Provence/Luberon- stay in both or base in one
 

We will have 6 nights in the Provence area in July. We plan to take the TGV from Paris on Monday, 7/11. I have booked 1 night in Arles and plan to pick up a car rental the next day. The next 3 nights we have a room booked in St. Remy. This will put us there on Bastille Day. With the remaining 2 nights we have to see this area of France- should we continue to stay in St Remy or move to another area such as Vaison la Romaine or Aix-en-Provence? Should we stay another night in Arles and shift the stay in St Remy? I'm a bit confused on the driving times between the small towns even after spending quite a bit of time reading the threads on this sight.
Note-We will be heading to the Dordogne region after leaving Provence, most likely stopping one night in Carcassone on the way.

We based in Gordes and easily did day trips to all the places you mentioned except for Aix, and we even went over to Moustiers-Ste-Marie for a day. I prefer "staying put" rather than packing and moving around. Except for Moustiers, I don't think any trip was much over an hour, if that. Since this was in May (not this year), there were no traffic problems; don't know about July; someone will post about that, and that may affect your decision.

Sounds like a wonderful time; have fun!

ttt

Because you are going to the Dordogne after Provence, you would be better staying in St Remy. Arles is close to St Remy (maybe 29 miles) Aix is in the opposite direction for the point of departure for Carcassone.
Have a wonderful time.

Adding a new post about your question regarding lodging in the Dordogne, in case you are still looking...

Best wishes,

Rex

Rex,

Are you back? Tell all!

Thanks for the welcome home, underhill...

... and yes, I am working on it.

In the meantime, I am posting <i>some</i> snippets on threads where an answer fits the question and I can drop bits of information about our most recent trip... or in some other cases, as follow-up to advice given to me originally when I had posted a specific question...

For example...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34618473

(&quot;Best thing to do in Paris at 7:30 in the morning?&quot;)

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34621033

(&quot;Small hotel vs. BB in Dordogne?- help&quot;)

and

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34627472

(&quot;OF PARIS, TRAINS, AND LUGGAGE&quot;)

Thanks for all the help. I am still weighing my options. These are the only 2 nights of our trip not booked yet. Several people seem to recommend staying in both St Remy and the Gordes/Roussillon area. However my search on mappy.com says they are only about 40 minutes away. Is there enough difference in the areas to warrant this?
Another question- when do they cut the lavendar? Everyone says they are great in June and early July. We will be in Provence mid-July. Will they still be blooming?

yes, the lavender will still be in bloom.It is harvested in August in more areas.

Welcome back, Rex.

About the lavender..I was in Provence in the last weeks of August and there was still lavender.

The commercial lacvender will be harvested about mid-August but the remaining fields lose tjhe bright color. Should you drive around the Sault area late August when they burn the old lavender stalks,(and plant anew) the scent is heavenly.

For us, the deciding factor would not be the 40 minutes distance, but the specific hotel we would be moving to. If the hotel is just a place to sleep that's one thing, but sometimes the hotel is the destination. And there are so many charming ones to choose from.

Ditto on Ron's comment. Chateau des Alpilles was a 'destination' to us. We could walk into St. Remy from there.

Hotel des Romarins in Gordes, while much more rustic, was an entirely different experience as we could view Gordes from our terrace.

That '40 miles' could seem much further in midsummer. Plus, the towns you want to see from Gordes are on the 'other side'--not necessarily in between Gordes and St. Remy. Hope this helps.