Provence- Luberons (Roussillon, Gordes etc) or Alpilles (St. Remy,Les Baux
 

Help! Traveling with my family by car after Paris and Annecy to Provence area. It's our first time in this area and we only have 4 nights in Provence- after which we fly back to the states from Marseilles airport. We don't want to spend time in Marseilles but would like to spend our last night within about an hour of the airport (it will be a Saturday morning- hopefully not a lot of traffic).
The problem: I would love to visit both the small villages of the Luberons (Roussillons, Gordes, Bonnieux etc..) and Alpilles ( St. Remy , Les Baux) area but I think we will be too stressed for time - driving and changing hotels too much. Thought about 2 nights in each area but now I am thinking I better choose one. Which area is more beautiful, special, interesting? I have 3 kids - 12 year old twin boys and a 15 year old daughter. We love to walk around areas of natural beauty as well as interesting villages, shops and ruins, and finding tasty treats. Leaving the U.S. next week so please respond ASAP!!

Also any recommendations of hotel or base villages would be appreciated. If we only choose one area- we may spend 3 nights and the last night in Aix en Provence since it's closer to Marseille- hotel recommendations? Thanks!!

If you don't change hotels until your final night you can visit pretty much everything you want to in the time available. Stay near St-Rémy, as driving into and out of the Lubéron is time-consuming. From St-Rémy you can easily visit the ruined château at Les Baux in half a day and then the incredible Pont du Gard--one of the best ruins in France.

You can then take one day to visit several of the Lubéron villages. If you want to spend the last night in Aix, I'd recommend Le Mas d'Entremont. It's a lovely spread-out hotel up on a plateau above Aix, with easy access for the motorway to Marseille.

We have loved staying at Sous l'Olivier http://www.chambresdhotesprovence.com/ before we began renting gites in Provence. Each evening they serve a multi course meal which has been a highlight of our visits. The location is very convenient for visiting Roussillon, Gordes, Isle sur la Sorgue and even Les Baux.

If you wish to stay near Uzes I highly recommend Mas d'Oleandre http://www.masoleandre.com/. It is located in a tiny hamlet and has an enclosed courtyard, very private and special. This area is better for a second stay in Provence, in my opinion.

Thanks for the great (and fast) info- I will check into both of your suggestions. Any other suggestions for accomodations in or near St. Remy?

I don't think you can exactly rank areas like that, they are just different. However, if I had to place a bet, I'd recommend the Luberon for your stay rather than Alpilles area. Unless you are particularly interested in Les Baux for historic reasons. But all those areas will have shops, I just think it's a little more scenic around those small perched villages than around St Remy (which I don't care for, although lots of folks do). I think you could visit more than one area if you have three days, though, but you may not want to move hotels to do that.

Thanks Christina- any particular village that would serve as a good base? I would like it to large enough that we have a selection of restaurants and maybe a good boulangerie.

gee, I don't know exactly. Last summer I stayed in Roussillon and quite liked that. I think it is one of the easier "name" villages to stay in (or very close by) for several reasons -- not restricted to cars, some places to stay in the village itself so you can walk around to dinner, etc., and not as expensive as some of them (ie, Gordes). It's fairly central in that area and easy to drive in/out compared to some which are higher up and restricted to cars (ie, Bonnieux). It depends if you must be in a village proper or not. There are places on the outskirts that would be even easier for driving.

It depends what your budget is. This place, for example, has a good restaurant and is kind of in-between Gordes and Roussillon
http://www.mas-de-la-senancole.com/

This place is just outside Roussillon but not in the village center (which is more convenient often) http://www.france-voyage.com/en/

I stayed at a place probably not the best for families so won't recommend it.

Roussillon fits your description, I think, although I don't usually look for boulangeries when I travel as I don't eat bread and stuff like that outside meals. They probably have one, though, they have enough restaurants to choose from.

There was a small village I liked nearby that was well-centered and not as well-known as these names. I'm sure it had enough restaurants and a bakery. I think that was Goult, I'd have to check my map elsewhere. http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/vaucluse/goult/goult.htm
mayor's website
http://www.goult.fr/

problem is those places that are not tourist magnets don't have many places to stay. This is one I could find in Goult, not sure it is right (a lot of hotels in this area push meals on you and say you have to pay for them, which I think may be illegal, but they do it) http://www.notredamedelumieres.com

To be honest, I'm out of my league in knowing what are the best accommodations or even possibilities for a family of five in this area.

