Hi,

My travel buddy and I will be in France for a week in March and have four full days (plus a half day on either end) to explore Provence. We will be basing ourselves in Avignon, renting a car, and taking day trips. Here's our tentative itinerary so far. Any comments, suggestions? Pardon my spelling, I don't have my notes and am typing this from memory:

Friday: arrive CDG, TGV train to Avignon, arrive afternoon, check into hotel, easy sites: pont, rue des teinturiers, rocher des domes

Saturday: AM--Palais des Papes; pick up car, Pont du Gard, PM

Sunday: Isles sur la Sorgue (antiques market), Gordes, Abbaye de Senanque, Village des Bories, Rousillion

Monday: St. Remy de Provence, Glanum, Le Baux, Abbaye de Montmajour

Or: Le Baux, Arles, Camargue (a quick drive through to the sea)

Or: Arles (if Aix on Tuesday)

Tuesday: Aix-en-Provence (market day)

Or: (if option 1 on Monday) Arles, Camargue, Ste. Marie de la Mer

Or: (if option 2 on Monday) St. Remy de Provence, Aix-en-Provence

Wednesday: somewhere AM, return car, PM train to Paris

Thursday, Friday: Paris

Saturday: Home

My friend really wants to go to Aix, I'd rather do some of the smaller villages perches and Arles. I guess my question is are we trying to cram too much into each day? I've already given up on Orange and Vaison-la-Romaine. Any place crucial we're missing?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Patti

Hi Patti,

Friday & Sat look good. For the rest, it depends on whether or not you are an in-depth sightseer and what you want to accomplish in the towns.

Sunday looks a bit ambitious. I thought the market in I-s-l-s deserves a half day. Gordes looks better from the road than from the town. It's expensive so I would eat lunch in I-s-l-s before going to Gordes. You can buy some wonderful foods in the market. Senaque Abbey was great and plan on spending at least an hour going through it. Right before you descend to the abbey there are benches along the road if you want to stop and picnic.

The Borie Village is a walk from the car park. Can't remember how long. There are bories you can see from the road leading to the village. Look carefully on the left as you drive and you'll see one or two. You can park your car and walk over to the borie if you run out of time and can't get to the village.

Roussillon - do you plan to walk on the Giant's Rocks. If so, you'll need time for this. I loved the town.

Monday - doable if you don't spend much time in St-Remy. St-Remy is one of my favorites and I would tend to spend lots of time here. I did combine this with Les Baux and Glanum but not the abbey. It was a full day. I would do Les Baux first since parking might be a problem later in the day. Glanum is quick - half an hour.

St-Remy and Aix in the same day is not a good idea IMHO. Each town offers a lot to see and they're in different directions from Avignon.

If you like markets I think Wednesday is market day in St-Remy. Not positive about this.

Haven't been to the Camarque or Ste-Marie so can't comment.

Another town I enjoyed but not on your list is Uzes. If you like markets Apt has a large one on Saturdays.

St. Remy and Aix are both south of Avignon. It's just that St. Remy is relatively too far out of the autostrada that is takes 30 minutes to get to it from the highway. I do agree that you should include it with Glanum for a half-day and the other half at Aix - one of your Tuesday option.
That being said, you can do Arles and the Camargue on Monday.

Wow, I thought I was ambitious but you beat me out! Arles deserves a day imo, but I love that town-try to go on Market day. Monday is doable easily. Sudany may be rushed, ISLS was insane on market day. We hit Orange, it has a great ampitheater but other than that it didn't have the charm of other towns so you won't miss much.

i think it is too ambitious, but I would almost never try to do two larger towns in one day -- I can't imagine doing St Remy with Aix, for example. I know St-Remy is a small village, but there are several things to see there, although perhaps you are not interested in them (such as Van Gogh sites).

It's a minor thing, but I would not count on seeing the rue des Teineuriers in Avignon on the same day after you have flown to Europe, taken the train to Avignon and also visited the bridge and park??! That street isn't near the other things, it's on the other side of town (this is not a small village). The bridge and park are fine together, though. If you get done and have time on your hands, I'd just wander around the central "places" (place du Palais and Place de l'Horloge), shopping, etc. There is a superb fine arts museum right there, also, near the bridge/park(Musee du Petit Palais) one of the better ones I've seen that has a nice collection of Renaissance paintings from Italy. That would be better than going all the way across the city to see that street, although it's a fine walk if you have the time.

