Hello - after further research and many sleepless nights worth of planning:
This is what I "think" we should do:
1. Fly into Marseille; drive to Arles
2. Stay 3 nights in Arles do see surrounding areas (Nimes, Pont du Gard,
St. Remy, and Arles, of course)
3. To Gordes for a 2 night stay, visit Avignon and Isle de la Sorgue. While staying in Gordes, visit Bonnieux, Apt, Orange and ???
4. Drive to Moustiers Ste. Marie for a 2 night stay to drive the suggested circular tour given in the Nat'l Geo tour book.
5. Drive to the Nice area to visit Cote d'Azur towns for 2 nights, then fly home.
Any comments on this? Suggested hotels (at least 4*) and great restaurants.

Thanks for anticipated responses.
PS. will we regret not visiting Aix or Marseille?

Just a couple of comments...
l'Isle sur la Sorgue is worth a visit on a Saturday or Sunday - markets and antique shops are all open.

I'd scrap Orange altogether. It's quite a drive combined with the other places you want to visit in such a short stay.

I'd suggest visiting Roussillon and Saignon insteat of Apt.

While staying in Arles, definitely reserve one night at the restaurant

L'atelier
7, rue des Carmes
tel: 04 90 91 07 69

Thank YOU, PBProvence! I was hoping you would respond! You give such great advice. I am having such trouble trying to reconcile how many days/nights to spend overnight in a particular town/village.
Thanks for your Orange advice - will scratch it from list.
Do you feel we need to stay 2 nights at Moustiers Ste. Marie to do circular drive around Gorges du Verdon? Am trying to fit Cote D'Azur area in as well before flight home.
Again, thanks.

Provence Holiday: late September 2003

Arrive Marseilles airport
Car from AutoEurope. Excellent company. Easy to work with over Internet. Highly recommend by Fodorites. Good price on auto with full insurance coverage. It was very nice not to worry about bumps or scrapes having the insurance. We had a Peugeot 404 which was large enough for four or five people with a very nice trunk size for luggage. It was the max size for getting through many village streets though. If possible, take a smaller car.

First two nights:
B&B near Cassis - in Geminos - Mas de Coupier, $70Euros.
http://www.guideweb.com/provence/bb/coupier/indexa.html
We wanted to be near Cassis and also near Marseille. This B&B is in an area above (north) of Cassis. It is in a small country village. It was a beautiful setting and the hostess was very warm and welcoming. The breakfasts were a delight in her kitchen. The accommodations we had (La Cricque) consisted of two rooms with queen beds and one room with bunk beds and a large shared bath with shower and tub. We had a private entrance. There are other rooms with private baths. Our only fault with this B&B is that its somewhat difficult to find - especially at night. Our first dinner was in a small cafe in Geminos recommended by our hostess. It was very good.

We spent a beautiful day in Cassis - an absolute must. It is a setting so lovely we thought we'd wandered onto a movie set. We had a great lunch, a short boat ride among the Calanques and some good shopping. It would be a wonderful place to spend more time, especially if the weather were warm. I would have loved to go to one of the many beaches along the water for swimming or picnic.

Our second dinner was in Marseille at Chez Fonfon, 140 Vallon-des-Auffes. The dining room looks out on the most beautiful little harbor where every morning fresh fish come in from the local fishing boats. Again - it looks like a movie set it is so perfect. This is not, however, one of the tourist spots and the food was fab. The restaurant is known for its bouillabaisse and was recommended to us by a local. It is not expensive, but is pretty and one could dress up a bit if you wanted. We were very casual and no one minded.

On to Vaison-la-Romaine for two nights at L'Eveche
http://avignon-et-provence.com/eveche/gb/index.html

The drive to Vaison was easy and not too long. We had plenty of time to stop along the way. We lunched in Orange and toured the Roman Amphi Theater there. It is very interesting and normally I'm not into that sort of thing, but this is worth the stop.

