region, particularly Chateauneuf du Pape and Gigondas.
Where should we base ourselves? Vaison la Romaine?
Will the wineries be closed on Sundays and Mondays?

Day 7 (Tues), Day 8 (Wed), Day 9 (Thurs), Day 10 (Fri)
Our plan is to spend 3 days visiting the Luberon towns, and one day visiting the Lavender fields (?Valensole ?Gorges du Verdon? or..?)
Which would be a good place to stay for 4 days? Bonnieux or Rousillon or Gordes?
Which are the "must-visit" villages?
I read that the market day (Thurs and Sun) in the Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is particularly good, is it worth visiting just for this market experience? I also read that parking is a headache and that the town is very touristy...

Day 11 (Sat), Day 12 (Sun), Day 13 (Mon)
Plan on staying in Aix-en-Provence
Day 11, a Saturday, is market day in Aix-en-Provence. Will we have trouble driving to wherever we are staying in Aix? We have not yet decided where to stay in Aix. We will be flying out from Marseilles to Lisbon, so currently I am thinking Aix would be a good place to stay as it would be easy to check out and drive to return our rental car at the airport in Marseilles on the day we leave.

I have not started doing research on what to see or do and I understand that Sundays and Mondays are very quiet days for many villages/towns in Provence. Any suggestions for things to do would be most appreciated!


Will we be able to rely on Google maps for navigation or should we rent a GPS with our rental car?
Would we need a road map?

Restaurants
At the places we plan on visiting, are there any particularly good restaurants that we should make bookings for?

We have concentrated on the western part of Provence and plan on visiting Nice and the French Riviera on a future trip.

Many thanks for taking the time to read this and I would be grateful for any suggestions and comments!!

StuDudley

As you noted -- Aix will be quite dead on Sunday, and Monday morning also. Shops will be closed - except for food shops in the am, and museums. Not a good day to visit Aix - plus Aix is really not too close to the sites most people want to visit in Provence. Switch with the Luberon.

I would imagine wineries will be closed on Sunday too.

Now is quite late for making accommodation reservations for Provence in June. June is only 2 months away. We made our reservations for 2 gites in Provence in May last year.

Do you have my 35 page itinerary for Provence & the Cote d'Azur? I've sent it to over 3,000 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at my Fodors name at AOL and I will attach a copy to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

TDudette

We loved our hotel Aquabella in Aix, BooFit. https://www.aquabella.fr/en/information We loved the pool (heated by a spring) and actually used it. We didn't drive but there was a parking garage either on the property or contiguous to it (we never checked). If the Aix Ring road was a clock, the left exit for the garage was at about 12:30...do check

We sandwiched Aix between two visits to Paris. I loved Aix but others will have to weigh in about driving there:

Trip Report: A Provence Sandwich

Please let everyone know all about your visit.

BooFit

​​​​​StuDudley I know and I wish we had more time for planning this trip. I hope to be able to still book some nice accommodation once I sort out how many days to stay in which place/village.

Fact is, I did not think we would be able to go on this trip this time last year. For the first 6 months of last year I could barely walk due to hip pain, and in June last year I had a total hip replacement. My recovery has been slow and troubled by complications, and it was only very recently (about 3 weeks ago) that I could start walking for longer distances pain free. Since my doctors say that it is likely my un-operated hip will need replacing in maybe one or two years' time, my husband and I have decided to go travelling whilst we still can (my husband is in his seventies and I am fast approaching seventy too)! So we will be travelling to Sydney to visit our daughter and new grandchild in 10 days' time, returning home end of May, and then travelling to Europe (Provence and Portugal) in June. Right now I am "working" 4 to 5 hours each day on planning this upcoming trip ...

Stu, I remember you very kindly helped me with my itinerary for Burgundy back in 2008
( Help _ itinerary for 10 full days in Burgundy and the Rhone )
and I have a copy of your 26 page Provence guide (you kindly emailed it to me back then because initially we were planning to include Provence for that trip, but then decided to leave it for later and concentrate on Burgundy on that trip). We are now finally going to Provence and I would love to have your updated version! I will email you separately, merci beaucoup!

