StuDudley

>>Gorges du Tarn: .... we’re a little claustrophic, so how do you think we’d do with caves?<<<

Then visit Aven Armand. It really isn't a cave - it is a large sink hole.

>>I’ve always wanted to see the cave art<<

None in the Gorges du Tarn area - only stalactite & mite type things. Visit the cave art in the Dordogne or at Pech Merle (our favorite), close to St Cirq Lapopie.

>>This next part is still not great…
Drive to St. Remy de Provence (3 ½ hr, perhaps stopping at Montpellier en route;<<<

Montpellier is difficult to get into & out of as a "stop along the way". The inner city is all "no cars" & parking is difficult - unless you know where to park.

>>>St. Remy de Provence: 1 night mostly just to catch our breath. (If we don’t stop, it is about a 5 hour drive to St. Paul de Vence from Gorges du Tarn, which seems grueling.)<<<

The drive from Ch de la Caze to St Paul is about 5 3/4 hrs. I would stop in Aix en Provence (3 3/4 hrs from Ch de la Caze) and have a nice relaxing lunch at Deux Garcons on the Cours Mirabeau. People watch. Reserve ahead. Explore Aix. Then next day, drive 2 hrs to St Paul.

Stu Dudley

StCirq

If you're claustrophobic, you won't do well in the prehistoric caves. Most involve sidling through narrow passageways with uneven stone floors, dim light, and low rock ceilings. You can of course see some prehistoric sites in the Dordogne that don't involve all that, but it will mostly be abris with, e.g., rock sculptures and geological stratifications - not what most people think of when they think "cave art." There's Rouffignac, where you take a petit train down into the cave, but it's almost all bear scratchings and skulls, not "art." The ceilings are higher than in most caves, though.