helen63

Mjs, so will be basically doing the same thing, just more in Luberon. Perhaps, I can cut on one night in Luberon, and reallocate to St Remy area.

helen63

I am trying to book my accommodations now. I just booked something in Lourmarin for Luberon exploration, because I like the village (good restaurants) and relatively close to great lavender fields. However, seems like Stu and most people suggest to stay more centrally around Gordes or Rossiillon, where I cannot find much I like.
If we book something outside of Gordes/Rosussillon - where would be our dinner options? We really like nice places, and one of the reasons of going to Provence

StCirq

Sorry, can't help you with dinner options, but as far as trains go, if leaving directly from Roissy to Avignon, give yourselves 3 hours between plane landing time and boarding the train. If going into Paris and leaving from the Gare de Lyon, give yourselves 4 hours.

Here in the Dordogne I don't think I have ever seen poppies and lavender overlap. The poppies are very short-lived here, depending on the weather of course.

geetika

We arrive CDG around 6am on June 13 and I've booked the direct TGV at 13.58, gives us quite a bit of leeway time IMO. There's a direct train around noon which we could probably make but I preferred to take the later one. We'll probably just grab a meal and wait at the station, shouldn't be too hard. Am just hoping the proposed SNCF strike is either called off or fizzles out by then!

StCirq, lovely photo, reminded me of Monet's Coquelicots, thank you

StuDudley

We saw poppies & lavender when we stayed in the Var (near Cotignac) in about 2000. This was early/mid June & there we poppies in the Var & lots of lavender around the Valensole Plateau. The lavender in Valensole is actually lavendin which blooms earlier than lavender and is more robust. In late June in the Drome in 2015, much of the lavendin had already been harvested.

I prefer staying in the Gordes/Roussillon/Menerbes/Bonnieux area over Lourmarin for 2 reasons:
1. The general area is prettier (both are pretty, however)
2. The drive north from Lourmarin over the winding/twisty Combe de Lourmarin can get a little old & tiresome - as is the drive through most of the center of Bonnieux. You'll have to do this route for many of your day trips that are north & west of Lourmarin - which will the case with the majority of your day trip. The route west from Lourmarin along the Durance is scenic until you get to the Gorges du Regalon - then you will see a lot of ugly commerce through Cavaillon and until you get to well past Cavaillon.

Stu Dudley

PalenQ

Yes understand not wanting to stay night in Paris - too bad there are so few direct CDG-Avignon trains - about every 5 hours it seems but better be safe than sorry.

TDudette

DH and I loved Lourmarin, helen63. Below is my TR with our tour of the area for some ideas:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ndwich-446896/

zoecat

I also love staying in Lourmarin (twice). The town is great and I love my morning runs through the surrounding beautiful countryside. The Friday market is fantastic!

I suggest downloading the excellent Provence Byways Guide-
Provence Byways

PalenQ

https://www.google.com/search?q=avig...w=1745&bih=863

Sur la pont d'Avignon...ons y dancez sur la pont (pardon my French perhaps) but the famous Pont d'Avignon still stands halfway over the river before abruptly ending - walking or dancing out to its end gives you a neat view of Avignon itself. That and the Palace of the Popes are two don't miss sights in Avignon.

TDudette

Ons y dansez touts en ronds (pardon mine also, Pal!)--

I liked Arles more than Avignon for things to see.

helen63

Now, I know everything about dancing on Avignon bridge , so I am good to spend a day in there.

Great help on trains, thank you! We will be arriving at 10:00 am but 13:58 train should be fine, this gives us about 4 hours; and there is one on a return journey that gives us more than 4 hours. I just need to book early, as I did not realize tickets are so expensive.

Thank you for opinions on Lourmarin! I have cancelable reservation for both Lourmarin and Roussillon now, and trying to decide.
Stu, you mentioned your wife and you are serious foodies. Are there good dinner options around Roussillon/Gordes? This is kind of important for us.

Thank you again for all your help so far!

StuDudley

All the dinner recommendations are in my itinerary. Several of them around Gordes & Goult. Here is what I wrote in the itinerary.

