Provence Pickle
 

I am having a very hard time getting a grasp on Provence. I have the National Geographic Guide with lots of nice pictures and the Cadogan guide with lots of details, but I am still having a hard time putting together an itinerary.

We have 12 full days (not including the day we land and the day we fly out) between flights into Paris and out of Barcelona. We have been to Paris before, so don't plan on staying long, but would love 2 days there. We have never been to Barcelona, so would like 3 days there. The time in between (a week) is reserved for travel and Provence.

We ususally travel 100% by train while in Europe, but understand the value of a car in Provence. Car rentals, gas, tolls etc. can be tough on our relatively tight budget, so I would like to keep the car rental time to a minimum. I had thought of getting the France Rail and Drive pass which allows 2 car rental days. My idea was to split these up into two one day rentals for excursions into the countryside and base outselves in larger places where we will have a good selection of restaurants for dinner and be able to do some site seeing without a car.

I can't decide where would be the best "bases" and how many I should have. Three bases, 2 nights each? Or two bases, 3 nights each. Avignon, Arles and Aix stand out as the obvious choices as bases. But maybe we should consider somewhere else?

And I am not sure how to best use the 2 car rental days. A one day rental in Avignon and one in Aix for day trips? Or maybe link the 3 bases together with days of driving and exploring?

Any help or comments is appreciated! We will be travelling in early May. We really enjoy galleries, museums, exploring quaint towns, walking/hiking, photography/scenery and dining on the local cuisine in casual small restaurants and cafes.

What you need is the Michelin Green Guide to Provence, which has suggested itineraries--makes planning much easier. The Michelin map of Provence would also be very useful, and you can go to mappy.com and/or viamichelin.com for driving directions and advice on routes.

Saltymuffin - I definitely know how you feel! Have been reading and planning our Provence trip for months and still haven't finalized bookings yet. So unlike our many other trips to Italy, England, Scotland and Japan. Don't know why! I have checked mappy.fr for driving distances - everything seems to be close enough to each other but I guess it is the timing on seeing sights, trying to avoid backtracking, etc. that is making it more difficult to make decisions. Have finally decided to base ourselves out of St. Remy for the 'western edge' of villages/towns and Gordes for everything 'east' of St. Remy for our drive to Moustiers Ste. Marie and eventually Nice.
Good luck in your planning and I will be keeping an eye out for the responses you get!

Thanks for the comments.

Underhill, I went to the bookstore today at lunch and picked up Rick Steves Provence and Riviera book to add to my collection. It looks like it will be a help for planning. He has some suggested itineraries, and lots of transportation information. They didn't have the Michelin Green Guide to Provence, I will have to take a look online to order it.

jenniel6, I too have planned numerous trips with far less trouble than this one! It seems like so much to see in Provence is the "atmosphere" and general scenery, making it harder to pin down "must see" destinations.

saltymuffin - Since you are an experienced train traveler in Europe, I assume you know how to get discount train tickets by booking well in advance on a country's national rail site rather than through Rail Europe. While a Rail & Drive pass would be convenient, you might find it a lot cheaper to buy point-to-point tickets for train travel and rent a car separately through a consolidator like autoeurope.com. My party of three did this last year and found the car rental price to be quite reasonable when divided three ways.

Just as an example, here's what we did. (Substitute your own not-to-be-missed places.) We flew from Dublin to Nice and spent five nights there. We used the cheap and frequent train and bus service for day trips along the coast. We picked up our rental car on our last full day in Nice so we could drive to a couple of places not easily reached by public transportation. The next morning we drove all day to Joucas (near Rousillon) in the Luberon and spent three nights there. We explored the area by car each day, returning to Joucas for the night. On our last day with the car we drove to Marseille and toured the city on foot and by bus. We drove on to Toulon, turned in our car, and caught the Nice-Paris night train to Paris. We got PREM'S (discount) tickets on the train by booking online well in advance.

I was writing when your last note posted. For our planning we used the Lonely Planet guidebook and the Rick Steves guidebook. As you've already discovered, RS has some helpful suggested itineraries designed for either train or car. I suggest you buy the Michelin regional map #527 Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur to help you visualize the whole region. It's available at amazon.com.

