Thanks you all again!

Location for amazing ice cream is noted!

I think we'll play it by ear for Les Baux. If we have the time and energy, we'll maybe stop on Saturday, but if not, we'll make sure we stop in on Sunday after 5:00pm.

I am still not sure about staying in St.Remy vs Arles. St.Remy sounds more pleasant and easier with a car. But Arles has the logistic advantage of being where we are leaving from. We will have to drop the car in Arles by 9:00am on Monday (I'd rather not take risks with this Sunday drop off thing), and being able to keep our bags at the hotel until our 3:30 train is certainly a benefit. I guess we could spend 1 night in each place, (we don't travel with much luggage), but that may not be worth the hassle. I may just look at hotels in both places and allow myself to be swayed by a nice hotel or good deal.

jenniel6 - feel free to add your own questions to this thread if you like!

bookmarking

What we enjoy about Provence is that distances are relatively short. We rent a car and stay in a small village 5 miles from Isle sur la Sorge. You can drive anywhere and back in a day. We drove to Monaco one year. Had lunch, visited the casino, and returned home before dark. I would strongly advise you to get one place and go out everyday from there.

Saltymuffin, if all things were equal for you, St Remy might be the better place to stay but in your case it would be illogical to stay anywhere but Arles. Stick with Arles for your last 2 nights (don't split it up) and relax and enjoy. Find a great little hotel in Arles and don't compare anymore. Sometimes too much research can drive one mad and ruin the anticipation time of the trip.

Thanks lemidi - I had been leaning towards Arles, but sometimes you just need someone to tell you to settle on something and go with it! I guess now the fun of hotel research begins!

ttt

Well, after a bit of a break from planning. (Our trip isn't until May . . .) I am back at it.

I have reconsidered a few details.
1. I am willing to keep a car for 5 days, rather than 4.
2. I am dropping Avignon in favour of smaller places.
3. I have modified the schedule slightly. We will now arrive from Paris before noon on wednesday, and depart for Barcelona very early the following tuesday.

These 3 things make quite a few changes possible. I am now considering the following:

weds - Arrive in Avignon and pick up rental car by noon. Drive to Rousillon. (Sleep Rousillon 2 nights)

thurs - Luberon exploration day - making good use of Stu's drives.

fri - visit Les Baux and St. Remy. (sleep St.Remy 1 night)

Sat - drive to Uzes. Is it possible to arrive in time for the market? Enjoy Uzes. (sleep Uzes 2 nights)

Sun - Visit Pont du Gard and Castillon du Gard.

Mon - Drop car in Nimes. See Nimes. (sleep Nimes 1 night)

tues - early departure for Barcelona.

I am quite a bit happier with this itinerary than my previous drafts, and feel we will have much more time to explore. My only "regret" is swapping Arles for Nimes. The early train to Barcelona doesn't work from Arles. However, it does sound like Nimes has its share of Roman sites, so we should be happy there for a day!

I did wonder if we should see the Pont du Gard and Castillon du Gard on our way from Uzes to Nimes and spend two nights in Nimes, and only one in Uzes. Thoughts?

Hi salty muffin. I can help you with one of your questions. Yes, you can easily drive from St-Rémy to Uzès on a Saturday morning and arrive in time for the market. It is about an hour's drive, perhaps a bit less, and the navigation isn't too difficult.

My recollection is that the market gets underway pretty early--we've strolled through at 7:30 on a Saturday morning--and runs until perhaps 1-ish in the afternoon. Food and crafts are centered in Place des Herbes and the streets leading into it. Inexpensive household goods and clothing tend to be around the perimeter. The only consideration I would add is that the earlier you arrive the easier the parking. However, if you're staying in a hotel that night, I assume you'll drive there and park?

Pont de Gard is all of 10 minutes away from Uzès. Unless you aim to hike all the trails around it, allow a couple of hours. You could easily drop in on your way to Nimes; you could even drop in on your way from St-Rémy to Uzès, although you'll probably be more focused on getting to the market.

Anselm

Thanks Anselm,

I am glad to hear we will make the market!

It sounds like we have lots of options for Pont du Gard. . . .

Muffin: We spent a week in the Avignon area this summer. As for your question about two nights in Nimes or two nights in Uzes, I say definitely Uzes. Uzes is a pretty small town that is great for walking. It's close to the Pont du Gard, and there is the Musee de Bonbons (Candy Museum) at the Haribo candy factory outside of town on the road from the Pont du Gard. Nimes is worth a visit for the Maison Caree and ampitheater, but is is big, noisy and grimy. We thought Avignon was a lot nicer than Nimes. Have a great trip, and give yourself time to get lost on the side-roads.

hi, saltymuffin,

I will definitely second 57Bel in Avignon vs. Nimes. While Nimes has some impressive Roman ruins, easily accessible, etc. I prefer the Arena in Arles (cleaner). Also, IMHO you can't miss the Papal Palace in Avignon.

