Provence suggestions please!
 

My husband and I have a wedding in Paris at the end of March, and we're thinking of flying into Marseilles early to spend about 5 days in Provence before we head up to Paris for four days (we've already been to Paris, and while we would never run out of things to do there, thought it might be nice to visit a new region). With five days, where would you recommend going (how would you divide your time), and is it easy to rent a car and drive between stops? Would we need to return the car to Marseilles or is it not too expensive to return it to another city and take the TGV from there?
Thanks!

Delay the wedding until May for better weather.

amusing thought, but clearly not within our control

I took the TGV from Paris to Avignon, rented acar and returned it in Nice. Wasn't expensive at all, driving was easy and this was end of February, so a bit cold but not bad and beautiful any time of year.

One option: Train to Avignon, and then Lyons, before going to Paris.

how not expensive was your car rental? it looks like a 5 day rental through autoeurope.com would be almost $500 (and this is for pickup and return to marseilles) - is this normal?

I paid 328 us for a week w/ drop off in another city. I forget who I used but it wasn't auro europe. I'll check and post back. I think the exchange was around 1.30 or so 2 years ago.

Provence is a very large area.
Are you considering
- from between Agignon to Aix or from Aix to Nice/Monte Carlo, better known as the Cote d'Azur?

If the former, you can
- TGV to Avignon, pick up car, sightsee and return vehicle at Marsielles.

If the latter, suggest you
- get into MRS, car, visit at Aix then head east towards Nice, then back to Paris.

Decide first which of these areas of Provence you want to visit; a good guidebook will provide info on both areas, towns, museums, etc.

I would go to Avignon, rent a car and do day trips around that area.

Most car rentals in France do not charge extra for dropoff to another city in France. One option might be to fly into Nice, then work your way over and drop the car in Avignon. Most of the rental cars will be stick shift, if you need automatic, it will be substantially more (as will larger cars). If your own (or credit card) insurance will cover possible damage to the car, that tends to make rental cheaper (but read the fine print ahead of time). While I wouldn't get the smallest car, I saw Hertz had a Peugot 207 for about $400/week, which might work.

Lots of options for places to go, one thing to think about is whether you prefer villages, towns, or cities. And also whether coast, plains, canyons, or mountains.

What are your interests? What do you think you would like to see? HAve you read any guidebooks or done any research on what there is to see? Answer these questions, and we can probably be of more help. I have a hard time helping people plan for a trip when I do not know what they like and are interested in doing. I can tell you what I like and how I would divide it up, but that might not do you much good.

Genreally, Provence has it all. Roman ruins scattered amongst pretty villages. Lovely markets and art histroy. Severl places of religous importance. Wine and olive country is always fun.

You have larger cities like Arles and Avignon, metropolitan areas like Nice and Marseilles, and small villages too numerous to name. Your choices in all of these places is limitless.

As for the travel arrangements, that to can depend on what you want to see. If I were landing in Marseilles, I would TGV to Avignon, rent a car, and explore the area there and south. I would want out of the city and to escape to the country, but that is me.

Thanks so much for the help so far. We will be flying into Marseilles b/c we can actually use miles (and return from Paris). We're thinking of starting in Marseilles and then heading westward, toward Avignon/Arles/St. Remy/etc. In general, we're interested in art/architecture (especially modern/contemporary, but from all other periods as well), good food (especially cheese!), exploring new areas, sitting in cafes, beautiful scenery. We were thinking of not heading into the Riviera area, since the weather won't be good for the beach anyway, and with 5 days, probably better to narrow it down. So, if you have any suggestions on which particular cities, villages, etc. to pick and how much time we need at each, that would be great!

My girlfriends and I spent 8 nights in the Luberon area of Provence, stayed in a B&B/guestouse in Pernes-les-Fontaines, and these were the daytrips we took:

1. Bonnieux
Menerbes
Lumieres

2. Roussillon (don't miss!)
Gordes (another don't miss)

3. I'lle sur la Sorgue (the Sunday market is fabulous! Get there before 9A to get a close parking spot -- town very charming with water wheels and lots of water)

4. Pont du Gard

5. Vaison la Romaine
Seguret
Gigondas

6. St. Remy

7. Cassis

We flew into CDG and took the TGV from CDG to Avigon, picked up our rental car at the TGV station, and at the end of our trip returned the car to the TGV station and took the TGV to Paris and then flew home from CDG.

Provence is so beautiful -- I hope you totally enjoy your 5 days there. I'm pretty sure you'll want to return for a longer time, however!

Enjoy!

joy/luvparee

Our guesthouse website is: www.lelavandinprovence.com. However, I'm not sure if it's open in March. Absolutely gorgeous property while we were there with all the flowers and lavender in bloom!