Hi Tim, thanks for your itinerary, it always helps to see what others have done. And yes, I will be carefully comparing the price of the pass vs. an individual rental and tickets. Since I have two long train trips in France - Paris to Provence and Provence to the border on the way to Barcelona, I did think it was possible the pass MAY be the way to go - but we'll see!

Just in case others in the same situation read this in the future, I found a Frommers 1 week itinerary of Provence that can easily be adapted to a two day car rental. I don't like all aspects of it (too many one nighters etc), but it offers something to work with, and shows a possibility.

http://www.frommers.com/destinations...236020794.html

I figure one would pick up the car in Arles on the morning on Day 4 and drop it in the morning of day 6 in Aix. The rest could be done by train.

Ok,

I have a first stab at an itinerary:

tues - arrive from Paris late afternoon/early evening. Sleep Avignon

weds - Avignon. Sleep Avignon.

thurs - to Arles, stopping at Pont du Gard and Nimes along the way. Sleep Arles.

fri - Arles. Sleep Arles.

sat - Arles market in the morning. Pick up rental car at noon and drive to Roussillon, stopping in Les Baux and St.Remy along the way. Sleep Roussillon.

sun - morning head to Isle-sur-la Sorgue for market. Afternoon drive and explore - ???. Sleep Roussillon.

mon - Drive to Aix stopping ??? along the way. drop car at noon. Afternoon Aix. Sleep in Aix, OR catch train to Barcelona after dropping car.

Questions:

1. I understand that I can get from Avignon to Pont du Gard and on to Nimes by bus, then Nimes to Arles by train. Would there be somewhere to leave out bags at each place, or should we consider biting the bullet and getting a car for this day as well?

2. I would love suggestions for my driving days on sat, sun and mon. Routes to take, and how much can be seen in the time we have etc.

3. Will everything be closed in Aix on monday? Is it worth spending the afternoon and a night there? Or should we just move on to Barcelona? Is there another place that would work better for this last night? It needs to be somewhere that we can drop the car, and catch the train the next morning. Cassis perhaps?

Thanks in advance!

Just curious, as a car would be ideal for your entire time in Provence, is there not a drop charge to be factored in by picking up the car in Arles and dropping elsewhere? If so, did you consider 1)Making Avignon or Arles your base for 3 or 4 nights 2)picking up a car in Avingon or Arles 3)keeping it for three or four days to do all your wonderfull sightseeing which is all relatively close to Avignon and/or Arles 4) drop car where originally picked up avoiding a drop charge 5) take train to another town if still interested... ie Aix, or a beautiful Mediterranean town like Bandol, Cassis, Sanary and then from there continue on your journmey to Barcelona. Some of the cheapest rental rates I have found in France are with sixt rent a car. When comparing rates definitely check them as well as autoeurope.

Thanks lemidi,

With the rail/drive pass, there is no drop charge. You can pick up and drop at any Avis location in France. However, you make a good point.

I really should do some car rental research to see how the rates compare with the rail and drive pass. If I can get a good rate with sixt or auto europe, I may be able to keep the car for 3 full days and make a loop back to where I picked the car up. . .

I also noticed that the quickest train to Barcelona goes at about 3:30 in the afternoon, so I think I will definitely leave for there on the monday skipping Aix.

There usually is no drop charge when you rent a car in France and return it in France; it's when you cross national borders that the (hefty) charge kicks in.

>>sun - morning head to Isle-sur-la Sorgue for market. Afternoon drive and explore - ???. <<


Explore the villages in the Luberon - Gordes, Menerbes, Goult, Bonnieux, Lacoste, Oppede le Vieux, Saignon. Shops in Gordes & Roussillon will be open.

mon - Drive to Aix stopping ???<<

Drive over the Comb de Lourmarin & visit Lourmarin & it's chateau. Many/most shops wil be closed, but it's a cute town to wander around in. Then head to Silvacane Abbey & explore. Plan to arrive in Aix after 3:00 (see below). BTW, there are many cute villages south of the Luberon Mountains on the way to Aix - but the itinerary I suggested will consume your time till 3:00.

>>3. Will everything be closed in Aix on monday? <<

Yep - most shops will be closed on Monday morning - except for the very touristy ones on the Cours Mirabeau. Some will open in the afternoon around 3, but the ones my wife likes the most stay closed all day. This was the condition in '99 when we were there on a Monday - don't know if things have changed.

General comments...
I would try real hard to budget in a car. Save on meals, lodging, etc to find a way to find some $$$.

