chasi

My wife and I have never visited Provence and I have a last minute trip to Paris on June 28. I decided to turn this into a vacation, take the train to Marseilles the next day, rent a car and stay in a B&B in the Gordes area until July, when we will fly home from Marseilles. So far I have found one B&B (Le Guillen) for two nights and would welcome suggestion for one in the area for July 1 - 3.

With 3 and a half days for touring and not much time for home work, I would really appreciate any ideas for the best itinerary. Some time must be devoted to the lavendar fields, since my wife really loves flowers/technicolor and vacationed in the tulip fields and Kuchenhof last April. Thanks

msm4

Hi,

You will likely get tons of posts re: lavender itineraries, so I'll skip those and recommend le Colorado de Rusterel, not far from Rousillon, Bonnieux, Gordes, Lacoste, etc. A former ochre quarry, the site is now open to the public and is a landscape unlike any other I've seen in France - kind of like a bit of the old American west in France, with rock/ochre formations that will knock your socks off (be forewarned: some of them are quite...suggestive...) Rather hard to describe - best to look for images on-line - but worth a visit as it's just so odd! Also: if you are spending time in this area, I highly recommend "A Village in The Vaucluse", by Laurence Wylie, a Harvard sociologist who lived in the Vaucluse with his family for a year in the 1950s and wrote very compellingly about village life and its post-war decline as younger people gravitated to the urban center(s).I'm not usually a non-fiction reader but I found this book a good and engaging read which provides a glimpse into the culture of rural France at a pivotal time.
Anyway, bon voyage!
msm4

chasi

Thanks msm4 ,for your recommendation on le Colorado de Rusterel. I will try to work it into one of the day's itineraries. Still waiting for the deluge of posts.

msm4

Hi,

Well, in case the lvender deluge doesn't materialize, here's a link that we used last year to plan our peregrinations:
http://www.provencebeyond.com/map/lav_map.html

victoria_sw3

My husband and I had the very good fortune staying at Mas Pomona for 3 days in May. My husband felt our room was much nicer than our honeymoon suite on Santorini, which was 4x the price!Here is my Trip Advisor review: "We booked Mas Pomona on the basis of its glowing Trip Advisor reviews and the photos on its website. We are SO happy that we did. We recently returned from a three night stay in the Grenadier room at Mas Pomona, and it was just fantastic. Each day begins with a simple but filling breakfast (rolls, croissants, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, and perfectly ripe strawberries) on the terrace or in the cozy dining room. After breakfast Marianne and David would make sure we had a good plan for the day and offered us tips and driving directions. In addition they made local restaurant reservations too (we especially enjoyed the Auberge de Cheval Blanc). The location is ideal -- none of the sights/villages we travelled to were more than a scenic 40 minute drive away. The Mas is decorated in a chic but simple style and co-owner Marianne's experience as an interior designer is evident! The rooms are huge with high ceilings and very comfortable beds. We slept SO well! Bathrooms are large with the all-important hairdryer! Marianne showed me all of the rooms except one, and they are all equally charming. Although we didn't get to use the pool, I can imagine how relaxing it must be to while away a hot summer day in one of the chaise lounges. My fingers are crossed that we can return this summer--there is still so much to see in this gorgeous area! I hesitated to write such a glowing review because we feel like we've found such a hidden gem, but Marianne and David deserve to reap the rewards from the hard work they obviously put into this very special place." Mas Pomona is very centrally located...In three days, we visited St Remy, Aix, Isle La Sorgue, Apt, Les Baux, Eygalieres, Lacoste, Bonnieux, and other small villages. We never had to drive more then 30-40 minutes to reach these places from Mas Pomona. The gorgeous pool is a huge bonus too!

victoria_sw3

forgot to mention, mas pomona is located in cheval blanc. www.maspomona.com

TuckH

Here's some lavender stuff...

http://www.routes-lavande.com/

http://fodors.com/forums/pgMessages....p;tid=34485248

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34747284

kdcwood

Okay, I'd like to help! You have decided to stay in our favorite place in the whole world, and we will be there ourselves for a month beginning in mid July. I am looking forward to the lavender too, since we have never been to Provence in the middle of summer.

