We are thinking of going to Provence next year.

We'd like to see the usual - Luberon, L'Isle sur Sorgue, Avignon, St. Remy, Les Baux, etc.

We have found a rental in Boulbon.

Can anyone tell me if this would be central enough to see these places?

Hi W,

www.viamichelin.com and www.mappy.com will give you driving times and distances to the places you wish to visit.

I wasn't familiar with Boulbon, but I looked it up here http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/bouches/boulbon/boulbon.htm and it sounds like an interesting village.

This would be a central location if you want to see many different areas of Provence-- the Luberon (about an hour), the Alpilles (half an hour), Arles (half an hour), Avignon (20 minutes).

Kathy

Boulbon is small and has become rather charming...and it's a central location for
visiting a lot of places. It will take you a bit longer to get to the Lubéron than if you stayed in, say, St. Rémy - perhaps an additional 30 minutes.
But on the other hand it's a bit more convenient to Avignon and Villeneuve lez Avignon.

Patricia

"We'd like to see the usual - Luberon, L'Isle sur Sorgue, Avignon, St. Remy, Les Baux, etc."

You will also be well placed to visit Uzès, Pont du Gard, Nîmes, Aigues-Mortes, the Camargue, and Arles.

Anselm

Thanks all. Driving distances are one thing, but having someone tell you the road conditions, and the REAL time is well, priceless.

Their other rental we are looking at are in Molleges and "just outside" of Point du Gard.

Would either of these locations be more convenient?

wanderer, I wonder what they mean by "just outside" Pont-du-Gard? Collias or Argilliers, perhaps. It's a pleasant enough area (and a stone's throw from Uzès), but if you want to see some of the more easterly attractions, such as l'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and the Luberon villages, consider a place on the eastern side of the Rhône. I think that would give you a decent compromise: you could make day trips east into the Luberon, and west to the Camargue, Pont-du-Gard, and Uzès. Avignon and Arles would be within very easy reach. As pointed out above, your original option of Boulbon would work, as would the new idea of Mollégès.

Just to illustrate, you could drive from Mollégès to Bonnieux in just under an hour, or to Uzès in just over an hour.

Unfortunately, I can't advise you on what Mollégès is like, as I haven't stopped in there.

Anselm

Thanks. The "Pont du Gard" house is "5 min. away from St Bonnet du Gard".

Found it. Just southwest of Remoulins on the N86 to Nîmes. You could hike to the western end of the Pont-du-Gard. I haven't driven through that village, but have driven through Remoulins and south on D986 more than half a dozen times. That immediate area didn't bowl me over, but the village itself might be fine.

Given the area you are interested in, though, I'd keep looking further east.

Anselm