My wife & I have vacationed in Provence for over 16 weeks, and were going back for 4 more next year. What makes us return is the beautiful countryside & small villages - not the big cities like Avignon, Aix, etc (although we like them quite a lot, too). The lavender fields around Sault, the vineyards & perched villages in the Luberon, poppy & sunflower fields, the mountains around Sisteron & east of Sault, the Chateaux, and the restaurants in the small villages & countryside are the "stars" of Provence, IMHO. You can't get to our favorite places unless you have a car. Bus service to the villages we like the most is non-existant of infrequent enough so that it would consume a lot of your limited time just waiting for the bus.

Go to autoeurope.com to find out how much a car will cost you. Take about 10% off the rates they quote on their on-line site - they always have specials running. I booked in Feb this year and called them back twice. Both times they knocked significant amounts off my rental for 3 weeks.

Have you considered reing a Gite??? We always stay in Gites while vacationing in France. They rent from Sat to Sat, so that might not be doable for you, unless you re-arrange your schedule. We rent upper-end Gites in Provence (private pools, multiple bedrooms & bathrooms, etc), but they still rent for about 600E per week in May. You could easily find one for much less than that - around 350 to 400E per week. This would save quite a bit on your nightly stays & food costs. They are usually out in the countryside. We've stayed in ones that are 4 K from St Remy, 5 K from Gordes, walking distance to a very cute town near Vaison (we're trying to reserve this one for next year, so I won't divulge any more specifics), 45 mins from Aix in the Var near Cotignac, 20 mins from Uzes, etc.

Your first few days are loaded with larger cities that have a lot in common with each other. I would try to break these up so you don't see a lot of the same stuff back-to-back-to-back.

I have a 20+ page itinerary for Provence that I've sent to hundreds of people on this travel board. E-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy.

Stu Dudley

Good idea. You are in an area with so much to see but it is compact enough to see it on day trips with a car and avoiding all the packing and unpacking which can spoil a trip. We did a day trip (in a car) from Toulon area. Left around 10AM and visited Avignon, St Remy, Las Baux and Arles and back to Toulon area by midnight. Of course we did not do thorough tours of any one museum/palace but we definitely got to experience and enjoy each city. Had lunch in Avignon and dinner in Arles. I am not neccessarily recommending this type of day but just letting you know it can be done.

Regarding renting a car...

Check the rates for 7 days - not 3 or 4. Often the rate for 7 is the same as for 3.

Stu Dudley

Could I just add that a Provence pickle would probably be a cornichon?

Thanks everyone!

Stu, I don't think a sat - sat Gite rental will work for us (we are working around frequent flier flights), BUT I took a look at car prices, and figure we can do a 3-4 day car rental. I am re-working the itinerary to place the car rental between city stops, to break them up as you suggest.

Thanks again - I will post the new improved itinerary when I get it worked out!

Underhill, I can't stop laughing about the cornichon. Good one.

Ok, after much struggle, I have two potential itineraries using a 4 day car rental.

The first is pretty much the same as above, but I would pick the car up thursday at about noon for the drive to Arles via Pont du Gard. Then I would drop the car at noon in Arles on monday before catching a 3:30 train to

A RT train for two from Avignon to Arles is about $40. If you rent the smallest air-conditioned car from AutoEurope for 4 days, it works out to about $46 per day - without gas. For the $6, I would want the convenience of a car. If you travel on the Peages, you'll have some tolls also in addition to gas. Try to get a diesel - which gets much better mileage than regular gas & is also less expensive per gallon. If you just stay in the St Remy, Uzes, Luberon area I'm guessing that you won't need more than $60 worth of gas - perhaps less if you just hop from city to city & don't take longer trips into the Dentelles, Sault, etc.

Stu Dudley

oops!

that should be before catching a 3:30 train to Bacelona.

The other option follows:
tues - arrive Avignon early evening from Paris. Sleep Avignon.

weds - Avignon, pick up rental car at 4:00. Visit Pont du Gard on the way to Vaison la Romaine. (Is this doable?) Sleep Vaison.

thurs - drive and explore the Rhone area around Vaison. Sleep Vaison.

fri. - Drive to Roussillon. Sleep Roussillon.

sat - explore Luberon area. Sleep Roussillon.

sun - visit the Isle-sur-la Sorgue market and St.Remy and Les Baux on the way to Arles. Drop car by 4:00pm. (Is this doable?) Sleep Arles.

mon - Arles, 3:30 train to Barcelona.