BooFit

TDudette Thank you for the suggestion! I did a quick check but it seems like they have no vacancy for our dates.
I think, as Stu said in his reply to my initial post, I have left it too late and I think most of the really nice places will no longer be available. Once I have sorted out where to base ourselves for the places and villages we wish to visit I will start looking for places to stay, probably on Airbnb, Vbro or Booking.com

Will do. I have posted trip reports (but usually on Tripadvisor) in the past.
Here is a Trip Report of our visit to Burgundy (we had a lot of help from Fodorites for that trip!) --
Trip Report - Burgundy in May 2008

FTOttawa

If you plan just to enjoy Aix itself for a couple of days, drop the car on arrival, saving parking fees and headaches and some of the rental cost. There may be a one-way fee and then the shuttle bus direct to Marseille airport from the downtown bus station could cost another €10 or so. But this way you have more choice of hotels. There are indeed museums open, and some really fine restaurants (say hello to the Poivre d’Ane, open every evening except Wednesday, or try one of the 40 other restaurants recommended by Gault&Millau).

Just visit one good market at your convenience during your trip — there are many of the same vendors at each. The ideal is to wake up in the town on market morning, having cleverly parked the night before. But we’ve arrived mid-market in Carpentras and Apt and survived the Parking Experience.

One base should do you for both the wine villages and the Luberon, somewhere in a rough oval covering Carpentras/Mazan to Isle sur la Sorgue. I guarantee you that not every nice lodging in that whole area is already booked solid in June. I also checked the hours for the caves coopératives in Gigondas, Séguret and Cairanne (named villages) — they are all open Sundays. Albeit in June most of them close daily at lunchtime.

Similarly, draw a rough blob around St Remy to include Fontvielle, Eyragues, Maussanne-les-Alpilles, plug in your dates on booking,com or Gites-de-France.com, and something will pop up that will make you happy.

lavender chasing — I would not go as far as the Gorges du Verdon and Valensole unless you really, really like driving for its own sake. Take local information at the time on how the weather has brought lavender along at each elevation, and be prepared to try Sault, Senanque or Lacoste.

BooFit

FTOttawa Thank you very much for your helpful suggestions! We like French food and wine and when we get to Aix we will be going to Poivre d’Ane as well as some of those recommended by Gault&Millau!

We like going to the markets for the local produce - cheeses, baked items, honey, fruit, olives etc and to feel the energy and marvel at the displays and colours. We plan on taking things easy for this trip -- soaking in the scenery, having meals at nice restaurants (will probably have to book ahead for some of these), wandering about, practising my very very rusty and basic French, enjoying good wine (one of hubby's favourite pastime), and slow living in general.

Your suggestion of having just one base for the wine villages and the Luberon is excellent, and we will do just that (unless I cannot find someplace reasonably nice for the entire 6 days that we are there).
I plugged in the dates on booking.com yesterday, and it does look like there are not many good ones available (e.g. not all places have air-conditioning or are quiet/serene). Will continue the search over the next few days (before we fly to Sydney next Wednesday!)

I did not realise that places other than the Gorges du Verdon and Valensole had lavender fields. Will ask about Sault and Lacoste.
We have seen lavender fields in Japan (Hokkaido) before, but Provence is inseparable from lavender, n'est ce pas?

FTOttawa

Market days - an exhaustive list
https://www.provence.guideweb.com/ga...e-provence.php

routes-lavande.com
only in French, but the maps are so useful and Google Translate can help

mjs

You can stay in St Remy and visit all of those places you have identified by car pretty easily. I spend a lot of time looking for a nice place to stay and having fewer places to stay makes my life easier if my day trips are of reasonable length. Les Baux is nearby and would also work but it is a smaller town. We ate at Restaurant de Tourrel in St Remy last summer and it was quite nice. Have been to about 10 markets in the area over the years and I would say our favorites were Arles, and Aix. St Remy has a decent market.

BooFit

This is wonderful FTOttawa ! Somehow my AirMac does the Google Translate automatically (I am somewhat IT challenged, so don't know why), and I have everything in English! And yes, the maps are most useful!

BooFit

mjs I agree that staying at one place for the trip would make life easier. Unfortunately I have only started the planning process for this trip recently and it seems to me that trying to find a nice place to stay for the entire trip is somewhat difficult. Breaking the stay up into 2 places (plus Aix towards the end for an easier journey to the airport) may make it easier I think.

I am wondering if it would be easy to get an uber or taxi from Aix to Marseilles airport on the day we depart. If so, we could perhaps return the car in Aix on arrival as FTOttawa suggests and spend the next few days taking public transport for sightseeing. Depending on where we stay in Aix, we would prefer not having to lug our suitcases to the shuttle bus for the airport.

FTOttawa

Daytime taxi to the airport from downtown Aix would cost about €70. You can book from one of the companies listed on the airport’s web site, or ask your hotel to arrange.

