Provence/Riviera/Tuscany Experts: Please help with comparison question
 

First of all, a million thank yous to everyone who has been helping me plan my trip so far!!! I hope you're not getting impatient with my many questions...

I've had a change in itinerary, though, as
I have happily been able to extend our stay in Paris
(5 nights instead of 4!), but this changes our arrival in Provence to a Sunday early evening.

We originally had booked La Prevote in Isle-sur-la-sorgue on a Sat night to enjoy the market on Sunday morning. We would then continue our drive to St. Paul de Vence.

Now we won't be there for the market and I'm thinking that we might pick a different place in Provence for our 1 night stay. Is le Sorgue the best place to stay if you're not going to see the market?

I've already read countless threads on hotels and locations, and REALLY appreciate EVERYONE'S fabulous advice on the forum.

My question is not about hotels, though.

Considering we are later staying in St. Paul de Vence (3 nights) and Montepulciano (3 nights), which location for one night might offer a "different" experience? I'm worried the hilltowns will start to blur in my teenager's memories.

But we're considering the following as an alternative one-night stay and are open to other suggestions:
Les Baux
Gordes
St. Remy

OR..
Is it too much of the same thing, and should we just extend our St. Paul stay to 4 nights, which means we would just drive thru the Luberon and not actually stay overnight in Provence. This would give us more time on the Riviera.

(We end our trip in Rome for 3 nights.)

Thanks in advance for your advice AND your patience!!!

Dina

Stay in Les Baux or Gordes. Both are hilltop villages, Lex Baux even more unique. Les Baux is a bit "off-track" for your travels, but I would stop for a night on the way to St. Paul de Vence which is not like the hilltop towns in Provence. Why did you decide to stay an extra night in Paris and forgo the market experience in Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue?

If not Lex Baux, I also like Gordes. I forget the name. St. Remy is flat. to me it did not stand out. Check out the Relais and Chateaux site for lodging.

When in St. Paul, take some time to see Eze if you can.

Dina -

I agree with NYerr - the hilltop villages in western Provence are very different from those in the Pays Nicois. So don't worry about it becoming repetitive. Plus, I wouldn't want to make the drive from here to St. Paul on a Sunday evening. Do it Monday morning in a leisurely relaxed manner. And if you are upset about missing the market in I-s-l-S, you can always check out the Monday morning market in Goult. It is much smaller, but the small local markets offer a different experience from the Carnival atmosphere you get at the biggies.

-Kevin

Hi dina4, Just did my 4th visit to Paris last fall, and I only hope there will be a 5th one day - enjoy!! In Provence, I would certainly try and visit the Pont du Gard when you are in the area and Nimes - the arena and parthenon are beautiful.
As for Italy, instead of staying in lovely little Montepulciano, which will be very dead in the evening - and I say this as a 50 something retiree. After several visits to Italy, I would definitely change that reservation to Siena. Then you could go north one day to visit fantastic Florence (3 weeks in that city are not even enough for me yet), or San Gimignano if you've done Florence enough (some kind of oxymoron), then south one day to wander Monte., Montalcino, and Pienza. You can wander charming,little Siena in the evenings, when the cathedral and the Piazza del Campo while be lit and magical. You can stroll the narrow cobble stone streets with the locals and eat and drink in endless cafes. Don't miss the Forno Indipendenza (P. Indipendenza #27, closed Sunday, if you want to taste real pizza and foccacia bread. It's just off the campo. Happy planning.

Historical Les Baux would be fun for a teenager, and is very different from other hill towns. St. Remy is charming, but flat.

Hi NYerr --
Thanks for responding.
It's our first visit to France, and I just thought staying an extra day in Paris would be so wonderful.
We will definitely try to see Eze when in St. Paul.

Hi Kevin--
I am glad to hear that the hilltowns of Provence and the Cote d'Azur are so different.
I am disappointed to miss the I-s-l-s market, so I will look for Goult on my map!

Hi blowfish--
What I didn't tell you is that this is not our first trip to Italy. We have been to Siena (and loved it, like you!), and we are actually going to be in Florence for our 2nd stay for 2 nights.
We chose a fatteria outside of Montepulciano becuase we've already stayed in the Chainti area and want to explore the Val d'Orcia area this time.
We are considering going to Siena during the Palio festivities, though, so I made note of Forno Indepenza.
Thanks for your thoughtful repsonses!
Dina

Hi Louisah,
we must have posted at the same time because I didn't see your post.

