June in Provence
 

My husband and I are spending a week in Provence to celebrate our anniversary. We have rented a house in Sablet which is 5 km from Orange. We will have a car and are looking for some recommendations for good day trips, "must sees" and restaurants nearby. This is our first trip to the area and want to make the most of it but are looking for a somewhat relaxed itinerary. Would really appreciate any advice. Thanks!

You'll have a wonderful time; it's a gorgeous area. From Sablet, you must visit Vaison-la-Romaine. You have a beautiful drive to Orange and Carpentras. All the little towns are really pretty. Don't miss the Pont du Gard. It's spectacular. Take a picnic and spend time enjoying the area.

You will want to visit Avignon too. Beyond that visit a few web sites and see what is on offer by way of festivals and markets. You can easily drive to St. Remy and a bit farther to Arles and even the Camargue as a whole day trip. Arles is one of our favorite places. It really embodies the spirit of Provence to us.

There are a wealth of places to visit not far from where you'll be based. Work with a good guidebook and the Michelin #526 Orange map. You have the opportunity to visit areas to the East Vaison Romaine and hilltowns in that immediate vicinity, further south and East the Luberon towns Gordes, Rousillion, Abbaye Senanque Menerbes, etc.

Going South are the vineyards of the Chateauneuf du Pape, onto Avignon, further south to St. Remy, Les Baux, Arles and even the Camarque and west of Arles is Aigues Mortes (a charming walled town). Then to the West are the Pont du Gard, Uzes, Nimes.

So there are lots of choices, most have specific market days if this is something you might enjoy (I can do one, maybe two - some people can do markets daily, so your choice).

You can't go wrong with any of the areas and towns above, but set your schedule to travel in one direction daily instead of zig-zagging over the map. You'll have a wonderful time.

Hi

Worth visiting Pont du Gard and Uzes, too

Peter
The Languedoc Page
http://tlp.netfirms.com

....Beaumes de Venise is a charming
little town close to Sablet - drive
along the ridge to Domaine Durban for
a tasting of their wonderful muscats
in a setting that is amazing!

.....check out the website www.provence
beyond.com (used to be Beyond the French
Riviera) for some great ideas and lists
of all the markets.

A drive up Mont Ventoux on a clear day
is a worthy expenditure of time as is
the drive to Brantes.

......ah Provence!

You could visit Vaison-la-Romaine and the olive/market town of Nyons in one nice day trip from Sablet. Further north of Nyons lie the perched villages between Dieulefit on the east and Montélimar on the west. The latter is a pretty town, and you can visit one of the nougat factories to see the region's candy specialty being made.

An excellent restaurant in the area is in the medieval village of Le Poët-Laval, Les Hospitaliers. The village was once a stronghold of the Knights of Malta and is now home to a delightful hotel/restaurant. Eating out on the terrace is on of our very favorite things to do; both the food and the view are sublime. In the same area you can visit the Château de Grignan.

Also do-able on a day trip are the Ardèche river gorge and the Aven d'Orgnac, a spectacular cave.

Thanks for all of the great suggestions! I checked out the websites mentioned and they should be helpful as well. Another question, we are flying in and out of Nice and driving to Sablet. I checked out the route on mapquest and it looks to be about a three hour drive. Do you think this is accurate? Any suggestions for good places to stop along the way? We should have quite a bit of time on both the trip to and from to make a couple of stops. Thanks so much for all of the help!

You should probably plan on a bit more than 3 hours. The map sites seem to underestimate the time needed, and once you're off the autoroute things take more time.