Provence home base
 

My husband and I are planning a trip in May. Our itinerary so far consists of seven nights Provence.

I am having trouble picking a central spot to base the seven nights in Provence.

I have these 3 apartamentes available:
Le Mas de Miejour - Le Thor
Mas Dagan - Saint Remy the Provence
Charmeuse Aix en Provence

We would like to visit:
Camargue
Luberon
Nimes
Les Baux
Avignon
Arles
Isle sur la Sorgue
Lavender fields
Wine Region

I would so appreciate any help, even if you stayed at any of the apt.

Irene

I would suggest Avignon, particularly if you're not driving. You can easily reach many of the destinations by train or day tour.

Last time I stayed there and have a comment on the B&B I stayed here -
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Provence.html. I visited Luberon, Les Baux, Isle sur la Sorgue, Chateau-neuf-de-pape (for vineyard) and the neigbourhood for lavender fields (though a bit off season) through the driver arranged by the host; and by train to visit Nimes. Here is the website of this B&B - http://www.alombredupalais.com/

In an earlier occasion, I stayed for 3 nights in Arles to visit the town and Camargue. Arles is pretty charming as it got that small old town feeling but the bus connection from train station to town centre stopped in early evening. Need more careful planning regarding transport if you take it as a base.

I would exclude Aix - it's the farthest away from most of what you want to visit.

St.Remy is a good central location for most of your itinerary. You might want to think about dividing your time between there and Le Thor (although it's not the most picturesque village) in order to visit the Luberon.
The lavender won't be blooming until towards the end of June, so I don't know if you want to still include that.

Patricia

I love a B&B on a lovely farm called Mas de la Cristine, just outside of St. Remy. It's a very central location and the proprietors are wonderful.

You might also try staying in two places -- around St. Remy for half and somewhere in the Luberon for half.

Have to assume with your itinery that you have a car. Would also eliminate Aix as out of the area.

Don't forget Pont du Gard, the Roman aquaduct(a short drive from Nimes)

If you do stay in St.Remy in town it is great to be able to walk where you want to go. There are a few nice restaurants which will let you avoid the dark Provence roads.

There are other web sites to find out travel information. One of my favorites is Slow Travel.

Here is a France web site for these guys... http://www.slowtrav.com/france/planning/index.htm

I always like to bounce ideas from different forums against each other, just to validate my conclusions.

I'm actually staying in Aix as we are going to visit some places east of Aix.
Here's the apartment we've chosen in May for Aix... http://www.charmappart.com/indexa.html

It's my choice, chaque pour soi.

Rast., And of cource , you will be dining at Clos de Violette?

cigalechanta

It might be a tad to haute for me, especially the cost. Perhaps something like Le Bistro Latin is more to my liking.

We are saving up for one good meal, and that's in San Sebastian at Arzak. At least they aren't doing foam at Arzak.

I would say definitely St. Remy..it is a lovely town and is within an hour (via auto) to Avignon, Arles, Les Baux,Vaison-la-Romaine, and the incredible wine towns of Sablet and Seguret along the famous wine route of Cotes du Rhone. Rousillon, Beaumes-de-Venise, Gordes and Carpentras are also within an hour drive. A 10 minute walk from St. Remy brings you to Glanum where you can visit some great Roman ruins and Van Gogh sites.
Good Luck
Mike1728

With the exception of Nimes and the Camargue, all the rest are easily reached with a stay at St. Remy. Of course, you can still visit Nimes and Camargue, but plan on a longer day for each with earlier starts and later returns.

As others, Aix is just too far out of the way to the southeast of the areas you wish to visit.

Talking about other spots for info on France, try www.bonjourparis.com.

Thanks, to everybody. You are always helpful.