Comments on the two options are appreciated! I don't like the two "one night stands" with option 2, but like that we cover more ground.

Thanks again Stu - I am definitely sold on the car rental! Due to the cost, however, I would like to limit it to 4 days (which both of my itinerary options allow). I did some price checking and found that it is indeed about $45/day for a manual, but $90/day for an automatic! What a dramatic difference. Regardless, I think we'll go with the automatic as I don't drive stick, and don't have one to practice on between now and then.

Arrrgh!!! Car rental places in Arles seem to all be closed on Sunday, so that puts a wrench in option 2.

Adapted itinerary would have to be:

tues - arrive Avignon late pm. Sleep Avignon.

weds. Avignon. Sleep Avignon.

thurs. Pick up car 9:00am, visit Pont du Gard and ??? on the way to Vaison. Do a drive in the afternoon around Vaison. Sleep Vaison.

fri. Put together a drive between Vaison and Roussillon - explore en-route. Sleep Roussillon.

sat. Drive areound Luberon. sleep Roussillon.

Sun. visit Isle sur las Sorgue market and then St.Remy and Les Baux (will anything be open?) on the way to Arles. Sleep Arles.

mon. Drop car by 9:00am. Explore Arles until 3:30 train to Barcelona.

weds - Avignon, pick up rental car at 4:00. Visit Pont du Gard on the way to Vaison la Romaine. (Is this doable?) Sleep Vaison.

You will get to Vaison pretty late - perhaps around 8PM or so, but it's doable. My Michelin Green Guide says that the Pont is open till 9PM. You might consider staying in Uzes this night so you can visit Uzes - one of my favorites. That would give you two one-nighters however.

thurs - drive and explore the Rhone area around Vaison. Sleep Vaison.

Fine

fri. - Drive to Roussillon. Sleep Roussillon.

Take my Lavender Route (in reverse) for a very scenic way to get to the Luberon. You can easily see most of the Luberon in less than two days.

sat - explore Luberon area. Sleep Roussillon.

Fine



sun - visit the Isle-sur-la Sorgue market and St.Remy and Les Baux on the way to Arles. Drop car by 4:00pm. (Is this doable?) Sleep Arles.

That's a lot in 1 day. The market gets going at 9 & you can get a good taste of it if you leave at 10:30. It's about 1 hr from when you decide to leave the market till you arrive in St Remy. That puts you there at 11:30 - before the store closings. St Remy will have many (but not all) shops open. Perhaps leave St Remy at 1:30 (pizza on the run for lunch) and head to Les Baux. It will be crowded - especially if your trip coincides with one of the many Franch holidays in May. See Les Baux till 3:30 and then get to Arles about 4 or 4:15 - not much time to spare. They will usually give you a 1 hr grace on the return time, so I think if you return it by 4:45 you will be OK. This is Sunday, so I suspect that all the rental offices will be closed and they will take your word (I hope) that you returned it by 4:00. If you go to the AutoEurope web site and put your return date as a Sunday, you can see the days/hours that the various offices in Arles (there may only be one) will be closed. Perhaps inquire on Fodors to see if anyone has returned a car to a "drop box" and "fibbed" a little on the return time. You may be in luck on a Sunday.

Stu Dudley

Thanks again Stu! The autoeurope website wouldn't allow me to book a car to return on Sunday in Arles. Maybe I could if I booked by phone. . . It hadn't occured to me that dropping off on Sunday (if they let me) might actually allow for a bit of flexability . . . and I do have a copy of your itinerary, the lavender route sounds perfect for connecting Vaison and Roussillon.

For my lavender route from Vaison, head east & take either the D5/D72 or the D5/D40 towards Montbrun - both are lovely. Take a short up-and-back to Brantes (& make sure you go north of Brantes a little for a good view).

Stu Dudley

Check the autoeurope web site for locations in Arles and then check the hours that they are open.

Underhill, I checked the autoeurope website, and all of the locations in Arles are closed on sundays.

However, I am thinking of yet another itinerary option, similar to the last, which reduces the travelling around, and bases me in or near St.Remy (which seems to be popular on this board!).