Other than Marseille and Aix, should we just stay in one town in the St. Remy/Avignon/L'Isle sur la Sorgue and drive to the others for day trips, or should we switch hotels?

I would think about doing two days at a hotel in Cassis, and three at a B&B in St Remy or L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Day trips are pretty easy in the area, but it might be nice to have two base locations. If you are more city people, then substitute Avignon and Nimes or Aix. The distances are short enough that I would just select two locations for the 5 days.

sorry, which stop would you substitute avignon/nimes/aix for - st. remy or cassis or either?

Oh, and any suggestions for vineyards to visit from a base in the St. Remy or surrounding areas?

I suppose I would make one of the stops in the area of St Remy, Sorgue, or Avignon. You can easily make day trips to/from any of them. If you are there on Sorgue market day (Sunday?) that is well worth visiting.

I sent you my itinerary, and most of my suggestions are in there.

I'm not sure I would visit Cassis in March - especially Easter week when you need to make reservations well in advance. To me, the interesting parts of Cassis are best enjoyed in the summer - dining outside on the port, a boat ride through the Calanques, vistas along the Corniche du Cretes (just as scenic during other seasons - as long as the weather is clear), and hanging around outside. The town itself is OK, IMO, but I enjoy others much more. My wife thinks the shopping is mediocre. If you get some not-so-good weather in March, it would be less enjoyable, IMO. I would rathar be in Aix instead, if the weather was bad. We were in Provence for all of June this year, and we waited till the weather was good before we made an overnight trip there.

The dates of your arrival & departure pose a bit of a problem. Normally, I would suggest that you fly into Marsaille, stay overnight in Aix that first night, then head up to central Provence & stay in the Luberon or St Remy for 4 nights. On your other post, you indicated that you want to visit the market in l'Isle sur la Sorgue on Sunday. You're arriving (perhaps jet-lagged) on the 22nd - which is a Saturday. Shops are closed on Sunday in Aix (especially Easter Sunday), so if you want to see Aix at it's best, you'll have to fit it in on Sat - which is do-able if you're the type of person who can fight through jet lag. However, I suspect that the market in l'Isle sur la Sorgue will be mobbed Easter Sunday (we've never been there then). I think they also have a big annual antiques fair that day. You really need to get there by 8:30 to avoid the huge crowds at 10:30 that are too much for me to handle. Door-to-door from Aix, it is probably a 1 hr drive, and traffic should be very light in Sunday. If this is OK with you, then that would be a good plan.

Almost all of my wife's favorite shops in St Remy are closed on Mondays - some only in the morning & some all day. Same with most of the other major cities - Avignon, Nimes, Uzes, Vaison, Arles, etc. Shops in Gordes & Roussillon will be open.

Beaucastel in Chateauneuf du Pape (actually, quite a bit north of town) gives an excellent guided tour of their winery operations - reserve there. See my itinerary for details.

There's lots of debate on this forum about the best area to stay in if you want to be centrally located. St Remy is a popular choice for those who want to stay in a meduim sized village, walk to dinner, sit at cafe's a lot, have interesting shops within walking distance, etc. Others like the Luberon (Gordes, Roussillon, Bonnieux, etc) if they want to be out in the "country" & surrounded by vineyyards and scenic drives. We return to the Luberon a lot more than the St Remy area.

Stu Dudley

Would vineyards and/or the Pont du Gard be good for Sunday and Monday?

Yep - but I would want to see Uzes in conjunction with the Pont du Gard. Shops in Uzes will probably be open in the afternoon. I think you could visit Beaucastel, Pont, and Uzes on a very active day - if you get an early reservation for the tour at Beaucastel.

The Pont du Gard has a good cafeteria-style lunch place next to their excellent museum. Perhaps visit the winery first, drive to the Pont, then finish with Uzes.

Stu Dudley

How about l'Isle sur la Sorgue and vineyards after on Sunday (if they're open), and Pont du Gard and Uzes on Monday? Would that give us a bit more breathing room?

I'm pretty sure Beaucastel will be closed on Sunday. Perhaps Sat also. The market at l'Isle sur la Sorgue closes by 1pm, but I believe the permanent antique stores and perhaps the special antique faire will remain open after lunch (that might be too much market for me). I suspect all shops will be closed during & after lunch however (we've never lingered around after the market).
http://antiquite-islesursorgue.com/


On Sunday, I would visit the market in the morning, perhaps have lunch there (find a place by 12:15), then take a drive trough the Luberon (see my itinerary) and visit Gordes & Roussillon (both in the Luberon).

Monday visit Beaucastel - try to reserve ahead for the earliest English tour. Then the Pont du Gard over lunchtime. If there is time left in the day and you still have some energy, visit Uzes in the afternoon. Uzes has lots of outdoor cafes in the Place aux Herbes.

