Is staying Gordes a mistake?
 

We are going to be in Provence for 5 nights. I have booked 2 nights in Gordes Friday-Sunday Sept 16-18th. Arriving in the evening on Friday. Then 3 nights in a place just on the outskirts of St. Remy. We will have a car, and the hotel in Gordes provides free parking. I am just wondering if staying within Gordes will be too crazy. I imagine the evenings will be good after the throngs of day visitors leave. Any suggestions are welcome. Our budget is around 300 US per night, but not firm.

Thanks.
Tina

I should imagine that Gordes will be mad during the day but a lot better at night once the trippers have gone, so staying there and using it as a base for touring could work well, especially as you have free parking with the hotel.

certainly a much nicer way of seeing it than trying to drive and park there during the day.

Yes.
We visited Gordes when it was still not much known. It is a beautiful place.
Most of the tourists will be gone in the evenings so you will have the magic of the place for you.
Good move actually !

Are you staying in the tiny core of the town or in one of the numerous hotels just outside, but still a few minutes walking distance to the center? The center, while crowded during the day, is just one traffic roundabout. It will just take you a few minutes longer to get out. I used Gordes as a base. Driving out of the town after the breakfast to visit other places was not hard at all. The view of the town at sunrise seen from the south side of the valley is very pretty. See the movie, "A Good Year" for several shots of Gordes including the sunrise.

If you are in the center of Gordes on top of the hill, it will be spectacular at night. If you are down in the vineyards, I hope you will have a swimming pool to console you.

We stayed for a week in Gordes sever al years ago....it is a great base..we'd leave in the morning and site see around the area..we used Stu Dudleys Provence report it was excellent...Gorde is so beautiful ..great restaurants in the area for suppers.

Thank you rosieg, kerouac , ,whathello, and annhig. Great input!

Agree with the others. Gordes is a great place to spend your time in the mornings & evenings. Horrible mid-day especially market day (Tues).
Stu Dudley

We recently did 4 nights in Roussilion, 5 in St Remy and 2 in Avignon. Gordes is fine as long as you have parking. Numerous hotels in Gordes however are more than a short walk to the center as you are on a rather steep hill.

Mjs may I ask where you stayed in each area, and if you had a favorite location or hotel?

A special thank you to Stu Dudley. You emailed me your itinerary for Provence and it is fantastic. Thanks for your willingness to help other travelers. You are so generous!
Tina

We stayed at the Novotel hotel In Avignon as it was inexpensive and right next to the train station for 2 nights as it was our first stop in Europe for this trip after a SFO-CDG flight and TGV down south. It was fine. We stayed at Le Clos de la Glycine in Roussillon which had free parking and decent 3 star quality accommodations. Easy to get in and out of town. Stayed at the Hotel Le Vallon de Valrugues & Spa - Saint-Remy-de-Provence. Nice hotel about a 10-15 min walk to town. Jr suites particularly nice. Easy parking. I think if I had to pick one location it would be St Remy and I liked the hotel.