My husband and I are planning to spend 2 weeks in France this summer (late July- early August). We will fly into Paris and spend 4-5 nights (it is not our first time in this city). We then plan to rent a car and drive south. Our goal is to spend 4-5 nights in the Avignon area and then drive further south to the Riviera for the last 4-5 nights. We plan to either fly back from Nice or take the train back to Paris.

Some background information: We are in our early 40's and while very active, we also want to relax on this trip. We have rented cars in foreign countries in the past and are very comfortable driving. Our traveling philosophy is "less is more" in terms of not trying to do too much in any given day. An ideal day for us consists of driving to different towns, walking around and maybe poking into a church, gallery or shop, sitting at cafes and watching the world go by and eating at restaurants that are local favorites. We usually like to spend the later part of the day relaxing at our hotel either at a pool or back at our room if we have outdoor space. Walking to town for dinner is always a plus, but we are ok driving too. We are also runners so we always love to explore great routes for taking in the environment, whether it be the streets of Paris or the countryside. Finally, this is a bit of a splurge trip for us, so we are looking at higher end, smaller boutique hotels.

Based on the research I have done so far, this is what I've come up with:

Fly from NYC to Paris on Saturday morning. Spend Saturday- Wednesday in Paris. My husband is taking care of our accommodations in Paris.

Rent a car and drive from Paris to Provence. I know this is about a 7 hour drive. Should we consider stopping for one night and if so, where do you recommend we do so? Or, if we drive straight, any good suggestions for towns, sights, meals that are not to be missed?

Once we arrive in Provence, my two top choice hotels are either Le Pigonnet in Aix or Chateau des Alpilles in Saint Remy. I am leaning towards Saint Remy as it seems more centrally located. It appears as if both hotels are within walking distance to the towns but I am curious to hear thoughts about which area suits us better. Spend Wednesday/Thursday- Sunday/Monday.

Depart Provence and drive south towards Riviera. Originally we were looking at Villa la Mauresque in Saint Raphael. Nice waterfront property and walkable to shops, restaurants. However, after a little more research, Les Mas Candille in Mougins and Hotel La Perouse in Nice also look nice. Someone had suggested we look intoTiara Miramar Beach Hotel as well.

I think the third leg of our trip is where I need the most help. Where do you suggest is the best place to stay if our goal is mostly relax but still have the ability to walk to places, find local restaurants, shops, etc. We definitely want to get an idea of the French Riviera and I know it will be touristy, but is there someplace that will give us a happy medium? Depending on what area we stay in, do we need a car? I'd prefer not to have one at that point, but it may make sense if we want to do a little exploring. My husband really wants to see Marseiiles.

Finally, we would either take the train back to Paris on Friday and then fly back Saturday. However, my preference is to fly from Nice to Paris to NYC on Saturday.

So there you have it. Any suggestions, ideas, tweaks are welcomed and much appreciated.

If relaxing is a goal, take the TGV from Paris to Avignon. That 7-hour drive is a PITA. The TGV will get you there in 3 hours and, if you buy the right tickets at the right time, a lot less cost.

We stayed in Villefranche-sur-Mer, just outside Nice, at the Hotel Welcome for a few days, and loved it.

I think you'd be much better off visiting Marseilles from Provence,as it is quite a ways west of Nice. It was a fairly easy drive from Arles, and should be lots quicker from Aix. Don't miss it. It's got a bad reputation, but it's a very nice city.

We had a car the entire time and felt that, for our purposes, it was indispensable.

First of all, as StCirq posted and I agree,don't drive, take the train from Paris & pick up a car in the south. We done this many times basing in Aix, Avignon, Antibes, and the Dordogne.

My next thought is to stay in one place. The east riviera has so much to see in the small towns and coastline of that area as does Provence. We keep going back and every time we wish we had more time.

Villefranche is an excellent base for the east.
We loved staying in Antibes, sort of the middle.
St. Remy would be good for Provence.
Then fly back from Nice.
Actually if you really want to see Marseilles how about ending there for 2 nights and flying home from there. That would give you a week to explore from 1 location along the riviera. and yes, a car is mandatory IMO.
Just sayin'!

We've stayed in Antibes with a car but would never do it in the summer. Parking was a problem in January, can only imagine how bad it is in the summer. We've loved staying in St Jean Cap Ferrat but that was a few years ago. I agree about not returning to Paris to fly home. Delta flies from Nice.

Here's another thought. We spent a lovely 5 nights here. It's in Le Pontet about 10 min. from Avignon. The restaurant is one of the best we found anywhere in France. All of it expensive but worth every penny. Here's 2 sites for lots of pictures. It's a place that goes on our "we'll never forget" list.

http://www.expedia.com/Vaucluse-Hote...el-Information

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Provence.html

You definitely need a car. It's in a rather odd area with a school across the street and nothing in walking distance.

