Hi everyone... still not positive about my itinerary, but am leaning towards staying all my 5 night outside of Paris, in the Provence region. So, with that in mind, I have some specific questions...

1. Should I stay all 5 nights in one town? Or split 3 and 2? We will have a car...

2. Which town/towns would you recommend? Right now I'm leaning towards Arles -- I want to be in a place where I can walk around at night, have dinner in a cafe, a drink somewhere else - a place with lots of little town squares, etc. I am torn about the restfullness of being in a middle of nowhere though.... but would hate to have to drive to dinner each night...

3. What is St. Remy like size-wise? Should I rethink that as a base?

4. Can you bike through the region? Do you share the road with cars? Is it scary?

5. We are getting to town on Saturday May 8th - which I understand is a holiday weekend in France - VE Day? What can I expect? Things to be closed?

Thanks for all your help, never did I think planning this would be so confusing, every time I read someone else's trip report I get a million new ideas! And all of them wonderful!

~ Cindy

Definitely think about St-Rémy as a base; it's a great little town for walking, with good restaurants and shops. Its location lets you take off in any direction without the hassle of city traffic. It's also a good area for biking, and you do indeed share the road with the cars.

What do you want to see in Provence? That would make a difference about where to base and for how long.

Answers to your questions -
1. Split between 3 and 2. It's always so fun to stay at a different town.

2. Arles and Cannes.

3. St. Remy is a cute, small town. I would stay somewhere else overnight.. Cannes is great for walking in the evening after dinner.. walk along the Promenade, the old city, the new city, window shop, etc.

4. Yes, you can bike around the region.

5. I've been to Europe during a holiday. Most stores are closed; but some museums are opened. Check the websites before leaving.

I would stay in one place for the five days... and St Remy is a good choice. There is plenty of "nightlife" in the way of restaurants, cafes, galleries and shops that stay open in the evenings. We don't consider it "in the middle of nowhere"....
Arles is busier, has more traffic, but is only about a 25 minute drive from St Remy if you wish to explore the nightlife there.

I would not suggest going over to Cannes, as you only have five days.

There is plenty of hiking and biking in the area - yes, you share the roads with drivers, but we're really good about sharing with bikers - there are so many here who are practicing for the Tour de France (joke).

If you'd like a list of hotels or restaurants for St Remy, you can email me ([email protected]) - I'm still having issues with cut and paste.

Patricia

Cindy -
My husband and I are doing a similar trip soon and have settled on splitting our time between the Luberon and Les Alpilles. We're staying at Le Mas Perreal in the Luberon, but I haven't yet found a place in the Alpilles -

PBProvence - I'm going to take you up on your offer to email you for your list if that is OK.