provence
 

I am traveling to France this July with my wife and would like the best spot in Provence as a home base for day trips. Also any recomondations on specific places to stay would be great.

Provence covers lot of territory... are you more interested in being near the sea, or inland ? Do you want to visit historical monuments - Roman ruins, museums, etc., or are you more interested in charming perched villages?Are you interested in hotels, B&Bs or camping facilities ?

July and August are European vacation months, and much of Provence will already by booked - especially the seaside areas.

A good base for seeing quite a bit of "the heart of Provence" would be St. Remy, or Arles if you prefer a larger town. Avignon will be really busy because of the International Theatre Festival which takes place all month (hopefully = if the "intermittants" aren't still striking)
Patricia

ttt

I think that Arles would make a nice home base, it is central to the region and easily accessible via train down to the coast (Marseille) as well as to the other towns (Nimes, Avignon). Arles still has that small-town feeling and is full of charm and Van Gogh lore.

I have stayed at both the Hotel Voltaire and the Hotel Gauguin in Place Voltaire. They are economy hotels with decent accommodations (double = 80 euros) both within walking distance to the Roman Arena, Theatre and other town sites.

Last year while I was in Avignon, for the first time since it started, the famous festival was cancelled dues to a major strike..

Avignon or Villeneuve are a good base to travel around the areas...
But never drive in Avignon,the city is very old and the traffic is just horrible , just walk and park your car outsite the city walls..
Have a great time in my favourite's French region..
ciao,