We booked a room in the garden which was large and very confortable. When we got there due to circumstances beyond their control we had to spend 1 night in a very small room in the main house at no charge. It was adorable but way too small.

The restaurant was so good that we had dinner there 2 nights.
This definitely a beautiful place that you find it hard to tear yourself away from.

Another "take the TGV south". I would prefer St. Remy (or anywhere) to Aix unless shopping is first on your list. Sounds like a pretty nicely balanced trip--I might spend a day or so longer in Provence rather than Nice.

Hmm, funny I hadn't thought about taking the train from Paris to the south. Where would you suggest taking it to? Avignon or elsewhere? I continue to lean towards Saint Remy- we don't really do a lot of shopping while we travel.

The biggest issue with flying back from Nice is that United (we are using miles for our tickets) does not fly non-stop back to Newark, which is our preferred airport. I'll need to look into that more carefully though.

Definitely the TGV--2+ hours to Avignon from CDG. Rent your car and head to St. Remy!! And you have a whole extra day--well almost.

Yes, take the TGV directly from CDG to Avignon. Allow yourself at least 3 hours from stated landing time to boarding the train. Buy your tickets on www.capitainetrain.com about 3 months out from your travel date to get the best prices. Rent a car for pickup at the TGV station in Avignon

I'm not sure what you mean about St-Rémy and shopping. It's a bit of a shopper's paradise (though I'm not a shopper either). It makes a good base for visiting the area (though there are other choices, too, of course).

St. Cirq, do yo have any other recs for good base towns? As for shopping, Gretchen mentioned that Aix was good for shopping. I gather it is a busier city than Saint Remy?

If you will be traveling to provence from central Paris, you will want to depart from the Gare de Lyon and not from CDG.

We stayed at Le Piggonet in Aix several years ago and it wss absolutely lovely. Gorgeous gardens, easy walk into town, and we drove easily to Pont du Gard, Gordes, Arles, Avignon, and several other towns. I've never been to St Remy, so can't compare it to your choice there.

We drove from Aix to Nice with a stop in Cassis, then dropped the car. It is easy to walk around Nice and to use the train to get to other Rivieria locations. I don't think you'll want the hassle of a car in Nice. Sounds like you have a lovely trip planned. Have fun!

Aix is a city. St-Rémy is a town. They're both good for shopping, as are Arles and Nîmes and all kinds of much smaller places like Maussane and Uzès and Aigues-Mortes and Ile-sur-la-Sorgue and Vaison-la-Romaine and ... (it does depend on what kind of shopping you want to do, or course).What sort of setting do you envision? How much do you know about central Provence? It's a huge area. Do you want to be in Les Alpilles or the Lubéron? What size town/village/city? It might be a good idea to get hold of the Michelin Green Guide to Provence to see how many possibilities there are.

Finally figured out that we want to be in the Luberon and have narrowed it down to these hotels:

Herbes Blanches
http://www.herbesblanches.com

La Coquillade
http://www.coquillade.fr/uk/index.php

Bastide de Gordes
http://www.bastide-de-gordes.com/fr/...luberon.1.html

Les Bories
http://www.hotellesbories.com/uk/hot...e-officiel.php

La Bastide Mrie
http://en.labastidedemarie.com

La Maison Sur La Sorgue
http://www.lamaisonsurlasorgue.com

My husband prefers to be in the country, which probably rules out La Maison. We'd love a room with a terrace and while we would like to eat at the on-site restaurant for one night, we anticipate using our car to drive to other restaurants for dinners.

Look forward to your thoughts and input. Thanks!

We have revised our choices in the Luberon based on reviews, availability and our desire to have a terrace. My husband prefers to be in the country rather than in town. Do you know anything about Hotel Crillon Le Brave or La Cle des Champs? Le Clos de le Glycine looks nice although it is in the center of town as opposed to the countryside. Les Roullets also looks beautiful but may be too small for my husband, especially since we are staying at Les Rosees, a small B&B in Mougins for our last leg of the trip.

La Coquillade looks beautiful but will be under renovations/constructions while we are there (not appealing). Also, Bastide de Gordes looks beautiful but the only rooms with terraces are too pricey.

We have decided to take the train from Paris to Avignon and rent a car when we arrive. We will use the car for the remainder of our trip and return it at the Nice airport. Thanks to much advice from this board and others, we are flying from Nice to NYC via Frankfurt and booked our tickets so that if there are any delays, United is responsible for getting us home.

Thanks again for all of your input.