I wasn't crazy about the market at Isle sur la Sorgue myself, so think a small amount of time is plenty. I wasn't interested in it more than an hour at most but I tend to find those kind of things boring (flea markets). It was really crowded, anyway, and you had to park quite a distance away. I myself would prefer your Sunday just knocking off Isle sur la Sorgue, I think the rest would be fine for a full day, actually, more than enough for one day right there. I would plan a full day each for Aix and Arles.

Thanks Everybody,

I think our problem is that we have five days worth of stuff to see and only four days. I agree that Arles and Aix each should be a day trip on their own. I'd skip Aix myself, it doesn't have the sights and museums the other towns have (and it's farther off the beaten path.)

What do I want from the trip? I want to have enough time to wander around a town, see what I want to see, and not feel like I have to rush off to the next place. But I'd like to get a taste of everything the area has to offer--the perched villages, the Roman ruins, the wine and food, the mountains, the Camargue, the sea.

Anyone else care to weigh in?

Thanks,
Patti

Aix, to me, does not represent the small Provencal town that you may want to visit. It is, and this is my personal description, a hipper version of Avignon with lots of shopping and some museums. Yes, and I agree, you can spend a full day there - if you are into these things that you can get/do in Paris.

On the other hand, if you are into small town markets, then you have to go to the small towns like ISLS. It is probably a stretch for you to do the Wednesday am market at St Remy. Lots of food stalls, local merchandise, produce, more food stalls (cheese, foie gras, best grilled-on-the-spot pork sandwich, fresh olives). Huge parking lot by the tourist office. Sorry about the rambling - just re-living our time spent there last month.
Enjoy.

I think you might do better if you skipped Avignon, picked up your car and based yourself near St Remy. Or stay in Arles although it isn't exactly "central," but distances really aren't bad in Provence. Go to VirtualTourist.com/Radiomom and check out my St Remy page (there's lots of Provence because we stayed 4 nights and did wonderful daytrips. The pictures are in the "travelogues&quot We did the market at Arles on our first full day, then Le Baux, and Glanum on our way back to St Remy. I guess Arles and St Remy were the "biggest" places we hit our our trip, unless you count Cassis maybe, and we enjoyed the smaller towns so much that the day we drove into Aix, we pretty much drove right out. Nothing really "pulled us in." But amont the little towns: Rousillon is a real wonder, Bonnieux is stunning, Joucas was delightful. Le Baux and Glanum are fascinating. You may want to just pick two "must sees" and let the others cluster together to create good daytrips. If you can get to Pont du Gard fairly early in the AM you may have it nearly to yourselves.

Uh Oh,

Thanks for the link to your St. Remy travelogue. I'm making a note to drive down the D99 road! Hmmm, you mention Bonnieux and Joucas...too many choices!

Patti

Patti,
We flew into CDG took TGV to Nimes, rented a car and drove to Arles where we based for eight days last Oct. We did many of the things that you mentioned but not all in twice as much time. If you punch in a search - Arles! Plane, Train, Auto. - you can retrieve our trip report which may be of some help to you. We did skip Avignon and Aix which we thought might bog us down. Whatever you do, you will love it and have a great time!
JoeG

Thanks to everyone who replied.

The board seems extra active this morning. Anyone else care to comment?

Thanks,

Patti

I second the suggestion to get to Pont du Gard early and add Les Baux to that early list as well. We hit both first thing in the morning and it was wonderful. It felt like we were in a whole other world. Both are magical places. We were there in early April and all the trees and bulbs were blooming-I hope you get the same landscape in March which made it even better.

http://www.2docstock.com/provence/index.html
here's a wonderful private site to help you appreciate the area.

Cigalechanta,

Thanks for the link. Beautiful photos (and some good pointers.)

