Provence base
 

Looking at some ideas for end of May, mostly through June.

Would fly into Nice, out of Marseille. But after a day in Nice, would fly to Corsica for a week then return to Nice and then drive west, first around Gorge du Verdon, spend a night nearby (Moustiers Ste. Marie/Aiguines) and then drive towards Gordes. I was thinking of 2 nights in one of the villages up there and then finally down to Aix for 4 nights.

I've visited Avignon, Nimes, Arles on a previous trip. So I would day trip out of Aix to maybe Marseille or Cassis. I'd have to do more research to figure out what would be within an hour or so drive from Aix.

Or would it be better to spend more nights in Gordes before moving south to Aix?

I hate to say it, but Gordes was so mobbed with tourists when I was there this last May that I didn't even try to park. :( Have you seen my very, very long just-completed trip report? You might find some ideas in there.
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...rance-1669406/

We've visited Gordes many times - and it has never been mobbed when we were there (except when we purposely visited on Market day). We've stayed in a gite close to Gordes for 4 weeks (2 trips) - in late June. The trick is to get there by 8:30am, have coffee & croissants, visit the village including the area at the base of the town where there is a lavoire, then get outa there by 10:30 when it starts to get infested by the hordes. There are not really many hotels inside of Gordes. Most are downhill or on the route to Senanque - so you won't need to drive through Gordes to get to/from your hotel/B&B.

I love Aix - but it does not really make a good base for visiting the sites most people want to visit in Provence. If you have already visited Avignon, Arles, & Nimes - the Luberon/Gordes would make a good base.

Stu Dudley

Not much is going on in the evenings in the Luberon hill villages.

Cassis is 1 1/2 hrs from Gordes. From Aix it is 40 mins + 10 mins retrieving the car. So it is 40 mins extra (each way) to visit Cassis from Gordes. We've spent 22 weeks in Provence - and seldom visit the coast while we have been there. Only 1 night in Cassis, 1 day trip to Marseilles, & another day trip to Cassis. IMO, Cassis is a 1 to 1 1/2 visit at the max. Much longer of you take a boat trip along the Calenques. You might see a lot of lavender blooming in the Luberon.

Stu Dudley

We stayed for a week in the Vaucluse part of Provence, on the border to Drôme and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
To be precise: On the plateau near Sault. It was a bit later in the year, end of July, and there was not much more to do than to literally sit in square kilometers of lavender in bloom and drink wine and eat nougat from Sault.
Well, in reality we also did several trips like up Mont Ventoux or to Avignon or to Sénaque.
And the Gorges de las Nesque! The only road that follows the canyon is D942 - and that's one of the prettiest scenic roads in Europe. Though not exactly wide as a freeway ;-)
But the area around Sault did not have any tourism to speak of.
Though I don't know if you will already see lavender in bloom in June up there...

We loved AquaBella in Aix:
https://www.aquabella.fr/en/

There is a pool (heated by a spring), resto, and an almost next-door parking garage. Since we didn't drive, I don't know any details about the garage.We took van tours to Gordes, Roussillon, Lourmarin, Bonnieux, and 2 other places on one; and Cassis on the other.

Please advise how it all works out for you!

Remember that Gordes is a hill village - so walks will be uphill to get there. There is a very large car park at the bottom of the village that's a 10-15 min uphill walk. That's where the tour buses park also. It's also where our recycle receptacles were located when we stayed nearby.

On our last 2-3 trips to the Luberon, the lavender around Senasque Abbey was not very robust during the latter part of June. However, the lavendin on the way to Bonnieux was fabulous.

Do you have my 35 page Provence & Cote d'Azur itinerary??? I've sent it to over 3,000 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail

Stu Dudley

Yes though Google Maps has some indication of the slopes walking to the north or to the west. May not be accurate but they put something in there about the incline.

I contacted a site which rents several different apts. around town and none of them have dedicated parking. The guy seemed to imply it would not be problems parking for people who stayed at his places. I didn't ask specifically whether it would be hard to park say if you visited another town and return around 1 PM or so.

Other places outside of the center seem to have dedicated parking.

You may be able to upload your guide, unless a file size limitation, onto a post. This forum supports attachment of PDF and DOC files.

