My husband and I will be visiting Provence in early July for 4 days. Can anyone tell me if we are missing out on any must-see in Provence given the time that we have?

Day 1 (Monday): Drive from Costa Brava (Spain) to Provence (should arrive by mid-afternoon). Visit Luberon villages (Rossillon, Bonnieux, Goult, Gordes). Stay at Gordes.

Day 2 (Tues): Visit Vaison la Romaine. Stay at Gordes.

Day 3 (Wed): Spend more time driving around in Luberon. Go to St. Remy in the afternoon. Stay at St. Remy.

Day 4 (Thurs): Visit Les Baux and St. Remy.

Day 5 (Fri): Go to Nimes/ Pont du Gard. (Or Arles - can't decide). Head back to Barcelona in the afternoon.

Is there any chance I can visit any markets? I know I am missing out the Wed market at St. Remy, but I also think that I might want to spend more time in the villages in Luberon.

Any advice is very very appreciated!

I think Day One will be difficult if you only plan to arrive in the Luberon by mid-afternoon. Each of the villages you mention deserves at least an hour for a visit, by which time you'll be exhausted.

Vaison-la-Romaine is a fair drive up and back from the Luberon. You might consider staying there overnight and adding a visit to the charming olive town of Nyons on that day.

Definitely go to the Pont du Gard, but you could skip Nîmes in favor or Arles.

Day 1 isn't going to work out as you planned. You've got FAR too much going on that day, particularly as you are traveling in high season. I wouldn't plan on anything other than GETTING from the Costa Brava to Provence that day, never mind touring 4 villages.

Same thing with Day 5. You'll be getting back to Barcelona mighty late if you visit the Pont du Gard and Nîmes first - or Arles.

The Arles market is Saturday. The market in Maussane is Thursday.

Thanks for the advice! So how about this:

Day 1: Drive from Costa Brava to Gordes. Get settled down in Gordes and just drive around leisurely. Stay at Gordes.

Day 2: Visit Vaison la Romaine. Stay at Gordes.

Day 3: Visit Luberon villages. Go to St. Remy in the evening. Stay at St. Remy.

Day 4: Visit St. Remy and Les Baux.

Day 5: Pont du Gard. Head back to Barcelona.

I am debating whether I should stay 2 nights in Gordes, 2 nights in St. Remy, vs. St. Remy the whole time to avoid having to pack and move around, vs. stay the first 2 nights closer to Vaison la Romaine, then last 2 nights in St. Remy.

Just a thought -- have you considered foregoing Provence this time and sticking around the Languedoc? I know you have your reasons for heading to the Luberon, but it seems like with just four days, rather than spending two on the highway you could visit Collioures and the beautiful French villages closer to Barcelona. (?)

Your second try seems much better. While in Gordes, be sure to visit the Abbaye de Senanque, located not far from Gordes. The Abbaye is surrounded by the most amazing lavendar fields,which should be in bloom in July.

Your second itinerary looks much better, but I'm curious as to why you want to spend a good part of a day going to Vaison la Romaine. There is plenty to see around Gordes that I think is prettier and more interesting...Roussillon, Menerbes, Bonnieux,
Lacoste, l'Isle sur la Sorgue and the Abbaye de Senanque.

Day 5, I'd add Uzès after you visit the Pont du Gard (perhaps for lunch) before you drive to Barcelona, which will probably take you around 6 - 6.5 hours.

As St Cirq said, there is a market here in Maussane on THursdays - Maussane is five minutes south of Les Baux.
On Tuesday there is a market in Gordes and Lacoste.

Patricia

I wouldn't go all the way to Vaison-la-Romaine either. The old medieval hilltop is worth maybe a half-hour to 45-minute walkaround, and the Roman ruins in the lower town are interesting, but it's not as though Vaison is so much more interesting than towns closer to Gordes that it's worth the drive.

