I'm splitting time this summer between Cote d'Azur and Provence. Do towns like Avignon and Aix get swelteringly hot in July? Am I better off spending more time on the coast? (This summer, Germany was almost too hot to enjoy)

Friends of ours who stayed in St-Rémy in parts of July and August reported that the heat was really bad--and these are sun-lovers. Towns will probably be worse than the countryside; so be sure you get a hotel with a/c, and plan to spend your days in the shade somewhere or in the coastal waters.

Last summer in Provence was one of the hottest in recent times but July will always be quite hot. I'd expect mid to high 30's (celsius)for much of the time. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy your stay but it is worth planning your days to be out of the sun as much as possible in the middle of the day.

yes, I would say it is often very hot in Avignon and Aix in July, but it's not just in town, it's very hot out in the country, also. I remember being there one July when it was usually in the 90s during the day, but I still enjoyed it. At least I had a rental car with AC, and then it did cool down in the evening a bit although I had a few sleepless nights as my room didn't get much breeze. Some of those nights I was in a nice inn that had AC and that was the way to go for sleeping (that was just a bit outside Aix at Mas d'Entremont).

I can deal with heat there because there is not the humidity like here in Boston.

The better response might be to ask the original poster (pepoling) where he/she is living and what temperatures he/she is accustomed to. For example, I'm from the southern U.S. and am accustomed to hot summers that are also humid. I have personally never found any part of France to be "swelteringly hot." And as for Germany, I suppose there might be some hot days there, but somehow I can't envision it -- but again, that's from my own point of reference. I would guess that pepoling is from a more northern clime.

"Swelteringly hot" reminds me of the July we were in Burgundy, en route to Germany. We stayed at a nice hotel that lacked a/c; our only option was to spend the day in the large and lovely pool. Then we drove up toward the border and stayed a night in a hotel overlooking the Moselle, again without a/c. It was so hot we took turns dipping in a cold tub, then lying on the floor with wet towels wrapped around us. At dinner in the dining room with huge windows that faced west, the butter melted on its plate about half a minute after being placed on the table. Now, that was hot.