For itineraries, I only work with e-mail requests sent to me. I can't evey copy & paste anything from my word document - everything runs together with no paragraph breaks, lists, etc. It is a garbled mess. Here is the first page (of 35) of my itinerary.

space, spaceCote d’Azur & Provence Itinerary =leftI’ve put together several options. You can “pick and choose” to customize your own itinerary based on how much driving & lingering you want to do. I’ve started in the Riviera, then on to Provence. This is intended to be about a 12-16 day trip if you do most of the things on this “basic” itinerary. If you want to include St Tropez, Aix en Provence, Cassis, Ardeche, or more time in the Nice Hinterland - then add extra days. However, don’t make a “mad dash” through southeast France. This is an area where you’ll want to slow down and spend a day at the beach in St Tropez or Nice, or discover a small remote village that “grabs you” (like Brantes or Seguret) and spend more time than you anticipated exploring a village. “People watching” at the Cours Saleya in Nice and on the Cours Mirabeau in Aix is as much of a part of exploring this region as are sites like the Pont du Gard or the Palais des Papes. If you’ll be in Provence when the lavender is blooming, then I would add an extra day to the itinerary just to see this. =left =leftSince ’82, we’ve spent well over 150 weeks vacationing in France. What we’ve discovered via “mistakes” is that there is much, much more stuff to do & see in a single region in France than we ever anticipated – especially if you really want to “soak up” what an area can offer. We live in the San Francisco Bay Area - which probably has more “places of interest” than any area in the US. But even with our Bay Area experiences, in the past we’ve “underestimated” the amount of time it takes to adequately explore a region in France. France has more castles, medieval/historic cities, cute villages, majestic cathedrals, pre-historic caves, Roman ruins, large & small museums, beautiful coastline, volcanoes, wonderful gorges, wineries, outdoor markets, and breathtaking mountains than we normally find in a concentrated region in the USA – and France is actually smaller than Texas. A piece of advice I suggest to almost everyone is to slow down and don’t try to “see it all” on a short visit. Keep travel time between sites to a minimum – spend more time “being there” and less time “getting there”. =left =leftWe’ve vacationed in the Cote d’Azur & Provence for about 43 weeks since ’99, when we retired early so we could travel more. All of our visits have been in the months of May, June, early July, September, and early October. In 2016 we spent 2 weeks in the Ardeche - Provence's northwestern neighbor =left =leftItinerary Overview=left =leftCote d’Azur (Riviera) 6-8 days=leftStay 3-4 days in Nice, then 3-4 days in St Paul de Vence. You could spend the entire 6-8 days in either place, but you’ll be driving in/out of Nice more than you would like, and it is not especially easy or scenic. If you stay in Nice for your only base in the Riviera, do not rent a car for the first 3 days – visit the coastal towns by train or bus then. On the 4th day, pick up a car at the train station or downtown to visit the Nice Hinterland (backcountry) and some of the coastal towns you can’t get to by train/bus (Biot, Mougins).=left =leftProvence 5-7 days=leftIf you choose to stay in Provence for more than 5 days, perhaps stay 3 nights in the Luberon near Gordes then 2-3 nights in St Remy. This will reduce the day trip driving. =left =leftBest time of year to visit the Cote d’Azur & ProvenceThe Lavender blooms in late June & July in Provence – depending on the weather. It was blooming in mid-June in ’03 & '14, but really didn’t get going till the second week in July in ’10. Red poppies bloom in mid-May through June – but there were still some around in early July of ’10. The best time to visit Provence (in my opinion) is in late June & early July when the Lavender & yellow Broom are in bloom, and the vineyards are at their best, and the daylight hours are long. We’ve been in Provence as late as July 16 and the crowds were tolerable. I would not visit in late July or August because of the crowds at sites and also traffic on the road. September is pleasant, but if France has a dry & hot year, vegetation will start to dry up a tad. In early October, we encountered chilly nights (ice on windshield) but sunny & somewhat warm days. The first 2 weeks of June in ’03 were extremely hot (too hot). The first 2 weeks of June in ’07 and the 3rd week in ‘10 were chilly & too cold to dine outside in the evening. In '14 the high temperatures the first week of June in Nice was a very pleasant 21. By the second week it was in the mid to low 30s - too hot. It was even hotter in Provence - 40. By the start of the third week of June '14, the high temps had dropped to 24 and there was some cloudy days and even some rain, but overall not particularly humid. The last week of June was perfect. Net-net: weather will vary from year to year so there are no guarantees.
Stu Dudley

Not copy and paste, click Manage Attachments and it will prompt you to choose the file, the same one that you'd email.

Now if you have info. you want to protect, in case someone would post it somewhere else and claim it as their own, which is done with pictures posted online, maybe it wouldn't be best to post. Just thought this would be a good efficient way to convey that info, then people could download it.

We loved Bonnieux as a base. Lots of great restaurants. Check out Chapters Five - Eight of my 2016 trip report link below - (lots of photos, too).

https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/france-2016/

Photo below of countryside from Bonnieux as we walked to dinner ...

