Please review my Provence itinerary--- again!
 

Thanks for all the help with my previous posts. Here's my revised plan for our trip to Provence.

The facts: Husband and myself, mid 50's, into good food and wine, markets, photo op's, country drives and seeing the sights. Leaving from Albuquerque on Sept. 21. After Provence, we drive to Le Cinque Terre and then Nice; flying home from Nice.

Arrive Friday 09/22 in Maillane (Mas de La Christine - just outside of St. Remy).

Sat: Market in Apt; Then drive south of N100 to Lourmarin, Bonnieux, Lacoste, Menerbes (anything not to miss in this area?) We would like to see the synagogue in Cavaillon if possible.

Sun: L'Isle Sur.. possible lunch at Mas de Cure Bourse (reservations?) Drive in the area of Gordes, Roussillon, Goult (should we take D4 all the way around?)

Mon: Pont du Gard, Avignon (lunch?), Chat.d Pape

Tues: Arles (L'Atelier)

Wed: Glanum, St. Remy market, Les Baux (La Riboto?)

Thurs: market in Maillane, then drive to Aix-en-Provence. Stay at Hotel Cezanne. Spend afternoon and night in Aix.

Friday... Drive to Italy!

So, what do you think? Is it doable? Or will we be so exhausted we won't be able to hike the CT?

Thanks in advance,
Deb

I had a look thru your proposed itinerary, and think this is far too rushed. My guess is that you would - as you fear - arrive at Cinque Terre ready only to flop. Trying to 'do' Avignon with merely a lunch stop, squeezed in between Pont-du-Gard and Ch.N-de-Papes will just lead to a very fraught day. Slow down, avoid the N-Roads, stick to D-Roads and lesser by-ways, allow two or three days for the drive from Aix to Italy, and try to get to know hidden Europe. hope these few thoughts help.
Nicky
www.hiddeneurope.co.uk

Thanks for your thoughts, hiddeneurope, but we really don't like to check in and out of hotels for 3 nights. We prefer to stay in one place for a while and do day trips around the area whenever possible.

We are fairly seasoned travelers and are good at covering a fair amount of ground in 1 day, but don't want to suffer "burn out".

Anyone else have an opinion??

I'm not familiar with all the towns you name, but it does sound like a lot. What city do you fly into? Nice? It sounds like a lot of driving.

This past May, we visited the Cinque Terre, making it a day-trip from our base hotel at Santa Margherita Ligure, which is a charming small city. I posted a thread about the Cinque Terre which is still active and gives good tips about the hiking itself. It's fairly strenuous between certain cities. See the thread for details.

We also stayed in Nice for three nights and loved it there. Easy day-trips to Antibes and St. Jean Cap Ferrat.

I've posted trip reports for each city, and you can find them by clicking on my name above.

Have fun!

Thanks Maureen,

Your thread on CT was very helpful. We will have 3 nights there and then 3 nights in Nice.... after a week in Provence. Flying in and out of Nice. The hotels have already been booked and the car rented, so our basic plans are set.

Now we're just trying to pin down the most expediant way to use our 6 days in Provence.

Deb

Deb,

Please take notes, collect business cards from wonderful restaurants, and write a trip report.

Have a great trip! We loved the Italian and French Riviera.

Grrr... my entire answer just got wiped out. I'll try again.

Saturday looks good. If you want to see the synagogue in Cavaillon, you need to go the bookstore around the corner - they have the key and conduct tours (unless things have changed in the past couple of months). It's definitely worth a visit, especially the bakery under the synagogue where the women sat to listen to the service.

Sunday looks fine - I'd simply suggest driving by Gordes and taking a photo. I don't find much of interest in the village itself. Roussillon is worth spending some time in, and taking the tour of the ochre quarries (wear old shoes) if you think you would enjoy that. Stop in Lumières on the way - perhaps Edith Mézard's shop is open - beautiful linens.

Monday - I'd suggest that after the Pont du Gard, you lunch in Uzès - about ten minutes away. Much more interesting and charming than Avignon. Châteauneuf seems a bit too much to do on the same day, and I'm not sure how many vineyards will be open on a Monday.

I can suggest a restaurant in Uzès - although I'm not sure if it's open on Monday either.
Les Fontaines
Charming small restaurant in the center of town. Tiny indoor patio area among the ruined walls. Good eclectic mix of food... sometimes a Moroccan tahjine, sometimes provençal.
6, rue Entre les Tours Tel: 04 66 22 41 20


the rest of the days look fine.
If you're not sure you can spend a full day in Arles, you might enjoy a 40 minute drive from Arles down to Aigues Mortes in the Camargue. A Small walled city - departure point for the Crusades. One of my favorite places to spend an afternoon.

Patricia

Just noticed that you're leaving from Albuquerque.. my daughter lives in Santa Fe. Hope you haven't had any of the flooding I've been hearing about !

