Need Help with Provence Itinerary
 

Hello Fodorites:

My husband and I will be traveling to Provence in early June for 15 days. We arrive Paris on 6/3 and plan to take the train to Avignon that day. We have until 6/6 at which time we have an apt rental in Rousillon until 6/13. We are scheduled to return to US from Paris on 6/17.

We are thinking of the following for our itinerary:

6/3-6/5 - Stay in Avignon historical center
Pick up car on 6/5 at train station and drive to Pont du Gard and then Uzes. Overnight in Uzes and then drive to Rousillon 6/6 for our week's apt rental and tour of Luberon villages.
6/13 - Drive to Aix for morning visit and then on to Cassis with an overnight there.
6/14-6/15 - St. Remy or Arles?
6/16 - We plan to take train from Avignon to Paris 6/16; overnight in Paris for early morning departure on 6/17. We do not plan to tour Paris on this trip.

What is your opinion on this itinerary? Would you do anything different? We are locked in to the dates and apt from 6/16-6/13. What would you do from 6/3-6/6 and then 6/13-6/17?

Don't miss historic Vaison la Romaine (important Roman excavations and the biggest Provencal market every Tuesday). There go on a wine tour with wine-uncovered.com or take a cooking class with cuisinedeprovence.com - that's what we did last year and had a grat time!

Arles gets my vote but I have not been to St. Remy so other posters must weigh in.

Rousillon is sweet! I am so jealous.

I offer these suggestions:

From 6/3-6/5, rent the car upon arrival at the Avignon station and stay in the Saint Rémy area and day trip to Avignon, Pont du Gard, Uzes, Arles, Les Baux, etc.

As you intend, tour the Luberon from Rousillon. As offered by nuggi, a day trip to Vaison la Romaine and the interesting villages nearby (Crestet, Séguret, etc) is feasible. You can also day trip to Aix and Cassis from Rousillon.

If it were my trip, I'd drive back to Paris, picking interesting places to stay en route on the nights of 6/14-6/15.

We could not find accommodation in Cassis in September so be sure to reserve. Take a boat to see the Calanques. We stayed in St. Remy and loved it, great market on wednesday. Lucky you!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Gave me something to think about staying in St Remy on 6/3/-6/5 instead of Avignon.
If we stay in St. Remy, then we would skip St. Remy on either 6/9 or 6/10. Should we visit Vaison la Romaine on market day? I've read that it is very crowded and hard to find parking.
Are we fitting too much in any day and would you skip or replace anything. Any suggestions on which town is the best to visit on Monday since most are closed up on Mondays.

We were thinking of the following day trips during our stay in Roussillon:
Sunday 6/7 Isle Sur La Sorgue (mkt)
Gordes, Abbay de Senaque
Monday 6/8 Goult (mkt)
Joucas, Sault, Venasque
(Stu Dudley's Lavender
field's route)
Tuesday 6/9 St. Remy, Les Baux
or Vaison La Romaine
(mkt) Seguret, Le
Crestet
Wed 6/10 St. Remy (mkt) or Vaison
La Romaine, Seguret,
Le Crestet
Thur 6/11 Rousillon mkt
Oppede, Menerbes,
La Coste, Bonnieux
Fri 6/12 Lourmarin, Cucuron,
Ansious, Saignon
Sat 6/13 Leave apt in Rousillon
and stop in Aix, go to
Cassis
6/14-6/16 Open (Arles, or take
Tuck's advice and drive
to Paris)