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8e5385fe46.jpg

Provence
 

See attached

I agree with Cowboy about the village of Sault and the nearby area. We were there this past July to see the lavender fields, which were gorgeous! it is not a heavily touristed area, surprisingly. We had lunch at the restaurant on the promenade in Sault: I think it's called Café Promenade. it was busy but not crazy busy. We got a table right away, and had a delicious lunch. There are some gift shops in Sault but not as many as there are in other villages. We got maps from the TI and walked along the lavender route for a short distance, and then we did a 5 km lavender drive. Saw only a few tourists. The drive back to my daughter's house near Salon de Provence was gorgeous. I don't know what route we were on, but it is one of the most stunning drives we have taken in Provence.

Looks good, though when I first tried to click on it, it opened a tab to try to get me to update flash.

Something I'm going to report to the moderators.

Second time I clicked it downloaded fine and opened fine.

Looks nice. So are most of the accommodations away from where the restaurants are, like in Gordes?

As someone who adores Aix and has spent a good bit of time there, I'd like to suggest an alternative to staying in the center city if you intend to have a car. We have stayed several times at a lovely b&b about a five-minute drive down one road that terminates at the ring road around the core of Aix, right at a large, multilevel parking garage. It's a five-minute walk from there to the newly restored pl des Precheurs, and another two minutes to the Cours; places in the northern part of the town, like the pl de l'Hotel de Ville, are even shorter walks.

http://lefourdesbanes.com/

We've done day trips up to the Luberon, down to Cassis and Sanary-sur-Mer, up to the Vaison area and the Dentelles, out to Simiane-la-Rotonde and Viens, and southeast to Ramatuelle, all from Aix and without any difficulty; the drives to the more distant places are their own reward through beautiful scenery (getting to Ramatuelle up the mountain with the lacets and cliffs aged me a bit, I admit).

It really depends on what you want to do with your time in Provence. You mentioned the possibility of dividing your time between a stay in the Luberon and a few days in Aix. That might be a great idea. One thought: if you reverse your itinerary and head west from the Luberon and/or Aix, you might be late enough to enjoy a drive through the Valensole plateau. We've had great luck with the lavendin in the third week of June--not full bloom but pretty close.

So I booked an apt. above Villefranche sur Mer for 4 nights, as opposed to Nice, to base for visits around Nice and points East. I've been to most of the towns in the Cote d'Azur but never been as far as Menton. The views look terrific over the bay, may get to hike around Cap Ferrat.

After that, the idea is to drive to Gorges du Verdon, stay overnight around there, then continue on to one of the Luberon villages for 3 nights, then finish up with 3 nights in Aix or somewhere within an hour drive of MRS, from which I will fly out.

But looking at Moustiers St Marie, Aiguines, I'm thinking about spending an additional night there (to check out the different vantage points over the Gorge and the Lac, visit some different villages around there), which would mean taking one night away from the Luberon or Aix.

This is around mid-June so I would drive around the Luberon villages and down in Aix, go to places like Cassis, take a boat tour to see the calanches around Marseille.

Would those of you who've been to these places make that tradeoff?

There are very few automobile "vantage points" over the Gorge du Verdon. The views from all the 2 & 3 star (Michelin ratings) might not take more than 1 1/2 to 2 hours. You did not mention any boat trips through the Gorge - so I sure would not recommend that you stay in Moustiers or near the gorge for 2 nights just to mainly visit the gorge vantage points (unless you plan a boat trip in addition). There are better gorges elsewhere in France. And I certainly would not subtract a day from your already too-short 3 nights & 2 1/2 days in the Luberon/Vaison/Cote du Rhone/Uzes/Pont du Gard area.

I also think you are spending too much time in the Aix/Cassis region - compared to time you have allocated to the Luberon & surrounds. Remember - Aix will be quite dead on Sunday & Monday mornings - shops will be closed.

Stu Dudley

I'm looking to pull over anywhere along the D952 overlooking the Pont du Galetas, where the river joins the Lac du Verdon. Seems like limited spaces where can park the car and see a view. There are some spots with more space for cars but they're more trailheads, not a lookout. At least from looking at Google Maps.

Then I see some vantage points around Aiguines and east of Aiguines on the D71, there are a couple of places there with room to pull over and get a view over the Gorge.

Also looking to fly my drone and film in this area. There also is a lookout overlooking the Lac de Sainte-Croix and the town of Sainte. Croix du Verdon, near some lavender fields.

I may be able to cover all this in an afternoon and the following morning if I stay just one night, before leaving for the Luberon in the afternoon.

But thanks for the recommendation to spend more time in Luberon than Aix/Cassis.