I loved Les Baux, St. Remy not so much -- too many Americans. Don't miss the Pont du Gard.

There's a spectacular restaurant near Avignon - Mas de Cure Bourse - plane trees, great service, food to die for.

Thanks for everyone's input- Christina (or anyone) if I can stay in either Roussillon or Bonnieux for 2 nights, which would you choose -both accomodations are in the village. Which village has moreto do and is nicer to walk around at night? What other village in the area should we not miss?

Lbrown -

I would definitely choose Roussillon over Bonnieux. While the villages are the same in terms of restaurants and bakeries, Roussillon is much more pleasant to stroll around in the evening. This is because a good section of the village (and all of the medieval part) is closed to traffic. So you can have a drink or a meal in a nice outdoor cafe facing the gorgeous town hall and not have any cars rolling by. Then you can stroll around the medieval section of the town in the evening when the tourist crowds have thinned out and enjoy an amazing 360- degree panaroma.

Roussillon is basically much more pedestrian friendly than Bonnieux which suffers from a series of annoying one-way streets forcing traffic to go back and forth through the village.

- Kevin

Kevin- thanks for your suggestion. We will stay 2 nights in Roussillon and then I think 1 night in St. Remy and 1 night in Aix- or possibly just stay two nights in Aix- and if we have time, visit Les Baux and St Remy from Aix. Any thoughts on this anyone?

I'd definitely choose Roussillon, well, in fact, I did. Bonnieux isn't very convenient a place to be in IMO, whether passing through (which is all I've done), but I thus assume it would be true for staying there. I don't even know how you'd stay in Bonnieux or where. I intended to stay there last summer and then found out you couldn't even park near your hotel (if it was in the center), so that was out. I've been in it and walked around and just didn't find it that fascinating, frankly, nor much there. It seemed a lot smaller than Roussillon to me in terms of restaurants and shops.

Maybe you have a place in mind, I realized one URL I posted was dynamic and probably doesn't show the hotel I was thinking of just outside Roussillon -- Les Sables d'Ocre. This works better http://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/les-...d-ocre.en.html

There are many charming villages in the Luberon, some bigger and busier than others, each with their own uniqueness, and all fairly close together. There are options to stay right in a village and many lovely places in the countryside.

Roussillon is one of our favorite villages and definitely unique with its lovely colors. There is a cluster of restaurants on the main square Kevin described and some beautiful views from the top of the hill. The walk through the old ochre quarries is also very interesting... be sure to wear old shoes. There is a small admission charge and you may find it very busy with tourist groups. Roussillon is one of the villages that does attract some amount of tour bus traffic during the day, but it's much quieter at night.

We spend a lot of time in Bonnieux and find it a very special village. I know the original poster has already made a decision about where to stay, but I thought I'd offer some more insight about Bonnieux for others who are interested in the Luberon.

Bonnieux is a true perched village, splayed down the hillside, with the old church at the top of the hill and a newer church near the bottom. There's also a tremendous amount of history; a marked walking trail around the village describes some of the points of interest.

The views across the valley from many vantage points in Bonnieux are incredible. Head above the village to the road leading to the top of the Petit Luberon and the Foret des Cedres and you'll be able to see 25 miles or more to the west, north and east. (If you're especially ambitious, you can hike up the mountain from several starting places in Bonnieux.)

And despite the roads that snake up the village (which help make it a good base for getting around the area), there are many small pedestrian streets, passageways, fountains, and ruins of the old castrum (castle) to discover. These are often not discovered by people just passing through. We've found from our own experience that a "drive by" often gives us a misperception of a place.

Bonnieux has a wonderful Friday market (which is very popular with locals) and nine or ten eating places spread around the village. There's a small grocery store, two boulangeries, a butcher, a presse, a florist shop, a good library... everything to support year round residents and tourists. And like Roussillon there are several artist galleries, inclduing a wonderful pottery shop just on the edge of the village.

There are only a few hotel/B&B accommodation options right in Bonnieux but we can highly recommend Le Clos du Buis http://en.leclosdubuis.fr/, an eight-room guesthouse with its own parking, a lovely garden with a pool, amazing views, and a very warm welcome.

Kathy

Thanks Kathy for your extensive description of Bonnieux! It's so difficult to visit for such a short time and make these choices- everything is so enticing! Oh well - the kids only have a short time off of school so we have to work with what we have. One of the things we love to do is hike. If anyone has some additional scenic places to hike in this area please advise! Thanks so much!!