We all loved Vaison and agreed that L'Eveche was our favorite place. I think we would all go back and stay longer. The B&B is in the "high town" - the old village on a hilltop overlooking the "new" village of Vaison. The 16 century stone buildings have been purchased and renovated into the most beautiful homes. It is truly like stepping back in time. The hosts at L'Eveche, Aude & Jean-Loup Verdier are superb, the rooms are "to die for" (their web site really doesn't do justice to the beauty), the copious breakfasts were delicious and taken on the terrace overlooking the valley and Mt. Ventoux in the distance. We had the two large rooms at the top; Verte Jade 88Euros and Solanium 95Euros - with its own little balcony where we sat and star gazed at night.
Two dinners recommended by our hosts:
Brin d'Olivier, 4 rue Ventoux, local cooking in a charming garden setting.
L'auberge de la Barbarelle (near the hospital), excellent food and wine.
Jean-Loup mapped a great "back roads" drive through wine country for us from Vaison to Gordes. The scenery was spectacular with winaries all along the way.

After two nights we moved on to Gordes. We stayed at Mas de la Beaume - $110Euros.
http://www.labeaume.com/page1anglais.html
This is a spectacular B&B done in the most traditional style. It has been featured in many decorating magazines. Although we were disappointed with the city of Gordes - WAY too touristy, we loved the B&B and felt it was worth the stop. We had two superb dinners. We especially loved Chez Gouin near Coustellet. They do one dinner each night and you eat whatever the special is. It was wonderful not to pour over a long French menu. The wine cellar is open and you go down and make your own selection for dinner. The multi course meal was excellent. The olives are the best in Provence.
The second night we ate in the village of Gordes at Le Clos de Gustave. Both were recommended by our hostess. Both were excellent choices. Neither overly expensive.

Our final stay was three nights in Avignon at Villa Agape, $100 Euros
http://avignon-et-provence.com/bb/vi.../gb/tarifs.htm
This is an amazing private home right in the heart of Old Avignon. You won't believe the place. Madame Michelle is an excellent hostess and speaks perfect English. Here home is something right from the pages of Architecture Digest. The web site has beautiful photos and they are not exaggerated. The one drawback is the sharing of the WC in the central hall, however this is being changed in November this year and both rooms with then have a WC as well as the pretty baths.
Three dinners in Avignon:
Chez Floriane (I think this is the name) right down the street from the house was good on a rainy night.
On Sunday, when everything is closed, we found Cafe de Artiste near the Hotel d'Europe. Small, cozy, great goat cheese salad and fish soup.
Our final night was at La Fourchette. One of the best restaurants in Avignon - great food, small room, excellent service and not all that expensive. So glad we made a reservation.

We loved the whole trip. We ate lunches each day in whatever small town we were in - St. Remy, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Orange and had great food and wine everywhere. It would have been lovely to see the fields of lavender in bloom or the sunflowers, but this was the wrong time of year.

Things we learned, which you may already know:
-streets are really narrow in the small towns.
-you can go around a traffic circle as many times as it takes to figure out which exit you need.
-everything closes from 12noon to 3pm for lunch.
-dinner is a four hour affair - and worth it.

I found all my B&B choices on a web site called Avignon and Provence. I used the "hotels by map" feature to find accommodations along the route we wanted. We chose this particular route for the variation in setting -seaside, mountain, hill village, small country villages and larger city. We were happy with all although I think there are better choices than Gordes - maybe Uzes, Roussillon or Bonnieux. If you don't want to be in a city as large as Avignon, St. Remy was a beautiful village nearby.
http://avignon-et-provence.com/avi/gb/pres/p1.htm

I hope this helps with your planning.

Interactive map for B&Bs in Provence:
http://avignon-et-provence.com/map-of-provence.htm

Sorry, the link above for L'Eveche is no longer valid. Here is the correct one:
http://eveche.free.fr/uk_index.htm

I might add that I liked this B&B web booking service because one deals directly with the owners rather than an intermediary agency. I wrote emails in French using the web translator, Babelfish, and all worked out beautifully.

http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/babelfish/tr?