Many (most?) of Aix's wonderful museums and churches are open on Sundays and Mondays. :)

Get the Michelin Green Guide for the Alps. There is a good map of the gorge with all the lookouts designated, and the Michelin "rating" for the quality/beauty of the specific lookout. (1 to 3 stars). Most 3 stars are on the one-way & circular Route des Cretes.

Stu Dudley

Is there a lookout with a view of Bonnieux similar to the one on Route de Cavaillon (D15) SW of Gordes? The viewpoint of Gordes has a lot of pictures in Google Maps but I couldn't find a similar one for Bonnieux, though.


I've been looking at booking.com listings and Google Maps. Seems like a lot of guest house type of accommodations along Route de Cavaillon with private parking and about 800 meters to 1 km walk into the town center for restaurants. Will be basing for 4 nights and looks like Gordes has the most lodging options among the villages, at least on Google and booking.com, airbnb.

Wide range in prices and amenities. Many look to be recently renovated, with pools on decks overlooking the valley. Some have air conditioning, which is noted in some reviews of places without AC.

I was going to book one of those places to the west, along the D15. But then I found one which appears to be only 1000 ft away from the center. Has private parking, appears to be a guest house and the reviews say the hosts prepare breakfast for the guests.

The real draw is proximity to the center but I may have to fend for myself on breakfasts. I guess it may be "cafe et pains au chocolate" for 4 days. Would prefer some aliments salés.

The view of Bonnieux is best from Lacoste in the late afternoon.

There are not any restaurants I would recommend for dinner in Gordes (except the expensive restaurant in the Bastide de Gordes). There are some good ones are in the outskirts of Gordes, however, but not in the village center. I'm a foodie and tend to go for the "Michelin" restaurants.

You won't enjoy the walk from the Route de Cavaillon (D15) into Gordes - unless you are close (200 yds) to the huge parking lot near the switchback (see the Google map). We stayed on the Route de Senanque once (Domaine de L'Enclos), and the walk from there was OK (but I was younger then). So stay somewhere very close to the D15/Route de Senanque junction, or between the Route de Senanque & Gordes.

Stu Dudley

Thanks for the tip on Lacoste, which wasn't on my radar.

Google Maps seem to trace distance along the roads so unless there are pedestrian paths which cut across the roads, it looks like Domaine de L'Enclos is about 800 meters to the Chateau. Other properties along Senaque or further south on Cavaillon are also about 800 meters or further away.

For dinner, I'm probably not going to be interested in driving (probably will be doing a lot of driving during the day) so being close to the center is my goal. Gordes seems to have more dining options than the other villages so hoping there will be something to meet my modest expectations and budget.

But I may have to prepare to hike a bit into town or if walking about 1 km each way is bad maybe drive in if there's parking close by. Only thing I wonder about is if you're having to walk along roads without much shoulder or a dedicated sidewalk as it gets dark.

>> maybe drive in if there's parking close by <<

The parking lot at the base of Gordes near the hairpin turn is huge. There is room at the far end of the lot for about 20 tour buses also. When we stayed near Gordes for 4 weeks (2 trips) we took our garbage and recyclables to the dumpsters in that parking lot. You won't have any trouble finding parking for dinner. The road from the parking lot to the center of Gordes is wide - and most of the time "pedestrians only" (few cars, anyway). We hiked to Gordes on a dirt path from our gite which was half-way between Cabrieres d'Avignon & Gordes, and it was a difficult hike with lots of trees & shrubs. I don't think you won't find any dirt-path short cute - you'll use the road. It is not a problem for a walk at all - unless you are 1 K or more away from the center of Gordes.

From my itinerary

"Take the D109 into Lacoste & drive up into the village, but turn around at the Mairie parking lot & retrace your route (heading to Bonnieux). This will afford you good views of Bonnieux. One unfortunate situation is that you really can’t get good views of both Lacoste & Bonnieux at the same time of day because of the sun’s position. We usually view Lacoste on our morning drives and Bonnieux in the evening just prior to dinner."

Stu Dudley

I didn't mention it, but I hope you know that it is a rather steep walk uphill from the parking lot to the chateau area. The Bastide de Gordes is about 3/4 of the way there. Take your time on this walk. You may be able to park next to the chateau - but the last tie we did this was in abut 2001. Things change.

Stu Dudley

Good to know. Heard there was parking near a hospital as well.

The one time I visited was mid day in mid September 5 years ago and it was some kind of market day because there were stalls all over the square and I remember I was able to park pretty close. Don't recall having to hike uphill either.

Maybe I got lucky and parked where I wasn't suppose to. But kind of rushed through Gordes, Rousillon and Bonnieux that day. Even made it to Pont du Gard in the late afternoon before returning to Avignon.