Patricia

Thank you Patricia! That's the kind of info I needed! I will rethink the Monday plans and maybe switch days around. I only planned Arles for Tuesday to give us a bit of a breather. Maybe picnic by the pool that evening to relax (or rent bikes and bike around Maillane if we aren't too pooped!)

Yes, it rained all night last night and things are quite drenched here. We've had a lot of flooding this summer, very unusual for those of us in the desert.

If you need me to deliver anything to your daughter, I'd be happy to bring it back with me! And of course, when you come to visit her, let me know if you'll be in Albuquerque and I'll share all our favorite restaurants.

Thaks again, you've been most helpful!
Deb

Small world story-- we are looking at a college in Santa Fe for our son! It looks great, the College of Santa Fe, but probably too tiny. Anyway, we live in Colorado and love New Mexico, too!

Deb,

Thanks for the kind offer, but at the moment I can't think of anything I need to send her.... but you never know !

If you email me I'll give you my phone number, so if you're in Maussane-
les-Alpilles (two minutes from Les Baux) one day you can stop by for a drink.


Patricia
[email protected]

Thanks Patricia.. a very kind offer .... and one I will take you up on!

Maureen, the College of SF is indeed fairly small, but supposed to be a good school. SF is a great town, but very expensive to live in.

Hi Deb,

I have a couple of suggestions about your plan, but much of how your days will evolve depend on your own interest and what places and activities you most enjoy. I'd encourage you to keep your schedule flexible to take advantage of things you didn't expect. This may be a place you enjoy so much that you want to stay longer. Or an intriguing dirt road that beckons you to visit. Have a general plan that's still flexible. If you do make some lunch or dinner reservations, that will give you some structure.

On Saturday, I'd encourage you to get over to Apt as early as possible. Parking may be tough. And then the market is really big. We have no problem at all arriving at 9 am and enjoying the market and all the shops till a 12:30 lunch. You could have lunch in Apt or in one of the villages you mention. Keep in mind that Lourmarin is on the other side of the Luberon and it will take you 45 minutes to get over there and back...

We have done a Pont du Gard and Avignon day before. Pont du Gard in the morning (I'd allow about two hours), then drive to Avignon for lunch, Palais de Papes and exploring in the afternoon. I'm not sure about heading back up to Chateauneuf de Pape, but it really depends on how much you get into Avignon. (It's not really an easy zip in/zip out for lunch kind of place...)

For Wednesday, I'd suggest going to the St. Remy market first. According to this website http://www.saintremy-de-provence.com...ais/patrim.htm Glanum opens at 10:30 am in September. You'll also want to look at the monuments on the road and probably a peek at Mausole St. Paul as well. I'd allow an hour for Glanum, more if you really like this type of archaeological site. If you do all this first, you could end up missing most of the market. Just a thought... You may have seen enough of a market and bought what you wanted in Apt.

Take the road from St. Remy up past Glanum and into the Alpilles. It's truly beautiful!

And I second those who encourage you to take the back roads. Don't try to do so much that you don't have time to stop for a leisurely coffee or make that unexpected detour.

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. We are leaving next Wednesday and will be in Bonnieux from 9/14 until 10/1. Maybe we will even see you-- we will actually be at L'Isle sur la Sorgue that Sunday. (my e-mail is [email protected])

Kathy

Sounds like you have done an enormous amount of work.. I am also heading to France 10/3 with a girlfriend. We are flying to Nice, spending 2 days in Menton then driving to Valencia Spain. 10 days total for the trip.
Had thought of stopping in Avingnon 1 night, but all the talk here is making me think otherwise. Perhaps we'll spend a night in Arles instead. I'm checking out all the cities you have all been talking about!! thanks for the tips!

DonaM,

Driving from Nice to Spain, I would suggest Arles over Avignon. Just had dinner two weeks ago in a new place in the center of Arles that is also a small hotel. Don't know your budget, but this might interest you...
http://www.ruebarreme.fr

Patricia

Kathy,

Thanks for all the tips. 2 weeks in the Luberon sounds wonderful. Have a fantastic trip. Who knows... maybe we'll bump into you in Isle Sur la Sorque. I'll be the one with my mouth wide open trying to decide what to look at first!

Thanks to everyone for your input. How did we all survive before the internet??

Deb

Thanks Patricia.. I'll check it out.
Are you familiar with
Hotel le mas de la chapelle Arles?
Trying to plan our route now and where we'll stop..
Also found Hotel du Forum in the center of town
and a farm house in St. Remy. So many beautiful places, so little time!! Can't wait!

Re: Atelier - they're not open on Tues. I had intended to go there that day, myself, and had to rearrange my schedule to go on a Wednesday. Be sure to book in advance.

Thanks ejb5,

That's what I was wondering. Do you happen to know what days they ARE open (for lunch as well)... Monday? It's so hard to plan a trip around these things! Do you know if reservations are necessary for lunch?

Deb

If you are in Nice, you must see Ez Village. Take the bus from Nice. Do not drive -- roads are crazy and parking is limited. St. Paul de Venz is also beautiful. Each can be done in a 1/2 day or less.