Need help finalizing intinerary for Luberon and Nice areas, please.
 

Hi helpful Fodorites!

I need some help finalizing our intinerary so I can make hotel reservations. Here is our basic plan. We will be there the last week of April.

Friday

Arrive in Montpellier at 1:15 p.m. on the train from Barcelona and get rental car. Stay near St. Remy that night. Do Arles that afternoon on the way.

Saturday

Do Avignon and St. Remy/Les Baux area
Stay in St. Remy area

Sunday

Head toward Luberon and do some things there that day. We could do some things in the morning near St. Remy and then drive toward Gordes in the afternoon. Not sure.

Stay near Gordes.

Monday

Do more Luberon.
Stay near Gordes.

Tuesday

Get to Aix around noon and see town and do some shopping and eating.

Stay east of Aix. Not sure where.

Wednesday

Drive to Riviera on A8. Drop down to Antibes and lunch there. Drive along coast etc.
Stay near St. Paul.

Thursday

Do St. Paul, Vence, Tourette area.
Stay near St. Paul.

Friday

Do area north of Nice in morning. Go to Nice old town in the afternoon to shop and eat dinner. Drive to Nice airport around 8 p.m. for a 10:30 p.m. flight.

Does this make sense? Any recommendations for changes? I know this will only give us time to touch the surface but that is all the time we have.

Please let me know what you think! Thanks!

Ginny

You could save time by visiting Avignon on your way to the Luberon rather than while you're in the St-Rémy area. You might also consider a brief stop in Nîmes before seeing Arles. Then the next day you could see Les Baux and the Alpilles area, and perhaps drive the short route up to Beaucaire and Tarascon.

The rest of your itinerary is well planned and should give you the maximum sightseeing enjoyment.

Hotel recommendation near Gordes: la Ferme de la Huppe, a converted farm with atmosphere and excellent food. Near St-Paul-de-Vence, check out the Hotel le Hameau; absolutely charming and very close to the village and the Fondation Maeght.

North of Aix is one of our favorite hotels, le Mas d'Entremont--it perches on a hill just above the city. Large rooms, excellent dining room; quiet.

Looks like a very sensible plan. Pretty drive on the way to Aix going through Bonnieux and Lourmarin.

A convenient place to stay near Aix is the Mas de Entrement. That's in Celony, to the northwest . Very easy to get into town from there and also to the A8. I don't get the point of trying to stay east of Aix.

Have you considered the AM market in l'Isle Sur la Sorgue on Sunday???

Only other thing is that with Barcelona, Avignon, Aix, Arles, Nice & if you go to Nimes as Underhill suggested - that might be too many cities. I'd want a little more countryside thrown in. I would drop Avignon (similar to Aix), and Nimes (similar/bigger than Arles) and add a driving tour in the Sault area (I think you have my "lavender route") or around the small wine villages in the Dentelles region (south of Vaison).

Stu Dudley

Anyone else have any suggestions regarding this plan?? Should we stay another night in the Luberon and one less night elsewhere? Any other recommendations for nice place near Aix if we end up staying there one night?

Stu,
I agree that we don't want to see too many of the "cities" so we will probably still see Arles, but will not see Nimes. Thanks for the reminder about the Sunday market.

Underhill and Ron,

Thanks for the tip on Mas D'entremont near Aix.

Ginny

If you do go to Arles, you must visit the Museum Arlaten, A treasure house of local history that was founded by the poet Mistral who refurbished the 16th century hotel Lavel-Castellane using his Nobel Prize money. There are costumes, artifacts, tableaux and so much more in so many rooms.