Stu Dudley

Ok, so schedule wise, this is what I'm thinking at this point:
Saturday, March 22: pick up car in Marseille, drive immediately to Les Baux, on to St. Remy (stay in St. Remy as base)
Sunday, March 23: l'Isle sur La Sorgue (morning), afternoon in the Luberon (Roussillon, Gourde)
Monday, March 24: vineyards and Avignon
Tuesday, March 25: Pont du Gard, Uzes, Nimes (is this doable?)
Wednesday, March 26: drive back to Marseille and stop in Aix along the way, stay in Marseille
Thursday, March 27: morning in Marseille, noon TGV to Paris

Does this seem reasonable? Am I making a big mistake not including Arles (Nimes sounded a bit more intriguing, especially with the mix of ancient and modern architecture) . . .

or, should we skip Les Baux that first day, drive from Marseille to Nimes, and then drive back to St. Remy that evening. That way, we would have a whole day for Uzes and Pont du Gard . . .

I would choose Arles over Nimes as the city center is more compact and exploring the sights easier.

I think instead of Pont du Gard, Uzes, Nimes you could more easily do Les Baux, Pont du Gard, Uzes in one day if you started early. I would not skip Les Baux--it is truly a spectacular setting. Uzes would be a nice place to relax in the afternoon

We're also trying to pick our hotel and have narrowed it down to a few choices. I think we've settled on basing ourselves in St. Remy, so our choices are: (prices in Euros)
Mas des Carassins: 153/night, includes breakfast every day and 2 dinners, 612 total
Maison du Village: 150/night, 600 total
Hotel Les Ateliers de l'Image: couple of room choices - 175/night for a standard room with shower and garden view (18 sq. m), 4th night free, 525 total; or 205/night for a standard room with bath/shower with patio view (35 sq. m), 4th night free, 615 total
Chambres d'Hote Fragrance: 80/night, includes breakfast, 320 total

I think you are visiting WAY too many large cities. You will find a lot of similarities between Avignon, Nimes, Arles, and Aix. I always suggest that visitors see only 1 or 2 of these cities on a short trip to Provence. If they are also visiting Paris, I suggest only 1. Uzes and St Remy are also cities, although much smaller than the others. Considering you are from NYC and will also visit Marseille and Paris - that's a lot of concrete & congestion on 1 short trip, IMO. You're missing what makes me and many others return to Provence so often - the beautiful countryside.

The itinerary I sent you has at least 4 "scenic country drives". The Lavender Route is my favorite, and it goes up into the mountains a tad, and also along a beautiful gorge and ends at Senanque abbey. The Dentelles drive (Seguret, Gigondas, etc) is quite scenic & goes through some pretty wine villages - Seguret is probably the cutest. This drive runs close to Beaucastel, so you could do it in conjunction with that. There is another scenic drive near les Baux, around the Alpillies, and through the cute village of Eygalieres. The Luberon drive goes through most of the cute vilages you've heard of, but I've taken you off some of the more-frequented roads and onto the lesser traveled ones through vineyards & lavender fields (lavender only in summer). Do this latter drive on Sunday. You may not be able to complete it all, but it's a good start and a good alternatve to just village hop.

Most shops will be closed in Avignon on Monday. The Les Halles food court is closed then. Some shops may open in the afternoon - but afternoons start around 2:30 or 3 in France.

More countryside & less cities.

Stu Dudley

Ok - that makes sense - of all these cities then - Nimes, Arles, Aix, Avignon - which is best for art/architecture?

ttt

We're not much into Art, but we're big architecture fans. That's one of the major reason we spend so much time traveling in Europe each year. My wife conducts walking tours of Victorian Architecture here in San Francisco.

Probably Avignon has the most interesting architecture, IMO. We visited both Arles & Avignon about 3 days apart this year (after many previous visits), and we spent about 4-5 hours walking around in Avignon (didn't visit tha Palais des Papes - visited that twice before) admiring the architecture, and no more than 2 hrs in Arles. Take thw walking tour outlined in the Michelin Green Guide - but extend the walk down & back along the Rue des Teinturiers - which goes along the Sorgue River.

Aix has the best shopping, according to my wife.

Stu Dudley

At this point, you might get a copy of the Michelin Green Guide to Provence. That very informative guide has suggested itineraries, which can be extremely useful for planning purposes. And if you don't already have the Michelin map of Provence, now is the time to get one.

I don't think it is possible to say categorically that any of these cities has the "best" art and/or architecture. As is usually the case, it depends a lot on your interests.
For Roman architecture you would want Arles or Nimes. I personally really like the city center in Arles including the Romanesque church St. Trophime.
Avignon has medieval architecture including the Palace of the Popes.

Marseilles is also "worth the journey" in Michelin terms (3 stars).