When I recall my best dining experiences in Provence, very few restaurants at the top of my list are in the Luberon. There are several Michelin “starred” restaurants in the area, but when I checked them out I thought they were a little too pricey & perhaps too formal for my tastes. I don’t recommend any of the restaurants in the Gordes village center. We like Estellan near Les Imberts, Mas Tourteron (beautiful outdoor setting) in Les Imberts, and Bartavelle (best in good weather when you can dine outside) in Goult, and the new (as of '14) Le Carillon also in Goult. Just like in Nice, in '14 we decided to "experience" Michelin starred restaurants. We dined at five such restaurants - 3 of which were in large/fancy 5 star resorts/spas. Of the five, the "un-assuming" (looks like an office in a strip mall from the road) le Vivier* just north of l'Isle sur la Sorgue had the best food. I would return to Xavier Mathieu* in Joucas at the Hostelliere le Phebus. I would only return to the other "resort" restaurants in the Luberon if a view and "see & be seen" were my objectives.

Stu Dudley

Stu Dudley

StCirq

Sur le Pont d'Avignon
On y danse, On y danse
Sur le Pont d'Avignon
On y danse tous en rond

I prefer Arles as well (and love Jean-Luc Rabanel's Atelier). And I'm probably among a handful of people who prefer the Camargue to the Lubéron as well. I think Aigues-Mortes has one of the prettiest squares in all of Europe, and I never miss an opportunity to have a meal at La Telline (which likely wouldn't be a big draw for the Michelin afficionados but is the perfect restaurant for me).

TDudette

Oh heck, I forgot about how pretty Roussillon is--a feast for the eyes with its yellow glow. Lourmarin is more level if that's a factor--tan and blue if I recall.

Thanks for the correct song, StCirq. I had forgotten that, although in French speaking the 'e' in 'danse' would silent, in song it is.

PalenQ

I rather enjoyed Nimes too - especially the Roman relics like arena - kind of a unique looking town - but the Roman things are spectacular:

https://www.google.com/search?q=nime...w=1708&bih=838

Not sure why so few ever mention Nimes here when talking about this part of Provence - kind of gets lost in shuffle.

helen63

Thank you, Stu! I should of finish reading before posting

helen63

TDudette, thank you - will probably go with Roussillon - central location plus glow... I like Lourmarin though, but seems less convenient per Stu

helen63

I put together a draft of our itinerary, and would appreciate any suggestions. Day1. Avignon
Day2 Friday a car – Not sure here. One option is to visit Pont Du Gard, Uzes, and to Roussillon; or another option is try to visit a market in Carpentras and then onto Gordes/Roussillon Overnight Roussillon. We cannot get a very early start on this day because of car renting logistics.
Day3 – Saturday. Tour Luberon villages, starting with visiting Apt for Saturday market, then Saignon, Bonnieux, Lacoste, Menerbes, etc ending in Roussillon. This is Stu’s suggested route, but in the opposite direction to visit Apt market in the morning
Day 4 – Sunday. Lavender Route to Valensole (per Stu’s). Would it make sense to continue to Verdon from Valensole? Overnight Roussillon
Day 5. Monday – Start early at abbey Senanque. Lavender Route to Sault (per Stu’s)
Day 6. Tuesday. Drive through the countryside, south of the Luberon (per Stu’s) including Cocuron and ending in Lourmarin (perhaps dinner in Lourmarin. Overnight Roussillon
Day 7, Wednesday. Moving to St Remy. Les Baux, Light Show near Lex Baux overnight St Remy;
Day 8. Thursday. Camargue/Aigues mortes - any suggestion on how to visit Camargue park? I do am not sure I can do a park and Aigues Mortes in one day
Day 9 Friday. Not sure – St Remy/Arles – would like to see bullfighting where they do not kill bull.
Day 10 Saturday. TGV train back to Paris.

geetika

We also plan on following quite a few of Stu's suggestions, though I haven't actually planned out what we'll be doing on each specific day. But we're based at Sarrians in the same rental villa, I chose this location since it's sort of midway between the various places we wanted to visit. And for the actual villa too of course, it ticked all the boxes.

We'll probably do Sault and the Lavender Route on the last couple of days in the hope of finding more lavender/lavandin in bloom

helen63

Geetika,

I am planning for each day for several reasons. First, I would to to make sure to hit a couple of nice produce markets, I love them.

Second, Stu suggested try not to tour villages on Sunday and Monday, so I planning mostly for lavender fields on those days.

In addition, I would like to book a few restaurants for a lunch/dinner at certain locations, so this depends on where we tour on each day

I just bought Green Michelin guide, and it lists several nice driving routes, so I will adjust my plans a bit.