t_lu

So off to France, into Nimes in early Sept with the following stops: (each night)

Arles (See Nimes, Avignon)
Arles
Orange
St Remy
St Remy
Aix
Nice or Cannes
Cassis (Via St Tropez)
Cassis
Marseille (To fly out - no stay)

My question is that:
1) Arles for two nights- is it enough to spend about two days seeing Nimes, Arles and Avignon?
2) Is it wise to stay at so many stops?

Any any other recommendations would be great!

flygirl

Arles and St. Remy are not that far apart. You could stay at one place or the other. If you stayed in St Remy, Orange could be a day trip. By your itinerary that would be 5 nights in St Remy. It's a good base to see quite a bit of the area including Avignon.

Not having been to Aix I cannot say, I hear it's lovely. Sounds like one day isn't enough. Maybe pull one day from your full St. Remy stay (see comment above).

It does sound like a lot of stops. Nice is pretty big. One day is barely worth the hassle to get around. Are you on the train or driving?

t_lu

Driving.

Thanks - maybe I'll see if I can take Nice out but would love to see Cannes.

Viajero2

Seven (7) home bases in 10 days is a horrendous idea, specially given the fact that you are in a relatively small region. Three max home bases for 10 days; Ares, Aix, and Nice. Day trip from there. Otherwise, you will be wasting unavoidable time on the transfers. Sept is around the corner so you are already lagging behind on the planning; scrath that original plan pronto.

t_lu

Thanks so much, I've cut it down to:

Night 1: Arles (Go to Nimes, Avignon on day trips)
Night 2: Arles
Night 3: St Remy (Go to Orange on a day trip)
Night 4: St Remy
Night 5: St Remy
Night 6: Aix
Night 7: Nice or Cannes
Night 8: Cassis
Night 9: Cassis
Marseille (To fly out)

So that's Five... maybe I can cut down Aix too? Shall I increase Nice to two days and visit Aix on the way?

flygirl

St Remy and Avignon are maybe 30 minutes away. Arles is farther - almost an hour from Avignon. Either do Avignon as a day trip from S-R or stay in S-R the whole time and do Arles as a day trip from S-R. I'd stay in S-R and make Arles a day trip, myself. It's too close to bother re-basing yourself.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=...-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Judy

I agree with flygirl and also like your plan to see Aix on your way to Nice. The fewer moves in a short trip, the better as far as I'm concerned.

t_lu

Ok we are getting there....

Arles (to see Nimes)
Arles (Arles itself)
St Remy (St Remy itself)
St Remy (to see Avignon)
St Remy (Orange on a day trip)
St Remy (via Aix)
Nice or Cannes
Cassis
Cassis
Marseille (Non-Stay - just fly out)

So that's a total of four locations...good?

StuDudley

Why are you only visiting cities in Provence? Do you plan on experiencing the Luberon, Dentelles, small perched villages (there are dozens & dozens), Cote du Rhone winegrowing region, Mt Ventoux, the Baronnies, Pont du Gard?

If you travel the roads between Arles, St Remy, Avignon, Nimes, & Orange - you won't see much pretty countryside. I was underwhelmed with Nimes, & every time we've tried to visit the theater in Orange, it has been covered with scaffolding or stage props. IMO, I would limit your visit to three large cities at the most - perhaps only 2. Aix is our favorite, then Avignon, then Arles. We also like Uzes. My wife & I have spent 18 weeks vacationing in Provence. The pretty countryside & small villages is what keeps us returning.

I have a 27 page itinerary for the Cote d'Azur & Provence that I've sent to about 3,000 people on Fodors. If you want one, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail

Stu Dudley

t_lu

Hi Stu,

Living in busy/crammed London - ideally we would like to visit countryside, small towns, stay in nice B&Bs, get the odd days off to lie next to the pool etc..afterall that's the Provence experience!

I'll re-adjust the schedule again to see if we can see Luberon/Dentelle etc

That's great tips for the roads between Arles not being very scenic and that Nimes underwhelms so I'll adjust that too.

Maybe swap one night or two to stay in Aix.

I've emailed your earlier for your excellent guide and have it sitting opened on my desk for me to read

Thank you so much for your help to everyone on Fodors..... much much appreciated.

tarquin

Try to be in Arles on a Saturday - the market is fantastique.

StCirq

Arles is about a half-hour from St-Rémy. No need to stay in both places. You're still moving around too much, needlessly. And going only to cities when it's the countryside that is so appealing? Not such a good idea.

t_lu

Good point guys, back to the drawing board for me.

I'll look into staying at a few small towns and B&B.

Let me know if anyone has any recommendations.

Thanks to all

t_lu

I think I am getting confused on what's countryside and what's the city...would somewhere in Gordes be considered countryside?

If anyone could recommend a few B&B countryside hotels/places to stay.

That would be highly recommended.

t_lu

Sorry to spam you guys again but would you guys recommend staying at a place like this for a week:
http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/n...ast_minute.htm

and then just visit the usual attractions.

While after that make our way to the coast as planned.

StuDudley

>>would somewhere in Gordes be considered countryside?<<

Yep

Stu Dudley

jameshill

Have a look at Mas Pomona in Cheval Blanc absolutely ideally placed for visiting western Provence, it’s in the Luberon. I have stayed there 4 times and cannot fault it. Incidentally I was there in July of this year and experienced some very poor weather but their heated pool was a real saviour,as the Mistral was blowing hard.
www.maspomona.com
they have some excellent reviews on Tripadvisor and I can’t recommend them highly enough; Marianne and David love the region and know it intimately, their restaurant recommendations were spot on and their tours of various areas around Provence were better than any guide book or information found on Provence forums.
Enjoy Provence