I would buy a Michelin guide to PRovence or take one out of the library and go through the entries for each city to see which one(s) you most want to see.

You won't be in Provence when lavender is blooming but the recommended Lavender Route will still be beautiful and Senanque is
well worth a visit.

I saw this post by PBProvence on another thread and thought it sounds interesting - definitely some more country for our itinerary! What will the Camargue be like in March? Horseback riding sounds like fun if the weather is right . . .

Day Three:
If you're interested in the Camargue (the natural wildlife preserve - famous for the wild Camarguais horses, bulls and rice fields) I highly suggest a visit to Aigues Mortes.
South of Arles, it's a little over an hour's drive from St Remy.

A walled city, departure point for the crusades, it's one of my favorite places in the area. It hasn't really caught on with foreign tourists yet, although do I see more and more every year.

Famous for salt, you can see the mountains of it from the ramparts.

Returning from Aigues Mortes, you might want to visit Arles. The Roman coliseum and theater in town are well preserved and used today. There is also a Roman necropolis just on the edge of town and within walking distance from the center.
It's also a place that Van Gogh painted extensively, and the Tourist Office has a booklet (in English ) that gives various walking tours that are very interesting.

It's about a 30 minute drive back to St Rémy from Arles.

The Carmargue and Aigues Mortes is definitely an interesting trip. Very different from the Luberon. I think the driving times in the itinerary you posted are a little overly optimistic.

I have never been to Provence in March. You should find spring weather , fruit blossoms, etc. However I believe the mistral could be a problem

If you can get to a bookstore for browsing, the DK Eyewitness guide has lots of good pictures to give you an idea of the different areas you are considering.

You're going to be in Provence for only 3 1/2 days. There's plenty to do there - no need to hit the road to visit someplace else.

We enjoyed Aighes Mortes the first time we visited it about 25 years ago. We visited it again in the late 80s, stayed overnight, and thought it was OK. In '05 we spent the afternoon & stayed overnight there before a flight home from Montpellier. We really didn't enjoy it that much. The first block back of the Porte de la Gardette had some of the tackiest shops I've ever seen. The Remparts & towers are quite impressive & we enjoyed walking on them. The central square was worth a "linger" over a cafe or two. However, the architecture of most of the buildings in the town was not that interesting at all - not Romanesque, Medieval, or any other predominant style - looked more like early 1950s US architecture (but I'm sure it's older than that).

I would recommend visiting Uzes while near the Pont du Gard instead of driving to Aighes Mortes. Remember, you'll be there on Easter Sunday and on Monday also - days when lots of stores will be closed & shuttered-up (some open Monday Afternoon - around 3pm).

Stu Dudley

Thanks all - I think we're narrowing down our itinerary and the Michelin guides are in my Amazon cart ready to be purchased :) A few more questions though - how much time do people generally spend in Les Baux? I was thinking it would be nice to be there at sunset, but was wondering how much time it takes to see the ruins, etc. (to figure out if I can combine it in an afternoon with Aix). Also, on days when shops are open, how late do they stay open until (especially the shops in St. Remy, where we'll be staying)?
Happy 2008!

Hi,

We are also planning a trip to Europe this year (flying into Paris in June), and have come across this website which might be useful for accommodation, car hire, rail passes, etc.

http://www.holidaystoeurope.com.au

Enjoy Provence!

ok - revised itinerary, taking into account all of your helpful suggestions . . .

Saturday, March 22 Marseille to Aix?, Les Baux (ruins at sunset)?, drive to St. Remy (base for 3 nights) (or perhaps just straight to St. Remy and save everything else for other days)

Sunday, March 23 l'Isle sur La Sorgue (morning), afternoon in the Luberon (Roussillon, Gourde)
Monday, March 24 Pont du Gard, Uzes (and Les Baux if we don't get there our first day)

Tuesday, March 25 vineyards in morning, Aix or Avignon (or Arles or Nimes) in afternoon (choice also depends upon what we do that first day), drive to Marseille by night (can check in very late)

Wednesday, March 26 Marseille
Thursday, March 27 Marseille to Paris on a noon train

Is this a better plan? Will shops in Uzes be open on Monday? Thanks again!

>>March 25 vineyards in morning, Aix or Avignon (or Arles or Nimes) in afternoon <<

Avignon is much closer to the Chateauneuf du pape & Rhone vineuards than the other cities.

Some (maybe all) shops should be open in Uzes in the afternoon. While there, visit Chatillon du garde - it's a cute village and close to the road you'll be traveling on.

You itinerary looks fine. However, that's a lot of time in Marseille, IMO. We spent a morning & early afternoon in Marseille, and then on to Cassis - arriving there around 4:00. That amount of time in Marseille was fine for us - we followed the suggested walking tour in the Michelin Green Guide & hit a few other spots also.

Stu Dudley