As fas as your car pickle, I have always had a car when traveling in Provence and find it much more convenient than the alternatives. You can save if you can drive a manual transm. That's what I have done.

Hope it helps,

-e

Hi there,
We are planning to fly to Marseilles on a Saturday in may arriving about 9:30am I think.
We have to be back at London heathrow to catch a plane leaving at 11:30am on the following Saturday.
I have been reading this thread as we want to concentrate on Provence, so if anyone has any ideas on how to begin from Marseilles and how to return to Heathrow (reasonably!!) please let me know. Don't know why I booked such an early flight on the return..must have been the only one available.
Thanks a lot!!
PS We have rented a car on two other occasions in France but not been in this region at all, so plan to rent a car again.

Ok, listening to the advice, I have decided to end the trip in Avignon instead of Nimes. To squeeze in Arles, I am also considering the following change.

weds - Arrive in Avignon and pick up rental car by noon. Drive to Rousillon. (Sleep Rousillon 2 nights)

thurs - Luberon exploration day - making good use of Stu's drives.

fri - Drive to St. Remy. Explore St.Remy and Les Baux (sleep St.Remy 2 nights)

Sat - Day trip to Arles (and its Market)

Sun - Drive to Uzes via Pont du Gard. (Sleep Uzes 1 night)

Mon - Drive to Avignon and drop car. See Avignon. (sleep Avignon 1 night)

Tues - early departure for Barcelona.

What will Uzes be like on a Sunday?

I haven't read all the responses so if I repeat, take it as a vote!
I would rent a car for your week in Provence. Arrive Avignon and start out. Choose a central city like St. Remy for your base and fan out daily.
There won't be any tolls to speak of. Rent a diesel for economy.
Totally enjoy the real charm of Provence on your own.
And I would spend as little time in Aix as possible--it is a large congested city with impossible parking. Many more interesting places for me.
The distances aren't long and there is much to enjoy en route.
The Wednesday Arles market is nice. I concur with the person who suggested the Michelin Green Guide to Provence. Also if you drive, the Michelin map that shows the lanes up to "madame's house" is essential.

<<What will Uzes be like on a Sunday?<<

Pretty quiet. In early May I don't know how much will be open - and whatever is open will probably close in the afternoon.
You might check on the website to see if anything is noted - http://www.uzes-tourisme.com

I don't know why you're moving and spending a night in Uzès though. It's a little less than an hour's drive from St. Rémy... and from there to Avignon it's about 25 minutes.
(longer to drive from Uzès)

Patricia

I've spent a few Sundays im May in Uzès and would certainly echo what PBProvence says: Very quiet, especially in the afternoon. However, if you are looking to stroll and perhaps poke your nose into a church, youl'll find it pleasant and relaxing. There will be cafés open, so you can pause for a drink. The weather in early May is likely to be mild enough for short sleeves or a very light sweater.

Anselm

PBProvence, we travel very light, so figured that it was easy enough to change hotels rather than drive back to St.Remy after our day at Pont du Gard . . . Uzes seemed like a good choice due to proximity to both the Pont and Avignon.

How Anselm describes the town, should be fine for us at that point in the trip. But I am open to suggestions!

Would somewhere else offer more on a Sunday? Perhaps we should consider arriving in Avignon that evening, rather than spending the night in Uzes? That would us a full day there on Monday.

Philbill,

Have you considered taking the TGV and then train from Paris to London at the end of your trip? Spend 6 days or so in Provence, then catch the train from Avignon. I understand the entire route can be done in 5.5hours.

Considering you would still have to make it to Heathrow on arrival in London, it sounds like you almost have no choice but to stay in London the night before your trip. The only other possibility I see is an early morning flight from Nice to London - if you were to work your way in that direction. I know BA flys Nice to Heathrow - most of their other provence flights are all into Gatwick.

I just found a 7:15am flight from Lyon on BA to LHR which would get us to Heathrow in time as we are flying out BA too.
I have to see if Lyon would be a convenient location to 'end up'. The cost is far less than the train. I checked both out..thanks for the tip.
I need to make a quick decision as Saturday flights will probably book up. I could fly the day before but that means wasting a day in travel (leaving at noon on Friday) and hassling luggage and airport hotel in London etc.. However, the flights are a less expensive and we would be more rested for our long flight home!!
I can't complain as we get to TRAVEL!!
Any thoughts on itinerary/hotel arriving early morning in Marseilles?
Thanks!!

Philbill - Are you planning to spend any time in Nice? If so, on easyJet (www.easyjet.com) you would have your choices of three flights a day from Nice to Luton, two flights from Nice to Gatwick, and one flight from Nice to Stansted. I plugged in an arbitrary date in November and found fares as low as E10.99.

You could, for example, leave Nice at 17:40 and arrive at Gatwick at 18:40. You could take a National Express coach directly from Gatwick to Heathrow and spend the night at an airport hotel. Or you could spend the night in London and have plenty of time to get to Heathrow in the morning.