After a couple of trips to Provence about 20 years ago, we've started planning a return trip. It will be me and my husband and our 20yo daughter. We will fly in and out of Paris (due to good plane fares and times), haven't decided how many days in Paris, but it will be about 7 nights in Provence, in May. Daughter has never been, and she (like my spouse) are very into wine, and the Cotes du Rhone are some of their favorites.

We will probably do some of the often-recommended stuff in the area; we really enjoyed Arles in the past, and preferred it to Aix. We may not spend time in the Luberon, unless daughter really wants to, as we found other parts of Provence more interesting to us. We like history, museums, will probably visit at least one market, definitely a number of great restaurants. I would love to send them off to a vineyard tour while I go for a bike ride (but need to figure that out, as I really don't like to ride on the roads with cars; I know there are a couple of short converted railway bike routes).

I'm thinking of staying in two areas, one in or around St. Remy (we stayed in Maussane des Alpilles, at a B&B, in 1998), and then somewhere further north, perhaps around Carpentras, Vaison-la-Romaine or Beaume de Venise. Perhaps a stay at a vineyard that is also a chambres d'hote?

I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.

The best biking is in the Luberon (bikes only roads), and east of Bedoin.


My wife & I have spent 22 weeks vacationing in Provence. I developed a 35 page itinerary that describes our favorite villages, scenic drives, markets, restaurants, sites, etc. 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 it to the reply e-mail.


Stu Dudley

I like the northern Vaucluse and Drome areas. It is nice between Vaison and Nyons (lots of lavender fields up there) and Grignan is very nice. That is just into the Drome region, I think, so I don't think that is really considered Provence usually, so maybe not what you want. Carpentras isn't a super attractive city although has its merits and is a useful hub in the area. The area around the Dentelles is nice (Gigondas wines).

I don't know many B&Bs actually in wineries, although some are nearby with views of vineyards. There are probably some.

Here is one to the SE of Vaison, I think.

Bastide-Lacombe | Maison d'hôte Vaison La Romaine

My recommendation would be our favorite B&B of all time, near Malaucene, which is on the other side of the mountain from Gigondas. It's maybe 10 miles from Vaison la Romaine (great market) , maybe 15 more to Gigondas. There we dined at l'Oustalet, which Stu probably mentions in the above itinerary....not to be missed if one is within 200 miles. It was there we met a wonderful wine from the local area; it was sold at the local Cave, but we just drove up the mountain to the winery itself and purchased two to consume at home. Due east from the B&B maybe 10 miles is Mt. Ventoux, of Tour de France fame. Maybe a Km to the west is a little windy mountain road that, if I liked to bike, I would enjoy (virtually no traffic, as it goes maybe 10 km in a circle from nowhere to nowhere). It's also near Seguret, Crestet, etc. To the SE perhaps 25 miles is Bedouin (another good market)

FWIW, Christina's post reminded me: we went to a famous restaurant in Seguret or Crestet, and just as an accompaniment to drinks/wines, they served olives. No kidding, they were fantastic black olives. Upon inquiry, they were from Nyon, maybe 30 miles away Best ever! Another reason we love the region.

Hi Lexma,
Some poster here, a Canadian or something like that, wrote a recent trip report that may be of interest. It was called 'Provencal Echo.' Seems that they too, had not been back to Provence for many years. Wine fans as well.
I am done. The end.
Trip Report: Provencal Echo

Our favorite hotel of all time is Les Hospitaliers, in the tiny village of Le Poët-Laval. It was a former stronghold of the Knights of Malta and has been lovingly restored by the hotel's original builders; rooms are all different and display some of the art collected when the owners traded in antiques in Paris. The hotel is near the pleasant small town of Dieulefit, an area famous for its yellow pottery, and from there the route to Provence runs through the olive town of Nyons (be sure to visit the cooperative) and the Roman village of Vaison-la-Romaine. The Drôme is just above Provence but has considerably less tourist traffic; where there is is primarily European.

P.S. Those black olives from Nyons have their own appellation-controlee, just like a good wine. And boy, are those olives good!

I wonder if there's a way to buy those olives in the USA. Our local store sells garlic-flavored black olives in the deli, but comparatively speaking, I think they're grown in Idaho.

l'Oustalet (now has a Michelin star) is owned by the Perrin family. They own many wineries in the area, notably Chateau de Beaucastel. We've reserved at l'Oustalet twice for lunch and the chef provided a tasting menu based on the Perrin wines. We also combined it with a visit to Beaucastel for a winery tour.

I've been able to buy them on line from the Cooperative, as well as even Amazon one time. It is the BEST oil! Also good and available on line: Alziari.

Thank you for all of the suggestions; I especially liked reading Provencal Echo - I did read it when you first posted it, but that was before we decided to re-visit Provence ourselves.

And we are planning on dining at l'Oustalet; I'm hoping to find lodging within an easy drive of there.

I think l'Oustalet now has a few rooms.

I had decided to spend a night at L'Oustalet after reading so many wonderful comments about it from various Fodorites -- and then I found that it's closed when I would be there. Sigh. I'm trying to find vicarious delight in all these recommendations, but in honesty, I'm jealous!