dianamc

My husband and I just booked our flight to Paris for Sept. 11. We're starting to plan our itineray and would love your help.

We are planning on flying into Paris (CDG Airport). We would like to get the TVG train at that point and go to Avignon. Is the train station near the airport? From there we plan on renting a car.

We have 15 nights. Should we divide it at:
5 nights in Provence
5 nights in Nice
5 nights in Paris?

We know we want to stay in St. Remy but in Nice we are not sure if we should stay in Nice or a smaller village outside of Nice...any suggestions? Any suggestions for Paris that is convenient for sightseeing and under $200 a night with A/C.

Does anyone know what the weather should be like during that time.

Any suggestions would really be appreciated. I've been reading this sight and you fodorites always seem to have such good advice. Thanks.

StuDudley

I'm assuming that you will arrive in Paris on the 12th. The TGV station is at the airport & you can either walk or take a bus there (depending on the terminal you arrive at)

If you visit Provence first and stay for 5 days in/near St Remy, you will be there for the Wed market, but you will miss the "biggie" at l'Isle sur la Sorgue. It's possible to hit another "biggie" market in Carpentras on your last day there, but it's a little far from St Remy - perhaps 20-30 mins farther than the l'Isle sur la Sorgue market. Most people don't want to miss the Sunday l'Isle market, so if you don't either, perhaps visit Nice first then back to Provence.

Personally, I prefer staying in the Luberon instead of St Remy. We've vacationed for 12 weeks in Provence within the last few years, and we like the Luberon the most. We've styed near Aix, Gordes (Luberon), St Remy, Vaison, and Uzes.

Nice vs Nice small villages - this really depends on your preferences. There are some cute villages in the area behind Nice. We've stayed in Nice perhaps 8 times for a total of 30 days, and we've stayed near St Paul for 4 1/2 weeks. Both areas are a lot of fun. Nice is a little hard to get in/out of, but nothing that's terribly difficult. We've always stayed at the Hotel Windsor in Nice. We stay in a Gite (house) near St Paul, but we've also stayed at Le Hameau in St Paul twice.

I have a 20+ page itinerary describing my favorite villages, markets, scenic drives, restaurants, a "Provence fabric" section, and a "Lavender Route" section. E-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy.

The weather in Sept will be perfect.

Stu Dudley

dianamc

StuDudley...why do you recommend Luberon over St. Remy. What is Luberon like?

Do others agree?

ira

Hi dian,

Your 5/5/5 split is fine, although I love Paris so much that I would do 7/4/4.

So as not to disappoint all of my Fodors friends who are thinking, "Ira will recommend the Bonaparte", I recommend

Hotel Bonaparte, 61 Rue Bonaparte - 06
Tel 33 1 43 26 97 37
FAX 33 1 46 33 57 67

125E dbl w/bkfst has AC

We always stay here.

Underhill

i prefer the area around st-rémy, but if you were to cut your time around nice to 3 or 4 days you could visit a fair amount of western provence--nice is in the eastern segment of the region. sorry about the lack of capitals, but i'm still typing one-handed.

StuDudley

>>>StuDudley...why do you recommend Luberon over St. Remy. What is Luberon like?<<

I consider the Luberon to be the area east of Cavaillon & l'Isle sur la Sorgue, and west of Cereste. It includes the villages of Gordes, Roussillon, Saignon, Apt, Bonnieux, Goult, etc.

I think the Luberon is "lusher" than the area around St Remy. In the Luberon, there are vineyards, lavender fields, many cute villages, and it's easier to access pretty "remote" areas of Provence from the Luberon than it is from St Remy.

The St Remy region is a little too arid for me. The area south of Les Baux is fine (although I still prefer the Luberon). I don't find the section west of Tarascon scenic at all, and the sunflower fields on the way to Arles, and also north of St Etienne du Gres and also just east of St Remy seem to be disappearing & replaced by wheat fields - which I don't think are as pretty as sunflowers.

Also, there is a little too much commerece along the D99 than I want to see - especially east of St Remy. The area north of St Remy is just OK, but not an area I have found a reason to spend a lot of time in. As you approach Avignon, it gets downright ugly (urban sprawl)

In the Luberon, once you get past the ugly commerce around Cavaillon & even around Coustellet, there isn't much ugly commerce except for about 2 K west of Apt. We love driving through the vineyards & lavender fields at dusk on the way to dinner - it's quite scenic. If you follow my "Lavender Field Route" that's in the itinerary I've been sending to people, you will see exactly what you expect to see in Provence. I've had several people tell me that "this is what I expected Provence to look like". In the Luberon, it's quite easy to access the pretty area around Sault (where my lavender route goes), then the Mt Ventoux area (where we will be staying this June), remote "gems" like Simiane la Rotonde and Brantes, Vaison area & the Dentelles, Senanque Abbey, market in l'Isle sur la Sorgue, & wine villages (Seguret, Gigondas, Vacueyres). Plus, the dozen or so perched villages in the Luberon & surrounding area are fantastic.

If you will be visiting Provence for only 4 days or so, then St Remy is just fine because it's close to Les Baux, Arles, and Avignon, plus St Remy is my choice for the most "interesting" medium-sized town in Provence. The market in St Remy is nice, but nothing compared to the ones in Carpentras, Apt, & l'Isle sur la Sorgue - which are much closer to the Luberon.

Stu Dudley

dianamc

I see that Hotel Le Grimaldi in Nice is recommended on this board. Does anyone know if it has a parking lot for a car rental?

Any other hotels in the Nice area that anyone could recommend?