Need some more direction for Provence
 

I have read some of the threads on Provence and have a Michelin Guide with me. Like the Dordogne, the more I read the less I know.

Do I understand from what you have said here, that I can base myself in Arles and see everything from there?
Or is there another place(s) where we should go after Arles to get the Eastern portion of Provence? I have no desire to see Monaco, Nice, or the Riviera.

We have a car which will be dropped off in Avignon by the way so we can take a train back to Paris for the last 10 days.

These are the places I have marked as musts..if you know of others please let me know.

Les baux
arles/avignon?
aix en provence
luberon area (not sure even where that is..or if it is just a driving program through the area)
st. remy de provence?
orange? and the cotes du rhone?

We should have a week or more in this area the way I am planning it.

I welcome any help from all of you..I can research on my own as long as I get some direction. ..on the other hand I love to take advantage of your research.

Stu I have your itinerary. Will study it more when I get a better feel for the area.

Thanks

Lois, if you have a week in Provence I'd suggest dividing it up between two places, one in the east and one in the west. Otherwise you're setting yourself up for way too much driving and backtracking. You CAN'T stay in Arles and see everything from there because Provence is too large. A better use of your time is to base yourself in Arles or thereabouts and see Le Baux, Avignon, and St. Remy, all of which are nearby. You can throw in Nimes, Uzes, and Aigue-Mortes as well, because those are easier distances. Then pack up and stay in the area of Aix and sightsee around there. You can visit Moustiers, Cassis, Marseille, among other places from a base in Aix. A very good map to have is Michelin #113 for Provence and Camargue.

Study my itinerary now, and it will give you more of a feel for the area.

Arles is in the southwest corner of Provence and a good base for visiting St Remy, Les Bux, Avignon, etc. It's not a great base for visiting the Luberon around Gordes, Bonnieux, Roussillon, Lavender fields, and not Vaison (skip Orange) or Aix. If you have a week, I would split it up with 3-4 days in Arles, and 3-4 days near/in Gordes. I would not stay near Aix, unless you want to visit Marsailles, St Tropez, Cassis, etc.

Stu Dudley

I would visit some of the perched villages, such as Gordes, Bonnieux, Saignon, Roussilon, Menerbes. Also a bit north of Carpentras are Vaison la Romaine, Venasque. And if you are there on a Sunday, don't miss the large market at Isle-sur-la Sorgue.
Also, I'd look at a more reader-friendly Provence guide book than Michelin; I have the one for Normandy for an upcoming trip, and it's so thorough, it's almost overwhelming. To be sure, it's a valuable resource, but my impression when reading one is that I'd have to stay 3 months in the area to make a dent in it! Just MO!

I highly recommend a great little self-published guidebook called "Provence Byways."
http://www.provencebyways.com

We used this for a visit to the Luberon a couple of years ago and found it full of great tips and tours.

We stayed in Bonnieux at a B&B called Le Clos du Buis, which was a beautiful place, and a good base for touring the area.
http://www.le-clos-du-buis.com

Grandmere...and I thought it was ME. Michelin is overwhelming but I know when we get there I will love it, so I punish myself now.

Help..I can't find Gordes..it's in the Luberon isn't it?

Thanks so much for the help. I will read your itinerary Stu...once I find this place.

Next year hopefully I will be helping others...

I'm not in front of a map now, but I think I'd find Cavaillon (east of Avignon), and go northeast, slowly on map!

I like to stay in Bonnieux. Roads go out in four directions, so you can loup around when visiting villages in the area. The restaurant La Feniere [thank you, Stu!] is 20 minutes away.

I also like Le Fournil.

Finding the Luberon villages on the Michelin map is difficult because they're right above a fold--but you can find them ultimately.

I agree about basing in two parts of western Provence, Arles being one. The other could be in the Luberon, which has more than enough to occupy you for a few days (especially with the markets). On the other hand, I like the idea of staying in Aix and making a day trip over to the charming village of Moustiers-Ste-Marie, as mermaid suggested. That would be a trip of at least half a day, through beautiful country.

If you decide to spend a night or two in the Luberon, I strongly recommend La Ferme de la Huppe, a converted, rustic farmhouse with a fine restaurant. It's on a road just below Gordes.

We stayed at L'HACIENDA, Isle sur la Sorgue, a B&B own&operated by an English couple. tel. 33.90.38.24.64.
Location ideal for Arles,Avignon,etc,breakfast is included, other meals optional.Les Baux
has 4* restaurant for lunch too.
Ideal location, great hosts.

Please tell me Provence map I need.....I have been using bits and pieces from the Green guide.
Thanks. I will order.

Louisco.

Get map #113, like I indicated in the itinerary I sent you

Stu Dudley

Lois, I mentioned it to you: Michelin #113. Although that one doesn't go to Moustiers; you need another map for that but I don't have the number. #113 covers Aix, Arles, Avignon, Nimes, Marseille, Montelimar and Montpellier. That should do you.

Map #114 will cover Aix to Moustiers. this is on a scale of 1/100,000 which makes it easier to read for us over 50 people.

Stu Dudley

I don't think we will go to Marseilles...so is 113 enough?

Lois, when we went to Provence, we managed quite well on the #113. It was only when we took the daytrip up to Moustiers from the Aix area that we needed to borrow our innkeeper's map. I think for the areas you want to visit, you'll be fine with it. I think we bought ours either at Borders Books or Barnes and Nobles.

It would be very useful to have the complete Michelin map that covers Provence from east to west. You never know when you might need it.