I am actually leaning toward staying in St. Remy or Les Baux.
Les Baux definitely seems unique and I think the kids (2 teens/a typo in my OP) would love the climb up to the ruins. St. Remy seems charming and I think my daughter will love browsing the shops with me.
I guess a stay in one with a drive to the other would be fine either way. It's only one night.
Thanks!

Many of the stores in St Remy will be closed on Monday morning (at least my wife's favorites are). Most will be open on Sunday. Almost all stores will be closed in l'Isle sur la Sorgue on Monday.

Goult is just a bit east of Gordes - nice town.

I agree that St Remy & les Baux would be your best bet on a Sunday evening & Monday morning for a one night stay.

You said you were arriving on Sunday early evening - is that at 5:00 or so?? if it is, you might not have much time to check into the hotel & see Les Baux on Sunday. If you visit it Monday, you might not have much time to visit the Goult market - it closes at around 12:00 or so if it's a typical French market (never been to that one). Can you take an earlier train from Paris to get to Provence sooner??

When you finish with your sightseeing around St Remy on Monday, I would head into the Luberon and visit the market at Goult if you get there in time. Then visit Gordes (stores will be open on Monday) & take the driving route through the Luberon that's in the Provence Itinerary I think I sent you. When you get to Bonnieux, head to Lourmarin through the very pretty Combe de Lourmarin, and then get on the freeway towards Aix & then on to the Cote. As you pass the St Tropez exit at le Muy, the scenery is quite pretty.

You're going to be doing a lot of driving. If this was my trip, I would have skipped Italy & just stayed in France, or skipped France & just stayed in Italy. That drive from St Paul to Montepulciano is not fun at all!!!

Stu Dudley

Hi Stu,

Yes. we have your itinrery (thank you!) and plan to do that drive through the Luberon on the way to St. Paul.

Just not sure it it's worth it to stay just one night in Provence or save it for another trip.

If many of the shops are closed in St. Remy on Mon morning, I'd be really disappointed. We can try to get there earlier on Sunday, but what time would the stores be actually be open on a Sunday?

Is it better to stay somewhere along that Luberon drive--near Gordes? Or just trek on through to St. Paul?

And, by the way, we luckily don't have to drive straight from St. Paul to Montepulciano. We are driving to Florence and settling there for a few days. And besides, my husband loves to drive.

And, also, we don't get to Europe every year, so we try to make the most of it before for our kids are grown and gone. So we're doing a week and a half in France, and the same in Italy.

Thanks again,
Dina

Most (but not all) stores will have "normal" opening times on Sunday in St Remy - closed from about 12:30 till 2 or 2:30 & open till 8 or so. We were last in St Remy in '03. For the three stores my wife spent the most time in, they were open on Sunday (we were there on Sunday) and closed on Monday. The type of stores you will find in about 50% of the villages around there, were open on Monday (pottery, fabric).

I think if you arrive around noon on Sunday, and head to St Paul from Lourmarin around 4:30 or so on Monday, you can see a nice "piece" of Provence if you explore the St Remy/Les Baux area on Sunday & the Luberon on Monday.

If you get to Provence at 5:00pm and leave for St Paul at noon or so, then I would perhaps just take the train to Aix, rent a car there & head to St Paul - skipping Provence (shops in AIX are closed on Sun & Mon mornings also).

Stores in St Paul are open every day.

Do you have my Italy itinerary, which has a lot of info about the Montepulciano area?

Stu Dudley

Yes, that is great advice. Arrival time will make a big difference in what we should decide do to.

Do you know how late one can climb up to the ruins at Les Baux?

(And, yes, I do have your Montepulciano file, too!)

Thanks again,
Dina

Here's the web site for the chateau des baux:

http://www.chateau-baux-provence.com...rmations_1.htm

looks like closing hours vary from 5pm to 7:30pm depending on what time of the year.

-kevin

The Michelin guide says the ticket office closes at 8:30 in July & Aug, and 6:30 in March, April, May, June, Sept, Oct. Don't recall if they shoo you from the ruins when they close the ticket office, but I suspect that they don't till at least 30 mins after the office closes.

Stu Dudley

Looks like they don't shoo people out, according to another poster, so late is a great time to go.

thanks again!
Dina