Patti

hi patti,

i would also add that the pont du gard is amazing at sunset too. it would be easy to do pont du gard & les baux on the same day, as they are close.

tip for the markets: get there early and score good parking. we got there around 9am, did a "once-over" to check & price stuff out, then did another sweep for major purchases. it was fun! both the st. remy (wed) and isls (sun) markets were great, lots of food, soaps, linens! make sure you have cash too... also, rousillon has a small market on thursdays. i got a tube of powdered pigment, which has given me some inspiration on wall colors!

you'll have a great time wherever you go. it's so beautiful...

here's the link to my trip pictures from last fall:
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/18236/index.html

quimbymoy,

Thanks for the link to your photos. That shot of the countryside from Le Baux is stunning! How are we ever going to see it all??

Patti

You have some good plans here, but I would bag the Camargue --I know u will get some disagreement, but I don't think it is all that interesting and a bit of a haul for not much. I would also skip Aix--it's a large town, the parking is a bear, and frankly, I think St. Rémy and the Luberon towns are more scenic and fun. We do love the Pont du Gard, especially for a little hike and a picnic down the river from the aqueduct which we have done many times--although I understand it now has more formal tourist trappings--and Uzès, just North of there is a wonderful town to have a meal, a coffee and just to stroll in. See how those fit with your plans--you will definitely go less far afield by bringing in Uzes, deleting Aix and the Camargue.

Catch your breath! As you say you can't put 10-lbs of ---- into a 5-lb bag. Forget the Camarque and Aix, both are too much of a haul from where you are basing yourself, besides, it'll be a bit chilly in the Camarque in March. I'd sooner drive out to Aigues Mortes from Arles than do the Camarque. (See day you do Arles, below)

St. Remy is a better base, and easier to get in/out going in all directions.

The market at ISLS - you've got to be there real early to get parking, and unless you're really interested in antiques (and the best ones are inside in the individual shops), this may be a waste of time. It's too long a walk to the Bories from the parking lot - so forget easy stolling and enjoying.

If you decide to stay in Avignon, do the Palais and then go out to the Pont - it's empty and beautiful at sunset, but get there before they close.

Do not go to Les Baux on Sunday whatever you do, it's the busiest place that part of France - everyone and the their grandmother and family dog are there.

On Sunday go out to the Luberon villages, Abbaye, Gordes (overrated) Roussillion (wear dark colors if you decide to walk the red rocks), Menerbes, Bonnieux, etc.

Monday - St.Remy, Glanum, then Arles, on way back stop in Les Baux, most if any crowds will be gone or they'll have thinned out.

Tuesday - whatever was missed on other days. Uzes is a charming Renaissance town a bit further from the Pont du Gard, about 16-miles. And even Orange and Vaison Romaine can be done from Avignon.

But get the Michelin Orange #526 map and design your itinerary going in one direction each day - don't go jumping around. Also, be sure to check what is open on what days - I believe most museums are closed on Tuesday (though some on Monday); and other things might be closed on Monday - this is especially true in "off-season" and do remember that many places close between the hours of 12N-2pm.

And for whoever said the Pont du Gard and Les Baux were close, not very! The Pont du Gard is 22-miles West of Avignon; Avignon is almost 18-miles North of St. Remy and Les Baux is 8-miles South of St. Remy - that's almost 100 miles round trip, not counting getting lost!

Do get started early every day (be on the road by 8:30) and know that petrol will cost in the range of $4/gallon.

You can have a wonderful time in this part of Provence, but don't knock yourself out trying to get to and see everything - it can't be done and still be enjoyed - and your butt and your legs will atest to that if you try.

I was very impressed by all the inputs and comments.

My family are going there next week.(from 30th to 7Dec). How would the season or weather with regards to seeing the places. Can all the places listed for the day trip can be done in a day as compared to March and Dec where the days are shorter.

I would definitely include Arles. It has loads of charm and Roman ruins. It is one of my favorite places in Provence. If you want to see Roman ruins, definitely see Vaison-la-Romaine. It has the 2 ancient Roman sites right at the entrance of the city (across from the tourist office). There was a lot to do there. I went to the bustling open market, then walked across the ancient Roman bridge up to the Medieval town and saw the sites there and ate lunch overlooking the most divine view. St. Remy de Provence was very interesting (I went mostly for the Roman sites and the Van Gogh lore) but if it was between the two cities, I would choose Vaison-la-Romaine again.