TC - a wealth of info. Thank you! Will check out the websites and consider. I know that 'time is of the essence' so I need to get going on this!
Again, thanks for sharing your notes.

If you get an early start for the 'circular drive', I don't see the need to spend a second night in Moustiers...

Another restaurant for you in Biot (we just had dinner there last night with friends upon our return from Italy) and enjoyed it tremendously. Reasonably priced - we had the 59€ menu which was wonderful.

Les Terrailers
11, rte Chemin neuf (the D4 - at the foot of the village)
04 93 65 01 59

Patricia

"PS. will we regret not visiting Aix or Marseille?"

Honestly, we weren't that impressed with Aix and didn't even spend an entire afternoon there. Marseille is a large city, which we visited because the son of friends was living there at the time. Our favorite towns were Cassis, Vaison-la-Romaine, Avignon, St. Remy, and Isle de la Sorgue (where we spent a lovely afternoon just browsing through shops). I thought Orange was also very nice for an afternoon. We saw many of these towns as we drove from one B&B to the next. None of our driving was of great distance, so we had plenty of time to dawdle.

>Drive to the Nice area to visit Cote d'Azur towns for 2 nights, then fly home

IMO

Park the car and take a train to menton .. this takes in Monte Carlo and you can stop off at othetr places for an hour as desired. the most specaular views of the Med can be seen from here just make sure you get a seat on the correct side of the train each way.

www.hotel-france-hotels.com is good for hotels have book many from hear and have never been disappointed.

To all respondees - Merci!
Have checked out all suggested sites.
Am set to book tomorrow! Will feel much better when all planning/booking is done and all that is left is counting down the days until we leave!
Again, Merci, Merci, Merci

Glad we could help. Do report back on your choices and their outcome.

Have a wonderful trip. Provence has been one of my favorite destinations in the whole wide world.

I would skip Nimes. There are many similarities between Nimes & Arles & I would suggest using the time to see something different - especially if you plan to visit Avignon also. Les Baux or Uzes would be good alternatives.

I think you need a little more "countryside" in your plans. Avignon, Nimes, & Arles (and Nice later) would be too much "larger" cities for me - especially if you only have 4 full days to see Provence. I suggest that you see what lures me & others back to this area by taking the "lavender route" that I've posted here a few times. No big cities - just a lot of very pretty terraine (mountains, gorges, rolling countryside, etc).

Also agree with Patricia about Moustiers. Many are underwhealmed with the Gorges du Verdun, so only 1 night there would allow you to see a lot. Personally, I would skip the Moustiers area altogether, and add the 2 days to Nice & the Luberon.

Ditto Patricia about Apt & Orange (another "larger" city).

If you drive from Provence to the Cote (2 1/2 hrs) I don't know how you are going to see many "Cote d'Azur towns" with just 2 nights. Perhaps only plan on visiting St Paul & Nice. Drive to Villefranche for dinner one night to see and additional town. Get there about 7:00 & explore the very steep town a little before dinner.

Les Terraillers is my favorite also.

Your itinerary is very ambitious - remember almost all stores close for a 2 hr lunch and many/most are closed on Sunday & Monday morning also.

Stu Dudley

Stu Dudley - it is so good to have you back! Hope you had a great trip, as usual! Have been referring to your informative Provence report, too, but appreciate the additional input!
Again, Welcome back and thank you.

I've watched your itinerary with interest as we just returned from a 17 night stay in Provence in May that included 3 primary locations. As Stu and PB stated, you have ambitious plans but I can understand as there is always so much to see. I don't know your travel background but we were "underwhelmed" by the Gorges du Verdun and yet we enjoyed the drive inland back towards Vence and Nice. Provence is like Tuscany--it is best savored and lingered over, not rushed. I understand the desire to try to see it all but you won't be disappointed in giving yourself more time to delve into the area without striking out to farther points with lots of driving time. Hope this helps. Paul

bookmarking, thanks.