Tues - arrive early evening Avignon. Sleep Avignon.

wed - Avignon. Sleep Avignon.

thurs - pick up car 10:00am, drive to Luberon and do Stu's drive. Sleep Roussillon or St.Remy.

fri - Stu's Lavendar Drive. Is this doable in a day from St.Remy? Sleep Roussillon or St.Remy.

sat - Visit Pont du Gard and Uzes. Sleep St.Remy

sun - Isle sur la Sorgue market and Les Baux. How long of a drive is it from St.Remy to Isle sur la Sorgue? How early would we have to leave? Sleep St.Remy.

mon - drop car in Arles by 10am. Visit Arles until 3:30 train to Barcelona.

Alternatively I could spend thurs and fri nights in Roussillon if it makes the driving easier. . . is it worth moving hotels? Or is everything easy form St.Remy?

I am running around in circles with this thing! I can't settle on where to base myself! I am trying to decide between Vaison la Romaine, St.Remy and Roussillon. The MOST I can do is two of those locations (two nights each).

I have 4 days with a car, I have 3 of them roughed in as follows:

1. Pont du Gard and Uzes
2. Luberon driving day (Stu's route)
3. Isle-sur-la Sorgue market and a visit to Les Baux (and St.Remy if we don't spend the night)

I can't quite decide on the 4th, and this is what is giving me trouble deciding on where to stay. I can do one of the following:
- Stu's Lavendar route,
- a day driving around the Cotes du Rhone
- maybe a day in Camargue to mix things up . . .?

Thoughts? Is it possible to combine a Cotes du Rhone drive with the Lavendar route in one day? Or should i just forget about this area? Is heading up to Vaison too far for such a short trip? Rick Steves raves about this area - is it very different from the Luberon?

Thanks for all you help and patience!

>> Is it possible to combine a Cotes du Rhone drive with the Lavendar route in one day?<<

You could do both in the same day if you don't stop & dawdle at too many places. We did it in 1 day AFTER the l'Isle sur la Sorgue market, but it was a long day (we took friends on the route). You probably should skip the Gorges de la Nesque section, however. Just stop in the towns of Sault (for lunch), Montbrun (for a photo - no need to explore the interior of the perched town - it's better from the outside than from the inside), Seguret, Vaison - Medieval section south of the river & Roman ruins if you need to see more Roman stuff, Gigondas if you want to taste some wine, and Simaine la Rotunde (this will cost you 45 mins - so plan accordingly).

Of the three areas you are considering staying in, I think the Luberon is a must. Many/most people think this is the prettiest area in Provence. Next, I prefer the Rhone/Dentilles, but others prefer the Alpilles/St Remy region because of St Remy & les Baux.

I would stay in the Luberon, and then let your schedule dictate the other region where you stay.

I am not a fan of the Carmarque - but others enjoy it because it's different. If I wanted to add another day of sightseeing in the car, I would head north to the Gorges de l'Ardeche & admire this scenic gorge, visit the fantastic cave of Aven d'Orgnac, and then hit Grignan & visit the town & castle there. This is kinda out of the way, but if you stayed 1 night near Uzes after the Pont (visit Castillon du Gard also - it's a short visit), and the next night near Vaison - you could loop up to the gorge/cave & Grignan without too much loss of time going & coming.

Stu Dudley

Ok, I think I have it just about finalised!

tues - arrive early evening from Paris. Sleep Avignon

weds - Avignon. Sleep Avignon

thurs - Pick up car at 9:00am. Drive North to Vaison and then to Roussillon. Cobble together a route using Stu's Lavender and Dentelles routes. Sleep Roussillon

fri - Luberon Drive. Sleep Roussillon

sat - Pont du Gard, Castillion du Gard, Uzes. Sleep Arles

sun - Isle sur la Sorgue market, St.Remy. Sleep Arles

mon - drop car at 9:00am. Arles. Train to Barcelona at 3:30pm

My only final questions are:

1. Should I stay in St.Remy instead of Arles? Arles feels more central.

2. I would also like to add Les Baux. Where would be best? First thing on Saturday? Or at the end of the day on Sunday?

I am finally feeling like I have a handle on this!

There's no need to be limited to opening hours of car rental agencies IF you rent with Avis through the SNCF (French railroad) Web site. After hours, you pick up the car keys from the train station master, and you can drop the keys at the end of the rental at any time. Actually, I'm surprised you can't do with latter with any rental service. We do it often with Avis France. Never a problem.