You might be on to something, Underhill. Lois has the travel bug--I think it would be just like her to work her way to the end of the map and over the edge! :D

If you are going to more than one area, you need the Michelin France, and the Michelin Provence, Cote D'Or, or Dordogne, or Brittany and so on like I need if I'm going to those places as the area map will show you the smaller villages that the whole France does not.

Help!! I have just read this message and thought I was dreaming. It addresses my exact concerns. We have 6 full days in Provence and I have booked us into a hotel in Arles for the entire time. We don't want to visit Avignon or Aix but do want to see les Baux,the Cotes du Rhone, and the Luberon. When I told my husband that I was thinking about splitting the stay into 2 locations he hit the roof! He thinks I'm obsessed with the planning. If we stay in Arles are we doomed?

It will be ok. There is lots to see in Arles alone and you must visit the Camargue, Uzes, St Remy.

No, no, no, jazzyred! You're not in trouble since you want to visit sites that are convenient to Arles. In our case, we stayed near Arles and never ventured farther south than Aigues-Mortes, or farther north than Ales. So it was practical.

However, we also wanted to see Moustiers, which isn't even on the #113 map, and that would have been a wildly <i>impractical</i> place to see from Arles! That's why we did two locations.

I think you can't see everything in Provence from Arles, but then again you can't see everything in Provence anyway! That would take years, what with all Provence has to offer. :D

nonafelice. Isn't that the place that also gives cooking lessons?

As Colette, the famous writer says, there's not one provence, referring to the various regions where the landscapes change. After thirteen visits, there's always something new, it's like a lover you never tire of.

Thank you cigalechanta et al. for your reassurances. I do like your Colette reference. At this point I'm so stressed planning this trip with only ,/';'234###'s from the non-planner that I think I might just take a lover with with me instead!!

The landscape changes was Colette.
The rest was mimi :)

We used the Michelin Red/Orange #526 map (formerly the Yellow #245) that gave us all the towns and roads we needed for our trip. The Luberon towns of Gordes, Rousillion, Bonnieux, Menerbes and others are to the right of Cavillion (off Rt.99, east of St. Remy)... believe (without the map in front of me) is Rt. 22.

Arles or St. Remy is one good base, the other would be Aix-en-Provence.

&gt;&gt;&gt;We used the Michelin Red/Orange #526 map (formerly the Yellow #245&lt;&lt;

Note that these 500 series maps are on a 1/200,000 scale, while the other maps mentioned are 1/160,000, so you will do a little more squinting on the 500 series. They are bigger maps, however, and cover a larger surface area.

Stu Dudley

Cigalechanta,
Re: &quot;Isn't that the place that also gives cooking lessons?&quot;

If you mean Le Clos du Buis, the web site does say they offer the possibility of cooking lessons, although I don't recall them being offered when we were there. I will say that our host Pierre was a fantastic cook. We had a very memorable dinner there one evening.

Our web album photos of Le Clos du Buis start here:
www.aultdesign.com/FrancePGA/Photos/source/4.htm

nonafelice, those are wonderful photos. I love the one of the campanile. Great shot. I sat waiting for friend by the same moss waterwheel in Isle. That gave my spirts a boost on this snowy cold night.

jazzyred...wish you lived near me...we could plan together. My non-planner is letting me do the whole thing except for the car...he is going to take care of that.

Every once in a while I throw something by him ...just to see his reaction. If he objects, I drop it hoping he will forget where I said we were going.

I don't know what I would do if I didn't have this group.

I have also made 5 nights reservation in Arles. For one day I was planning to see the Abbeye de Senanque and Gordes. Are these too far from Arles for a daytrip?? The Michelin website says it would just take about an hour and 15 minutes to Gordes, and I thought the abbey was not too far from there.

mde, that's about right. Gordes is linked to Senanque by a narrow road.

Gordes itself won't take much time; you can easily visit Roussillon and M&eacute;nerbes the same day.

&gt;&gt;&gt;Gordes itself won't take much time; you can easily visit Roussillon and M&eacute;nerbes the same day.&lt;&lt;

Gordes won't take much time if you just limit yourself to touring the &quot;top&quot; of Gordes around the Chateau. If you want to see some interesting areas in Gordes, follow this walk - it's from my 20+ page itinerary on Provence that I've been sending to people.

You should park in the large lot (pay about 3E) down below the town (steep walk up). Explore this village thoroughly – not just the areas directly around the Chateau. There is an ATM in town on the side of the chateau where the outdoor caf&eacute;’s are located. On Tuesday morning there is an outdoor market in Gordes. It’s a little touristy, but quite good. There is a GR (walking route) that goes through this village and it passes by the lower sections of Gordes. Try to pick it up &amp; follow it down hill. The route is marked by a red &amp; white stripe, usually painted on the sides of buildings. As you face the Chateau with your back to the main entrance to town (the steep hill), there are several shops on your right (look for a Pharmacy) and follow one of these streets down to where it passes a church. The road turns right just past this church (there is a GR mark where it turns right). (If you go straight past the church, where is a wonderful panoramic view - look for the “Pont de Vue” sign). If you follow the GR down hill (after you have turned right past the church) you will see an old medieval washing basin and also get a close-up view of how they built these perched villages on top of rock outcroppings. It’s about a 10 minute walk from the center of Gordes down to this wash basin. There is a nice shaded area near the basins where you can relax &amp; enjoy the surroundings. This is a very interesting walk.

Stu Dudley

I agree with Underhill that you can drive to Gordes/Senanque &amp; visit other villages in the Luberon on an easy day-trip