To Macanimals: We are well-traveled and usually do not sit still. We are usually up early and on the road to see the sights until dinner! Since the towns seem to be so close by in driving distances, I feel we will be able to do this (?), but that is why I am seeking advice from experienced travelers to the Provence area.
I am interested in your comment about the Gorges du Verdon. Would you mind elaborating on it? Not worth the trip?
My husband loves the Grand Canyon in US and has rafted down the Colorado River so thought this would definitely be a place he would enjoy and photograph.

>>My husband loves the Grand Canyon in US and has rafted down the Colorado River so thought this would definitely be a place he would enjoy and photograph.<<

If you have visited the Grand Canyon, the Gorge du Verdun will be a BIG disappointment. I've visited it (Verdun) twice and it's not even the best gorge in France. I like the Tarn much more because you can drive along the valley in addition to the top. On the Tarn there are lots of medieval villages you can visit too. I like the Ardeche gorge more also. The Gorge de la Nesque just south of Mt Ventoux is pretty good - see that one instead & save the 2 days and add them to the Luberon & Nice. BTW, there are some great gorges in the Nice hinterland - see my itinerary, but I suspect you won't have enough time to see them too.

Thanks for the welcome home greeting. We spent two weeks in the Auvergne region of France, after 2 weeks in Italy and 1 on the Cote d'Azur. The Auvergne was spectacular. No great cities - just beautiful countryside, lots of dead volcanos, & mountains. We visited over 20 castles. Did not encounter a single American.

Back to France in 5 weeks - 2 weeks in the Beaujolais area & 2 weeks in Burgundy.

Stu Dudley

Hi Jennie,
Towards the latter stage of our last trip we spent a night in Apt to attend the Sat. am market-v. enjoyable. We then drove on to Aiguines for the night stopping in Forcalquiere and Moustiers along the way. We enjoyed our stops but felt Moustiers was literally swamped with tourists, souvenires and a bit overwhelmed. After going by the lake and seeing the vacationers, we could understand why so many visit tiny Moustiers. Aiguines was the opposite in energy, very little to hold your interest, only a couple of restaurants which failed to distinguish themselves and a so-so hotel. Still the landscape was pretty dramatic and a nice sunset.
The next morning we drove into and through the gorge and it was pretty but certainly the comparisons with the Grand Canyon cannot be serious. It is an engineering marvel to have a road with such great and frequent vistas and the opportunity to climb, hike and bungee jump is there but not for us on this trip. We did stop at the Grand Canyon Hotel on the south side to sit on their terrace and have a coffee while gazing into the gorge-quite nice. Then on to Grasse and Vence where we spent our last two nights before flying out of Nice.
Stu's comment about great gorges inland from Nice is right on. We drove up one to the perched village of Gourdon for a sweeping view and visit and then took a very long detour (road out) back around and down another gorge back to Vence--spectacular!
Your travel history "up early and going until dinner" will serve you well in Provence. I prefer the smaller villages and generally by-pass the larger (Avignon) but then we've already been there. We definitely schedule the market days-six on this last trip!- which usually leave us with the rest of the day to explore and picnic. Your call. Hope this helps. Paul

We recently went on our first trip to France which included 4 days Provence, 4 days Riviera. Our favorite places we stayed were Gordes and St. Paul Vence (above Nice).

Near Gordes is another hill town, Roussillon. We enjoyed the town and some very light hiking at the edge of town. We did not see as much as we would have liked and are returning to Gordes next July for a week in order to see the lavender fields (Stu Dudley, advice?) Would also love to return to Le Hameau in St. Paul de Vence for a week. Have a great trip.

Sebina

>>returning to Gordes next July for a week in order to see the lavender fields (Stu Dudley, advice?<<

E-mail me at [email protected] and I'll send back my 20+ page intierary on Provence & Cote d'Azur - which includes the Lavender route (& Gourdon loop too)

Stu Dudley