Saltymuffin,

We went to Provence last April after visiting Barcelona and I completely understand what you are going through planning your trip!! We took the train from Barcelona straight over to Montpelier and rented our car there. I ordered a copy of Stu's Provence trip suggestions and it was very helpful - full of ideas. He is such a great resource on this board and so helpful. It looks like you have your plans pretty well laid out now.

I just want to tell you that my husband and I stayed in St. Remy for the first 2 or 3 nighs and we loved it there. Great restaurants and great location for Pont du Gard, etc.

We love history and I want to let you know how phenomenal Pont du Gard is. We spent almost the whole afternoon there just looking and walking and it also has a very good museum as part of it, so please make sure you give yourself at least 2 hours there.

Next favorite place was Les Baux! It is very large and interesting and fun. Again, give yourself at least 1.5 to 2 hours there. Try to get there early as parking is at a premium.

I am certainly no expert, but reading this thread brought back some good memories of our Provence trip last year! Have a great time!! Barcelona is wonderful - full of great sites to see.

Ginny

Thanks Dave in Paris and Ginny,

Dave, it is possible that autoeurope would allow me to book a car to drop off after hours if I were to call - I only tried the website (my trip isn't until May, so I have time to work out the details!). I did try the Avis website, and it also refused a Sunday drop off. Do you have a link to the car rentals on the SNCF website? I can't find it. Is it only available in French?

Ginny, Pont du Gard and Les Baux are both "must see" spots for us - I just have to figure out where to fit in Les Baux, I understand that early and late are definitely best to avoid the crowds. I am glad to hear that St.Remy offered a good selection of restaurants etc. I would like to spend our evenings somewhere that we can park the car and walk to dinner. St.Remy would likely be much less trouble for Parking and coming and going etc. My only concern if we stay in St.Remy is what to do with our bags in Arles during the day before our train to Barcelona. I will have to research to see if the train station has lockers.

I would bet the train station will have lockers. Hope you find out they do. Keep us updated.

Ginny

Since I am in a similar place in planning, I have been checking back for the responses you get from the other well-traveled 'fodorites'. Keep the feedback coming and thanks!

If you're going to visit Les Baux on a weekend, do it late in the day. Most of the tourist buses and groups have left by 5:30 - 6PM. I live just outside of Les Baux and I see the tourist buses arriving earlier in the day every year... so evenings are still best. And depending on when you're coming, you can see a spectacular sunset from there...

Patricia

I have been to St Remy and Arles several times most recently three weeks ago and they are both wonderful places to visit. While Arles has such wonderful historical sites and is quite central St Remy is a more comfortable place for an overnight. It is a small town with great amenities, very easy in and out driving, easy parking, and a beautiful ambience. Make sure you have ice cream at the cafe ( I forget the name but is was a big glacerie ) on the main square across from the carousel. The grapefruit flavor (pamplemousse) was amazing. I am still thinking of it. Do not miss the Glanums and les Antiques as you exit town toward les Baux...You can feel Van Gogh walking in these parts.

Arles is a bigger city and has a bigger city feel. Parking is not as easy and like all larger towns there are questionable areas and some of those areas have questionable characters loitering the streets at night. The area around les Arenes, the amiphtheater, was nice and very active at night and felt comfortable. I am only referring to after dark in this paragraph....We had a great and reasonable meal in Arles at the Restaurant L'Hostellerie des Arenes
on an upstairs terrace overlooking the Arenes. Spectacular view and delicious lasangna and cheap.

We visited les Baux in the late afternoon. It was less crowded and was breathtaking as you approach the town with the sun lower down over the white ruins...Made for some great photos.

You are correct to be concerned about dropping off your car after hours. Our car rental through sixt would not allow us to drop off the car before they opened. We had a 5:15Am train from Toulon and the agency did not open until 8Am. Luckily I was able to leave the car and keys with a cousin who was able to do the return when they were open otherwise sixt had no provisions for after hours drop which I found unusual.

<< Make sure you have ice cream at the cafe ( I forget the name but is was a big glacerie ) on the main square across from the carousel>>

That would be "Roma"... they make all their own ice creams and sorbets. A routine stop for us on our way home once the weather warms up !

Patricia

Thanks Patricia. That ice cream was great. Yes, the girl did say they make it there. MMM