I am sorry to report that neither of the nice places we stayed that were handy to Cotes du Rhone and the Luberon are in business as B&Bs any more.

FTOttawa

OMG no, they’re back!

I went to Gites de France, plugged in a Sunday to Friday in June, 11-16th (which may not be your dates, I know) and got 80 listings in Vaucluse, 40 with aircon. And heyyy one of them was Auberge de la Camarette just outside Pernes les Fontaines. It is also a winery and they used to do dinners which were amazing (though you ate what was set before you, causing some consternation among American guests one night who didn’t feel like either rabbit or skate).

and did I mention the part about 40 listings. Don’t despair!

pro tip, using the French language option will make more listings pop up, because only Gites or chambres d’hôte that have chosen to provide translations into English get listed on the English side of the web site.

FTOttawa

Hmm, that’s odd, my last post disappeared.

anyway, I am happy to report that in fact one of the B&Bs is now back in business, Auberge de la Camarette in Pernes les Fontaines. — it is also a winery and may have resumed restaurant service at least some nights, which would be awesome.

I found this out by selecting “Vaucluse” and the dates June 11-16 on Gites de France. Those may or may not be your dates but it was worth a whirl. 80 listings popped up, 40 of them with aircon, including the above mentioned. It may be helpful to choose the French version of the web site, as the English side only lists properties whose owners have supplied English text.

shelemm

Roussillon and Fontaine de Vaucluse are essential to me. Deservedly, both are magnets for tourists. One way to avoid that is to make sure you are there in non-peak times, quite early or late. So it might pay to stay in places like that. As always, I encourage folks to read Village in the Vaucluse by Laurence Wylie. It is a sociological study of village life in Provence that will make you cry. It's a powerful work.

There are many little-known gems in the area. My two favorites are the Grottes de Cales (7th Century BC Ligurian grottoes) and Vieux Vernegue, a village in ruins.

I am not quite clear if you have mobility issues. In your OP you say you are 'active' but later on you indicate maybe some sites might be problematic. Can you descend into the ochre quarry in Roussillon? Many people of all ages do it, but that doesn't mean everyone can.

tomboy

RE: Fontaine
A close analogy would be, if you could walk the trail at Bryce Canyon, you could walk Fontaine de Vaucluse. No comparison, though.

FTOttawa

We were told we’d been lucky to see the Fontaine de Vaucluse in spate (late May), and that it could be unimpressive at other times. Last June of course was disastrously dry. Take local information before setting it as a destination. Though the small, well done Musée d’Histoire Jean Garcin is worth a visit if you want to know more about France under German occupation in WW2.

StuDudley

""(plus Aix towards the end for an easier journey to the airport)""

Did you not read my first post about shops being closed on Sunday, & Monday morning in Aix? Did you also not read page 2 of the itinerary I sent you about only 1 of the 27 shops that had hours posted, was open on Sunday in Aix? Aix is my wife's favorite shopping city in France (after Paris). What is your site-seeing plan for Sunday & Monday in Aix. Museums, churches, long lunch??

Swap Aix & the Luberon.

Bonnieux/Luberon is 1 1/4 hrs from the airport. Gordes/Luberon is 1 hr. Aix is 1/2 hr from the airport. You save a whopping 30-45 mins by staying in Aix. With not much to do there on a Sunday & Monday. As I stated earlier, the sites most people want to visit are close to the Luberon & Avignon. Not close to Aix.

Stu Dudley

shelemm

Fontaine de Vaucluse is outright gorgeous and has many terrific features. it is named after the mysterious source of the river which flows from underground, and there is a nice walk to the source. The beauty of the village is not seasonal. In addition, these are some of the other sites (from provenceweb.fr):

Ruines du château des Evêques de Cavaillon, XIV°.
Eglise ND de St Véran de style roman du XI°.
Ruines d'un canal romain sur la Sorgue.
L'Ecomusée du santon et traditions provençales : Musée du Santon.
L'appel de la liberté musée d'histoire 1939-1945 (Musée de la Résistance).
Ecomusée du gouffre (Musée-grotte : Le Monde Souterrain).
Musée bibliothèque Pétrarque (dans l'ancienne maison du poète Italien, XIV°).
Cristallerie des Papes (soufflage de cristal à la bouche).
Moulin à Papier (fabrication de papier à la main comme au XV°).

Also, I highly recommend visiting the Fondation Vasarely in Aix. All of the works on display were created expressly for this site, and it is open every day.

FTOttawa

Shelemm, good points. The santons were another lovely feature, now that you remind me.