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