I agree about adding Uzes. I did this, Pont du Gard and Uzes day last May. Uzes is now my favorite. I plan to stay there for a day or so next trip. I added Uzes after reading much praise here on Fodor's. So glad I did.

I also enjoyed the market in Mausanne very much. Try to make it if you can.

Also agree that Roussillon, Menerbes, I'SLS and Abbaye de Sananque are great choices around Gordes. Especially the Abbaye at lavendar time must not be missed in my opinion. I can't remember the details but I stopped in at the lavendar museum during my travels around. I enjoyed it very much and loved the products I got there.

Have a wonderful trip.

Whew...what an itinerary! But you have everything covered. Rousillon, Gordes, St Remy...all are very special places.

Hello! Thank you all to your advice! I was going to ask if it worths the troubles to go to Vaison la Romaine. So now I decide to spend the first two days visiting Luberon villages. Then the 3rd and 4th days to visit St. Remy (Wed market) and Les Baux (do I need two days to do both places? maybe Maussane too?). Finally go to Pont du Gard and Uzes on the last day. How much time do I need to visit Uzes? Haven't done much homework about this place.

A side question, how long is the drive from Barcelona to say, Nimes? Is crossing the border difficult? We are living in Northern CA so we are quite used to long road trips. The other alternative would be taking the train to Montpeiller then rent the car from there. But money-wise it might cost more.

Can't wait for the trip!

About hotels ... Did anyone stay at Mas de la regalade in Gordes before? What do you think about it? How about Les-Trois-Sources in Bonnieux? The places in Provence are so nice that it will be hard to pick one (even with our limited budget) ...

Just thought I would mention that my husband and I will be visiting Barcelona in mid April. We are taking the train from Barcelona to Montpellier, and then renting a car to explore St. Remy area, the Luberon and the area around Nice. We fly home from Nice. That is why we are not driving from Barcelona since the car drop off fee was over $400.

Just for your info, the train leaves Barcelona at 8:45 am and arrives in Montpellier at 1:15 pm. If you want more info on it, let me know. Just an alternative for you.

Ginny

bleupoint:

You can easily visit St-Rémy and Les Baux and Uzès in one carefully planned day. Maussane is a village - you can drive from one end of it to the other in under two minutes. It's not going to eat into your schedule a whole lot, though there are a couple of cute shops there and it's a nice place for a café stop.

There are no borders in the EU anymore. You drive right into France from Spain and keep going. Do check into dropoff fees, though - they are sometimes hundreds of dollars to leave a car in a different country from the one where you picked the car up.

I haven't driven from Barcelona to Nîmes, but www.mappy.com will give you reasonably accurate times (it's differrent depending on the day of the week and the time of day, of course)

Hi Ginny, our flight arrives Barcelona at 10am, so it's not the best timing to take trains. Also we are flying back from Barcelona, so we don't need to worry much about the drop-off fee. Let us know how your trip is later!
BTW, which hotels are you going to stay at?

Thinking it might be fun to ride a bike for a day ... any suggestions on which villages that are most bike friendly?

A question about accommodation. Our budget is below 100 euro a night.

For Gordes, I have checked out the website of Le Mas Regalade. It looks great and not too pricy.

For St. Remy, I am thinking of Hotel Sous Les Figuiers.

Has anyone stayed at these two places before? Any other recommendation. I am looking for somewhere with a pool (at least for the one in Gordes), clean bathroom, charming atmosphere.

Thanks!

You are visiting a lot of small villages.... one alternative... On your way to Barcelona, you could stop in Arles for lunch. The roman ruins are great...I remember a great little tapas bar alongside the ampitheatre.

or, Coulliere - as a coastal town it is different than other towns you are visiting, maybe detour there for a late afternoon pick me up before the final drive to Barcelona...Coulliere is very beautiful. And if you like anchois - it is the place to be!

in honor of Peter, remember, Pont du Gard, Nimes, Aigues-Mortes, Uzes are in the South of France but in Roussillon/Languedoc not Provence.