I'm penciling in my dates for next summer and would like to know if this is possible.

I know Provence is best with a car but I think I'm doing this trip without one. I only have a week and I like to travel slowly rather than see it all. I plan to hit a couple of the bigger towns with my friend. The next trip to the area will be on bikes with DH for romantic village to village touring and no cities.

Here is the plan so far-
Fri- fly Indy to Paris arriving Sat. morning
Sat- TGV Paris to Avignon and wander the city in the evening (stay 3 nts in Avignon)
Sun- day trip to Isle Sur la Sorgue via bus from Avignon for the market day (Is it possible to rent bikes in Isle sur la Sorgue?)
Mon- sightsee in Avignon
Tues- bus to St. Remy (stay 2 nights in St. Remy), hike to Glanum, eat lots of Joel Durand's lavender chocolate
Wed- market day in St. Remy, rent bikes to see the area (Is it possible to bike the 10k to Les Baux from St. Remy?)
Thurs- bus, train, something???? to Arles or do I have to take the bus from St. Remy back to Avignon then take the train or bus to Arles?(stay 2 nts in Arles)
Friday- sightsee in Arles, dinner at L'Atelier
Saturday- market day in Arles, TGV to Paris for a week in the city

Unless there are buses St Remy to Arles the best way is to bus if possible to Tarascon (16 km from St Remy) and take the 10 min train ride from there to Arles.
Your itinerary sounds idyllic to me.

Of course possible to bike to Les Baux even though it's a fairly busy road to take the most direct way. The D5 main road is rather hilly and trafficky at times - i'd take back roads via Tour du Cardinal and then D27 to Les Baux - these roads should be paved and virtually untravelled and just about as close. Get a Michelin map and stick to roads in white if possible as these are well paved yet untrafficked generally.
Note in Sorgue is only 7 km from the famous Fontaine-de-Vaucluse - another nice bike trek after the Sorgue market closes perhaps.

Hey PalQ- My desire to rent bikes in Isle sur de la Sorgue is with the intention of biking to Fontaine-de-Vauclause so you read my mind on that one.

I'm hoping that bike shops will have maps to help me take backroads.

Thanks!

Michelin area maps (1:200,000) are sold everywhere in France - local tourist offices, bookstores, petrol stations, etc. for a few euros so don't worry about maps.
I've bikes throughout France many times and love it - France offers the best biking in Europe IMO - those backroads - always well paved and untrafficked mainly are so great - better than any Dutch or German or Swiss or Austrian bike path - and the villages are so neat. You shouldn't have trouble finding a bike (velo) rental in this area. Some hotels will supply them.
Bonne route! as i believe they say in French.

About visiting the Fontaine de Vaucluse...in the summer there's nothing really to see, as the huge volume of water is gone after the spring months. What's left is a bunch of touristy stalls.

We're staying at www.labanasterie.com in Avignon. Looks gorgeous. Anyone been?

In St. Remy I'm thinking of www.hotelsoleil.com as it is inexpensive and just a 4 minute walk to the center of town.

In Arles I hope to stay at www.lecalendal.com as it gets good reviews on tripadvisor and is well located.

Any other suggestions I should look into for St. Remy or Arles? I'm trying to save $$$ on accomadations as we are doing some splurge shopping in Paris the following week.

I am also considering La Banasterie in Avignon. I hope someone has first-hand info.

axelrod6- Have you looked at the tripadvisor reviews of La Banasterie? They're glowing.

The place looks like a true gem considering the rates. I'm taking the smallest room (double bed) for 115 euros in late June. I think thats a great deal for an ideal location and a seemingly adorable place.

They've promptly answered all of my emails which I appreciate.

Le Calendal in Arles is already booked solid for my dates in June due to a group staying there.

We just stayed at La Banasterie in Avignon earlier this year. It got good reviews on TripAdvisor.

Wonderful stay. The owners are gracious, breakfasts were large and delicious. The location was great - near the Palais des Papes and other things.

Highly recommend it. We stayed in the "Mancerina" which was a two-room suite with a tiny kitchen area.

Many of the shops in Avignon will be closed on Monday morning - including les Halles food market. Some may open in the afternoon around 3:00.

Isn't the road to Les Baux pretty steep???

Fontaine de Vaucluse can get pretty "zooy" on a Sunday. I'de head off to quiet corners of the Luberon valley on a bike - you'll welcome "quiet" after the market in l'Isle sur la Sorgue.

Russ Collins' guide has lots of info on where to rent bikes & suggested trails.

http://www.beyond.fr/

Stu Dudley

Hi

We are drivers and not bikers, but we are also thinking of staying at Hotel du Soleil in St Remy. Again, glowing tripadvisor.com reviews.

I too am looking for first hand feedback, but I'm thinking that we are both probably on the right track.

Thanks for the review Canterbury. Good to hear a good report from a fellow Fodorite.

So it sounds like a ride to Fontaine de Vaucluse should be swapped for another nearby location....

Thanks for reminding me about shop closings on Monday in Avignon. We'll try to hit the shops on Saturday when we arrive instead. We'll get into Paris very early so we should have at least the late afternoon to poke around town.

I am one who likes to ignore jetlag and stay up until at least midnight on the first night. Any thoughts on what to do in Avignon on Sat. night that will keep us from drifting off early?

StuD- Thanks for the heads up on the roads to Les Baux being steep. I biked the Pyrenees and the Alps portions of the TdF in 2004 (in the mornings before Lance and the gang charged through) so I'm not worried about it but it is nice to know what to expect.

Tuscanlifeedit- Hotel du Soleil won't take a ressie for next June just yet... When do you plan on going? I'd love to hear about it if you go this fall or winter....

Yes. both the roads up to Les Baux are pretty steep. In fact there are two good hills to climb - the first going over the Alpilles, descending towards Maussane and then back UP to Les Baux. If you're really used to riding a lot, it won't be too bad of a climb, however. Just don't do it between 11 AM and 4 PM. I've passed more bikers who look like they're going to stroke out, struggling in the early afternoons trying to get over the Alpilles.

The hotel Soleil is a nice clean small hotel. There is also the Castelet des Alpilles. Also a two minute walk into the village. Sorry, I don't have the website handy.

Patricia

Forgot to add that there is a bike rental place in St. Remy... it's on the edge of town on the road to Tarascon.

karimoto - 29 avenue Fauconnet
Tel: 04 90 92 5400
Fax: 04 90 92 54 54

Patricia

We are going in 2 weeks to Provence and are staying at Hotel du Soleil in an one the apartments for 6 days. I will let you know how it is! Sounds great to me however. It seems to have just what we need. Also looked at the Villa Glanum...it LOOKED wonderful, but was a little frather form the town form what I could figure out. I just like the idea of having a little kichenette!