Chasi, can you clarify your schedule and one of your questions. What dates will you be in the Luberon? (Important for figuring out what markets you might go to...) And do you already have reservations in Gordes for two nights and you're looking for somewhere else for two (or is it three?) more nights? Do you want to just move somewhere else in the Luberon, or do you want to go somewhere else in Provence? Sorry I'm a little confused...

What interests you most besides the lavender? Villages? Larger towns? Roman ruins? Spectacular scenery? Markets and shopping? Wonderful food? (All of the above??!) Do you hike?

Here are a couple of photo links that might interest you and give you some ideas of what's available in and near the Luberon:

Experience the Luberon slideshow: http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3420 (there is a photo of the Colorado Rustrel near the end)

Mornings at the market: http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3878 (from the markets in Aix, Gordes, Bonnieux, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Apt)

Kathy

kdcwood

I was glad to see Victoria's recommendation for Mas Pomona, as David and Marianne are friends of ours and we had a chance to spend several hours at their beautiful B&B this past April. See my review here: http://www.slowtrav.com/france/hotel...cheval%20blanc

I think this is an especially great location if you want to visit both the Luberon and the Alpilles, or even circle around to the south side of the Luberon.

(But if you are already staying in Gordes, I don't know that it makes sense to move 30 minutes to a new place.)

Kathy

chasi

Thanks kdcwood for your offer to make suggestions provided I clarify a few points. The time we have in Provence is from 29 July PM until 3 July PM. We will arrive and rent a car around 2:00PM on July 29 and drive into the region. We have a reservation at Le Guillen for July 29 and 30 and unfortunately they are full after that. So we must move. I thought it would be best to stay in the same region. I am inclined toward statying at Auberge de Carcarille from July 1 July 3, but have not yet made a final decision. So I will consider Mas Pomona. We have not yet decided whether to eat at the B&B's or in the villages. We need to return the car and reach Marseilles airport on the afternoon of July 3.

What interests me primarily is creating beautiful moments that we can remember together as we get older. So I would say that among your list its spectacular scenary, villages, markets, good food. Unfortunately, I won't be hiking much, since I hurt my back recently, and its more comfortable sitting / driving than hiking / walking. Roman ruins are less interesting, since we live along side them. I wouldn't go out of the way for big cities or shopping. Views associated with expressionists and impressionists would also be interesting. Thanks Kathy for your offer to make some suggestions.

Mimar

So why are you training all the way to Marseilles? So you can return the car to the place you picked it up?

Better you take the TGV to Avignon and pick up a rental car there, dropping it off later in Marseilles. You don't have much time and paying a little extra would be worth it. (Though we picked up in Aix and dropped in Nice with no extra charge.)

chasi

Dear Mirmar. Thanks, I changed our rental pickup to Avignon based on your comment. It makes much more sense. On a similar topic we are debating whether we should perhaps drop the car off in Aix TVG , spend a couple of hours there and take the train to Marseille airport.

PBProvence

The Aix TGV station isn't IN Aix... it's a distance away. And there's no train from the TGV station to the airport - you'd have to take the shuttle bus (about a 40 minute ride).

PB

swagman

chasi

May I recommend another beautiful B&B in Gordes, Bastidans

http://www.chambres-hotes-gordes-lub...guesthouse.htm

Enjoy!

S

Katerbug

ttt

caracv

Hello! How far is Nice from the Mas Pomona? Thanks!!

chasi

Thank you swagman. We made a reservation at the Bastidans, even though it was a bit more expensive than others. We are looking forward to very pleasant stay. Any recommendations for dinner in the area?

hopingtotravel

When we stayed in Gordes a year ago, posters recommended eating at Ferme de Huppe. However our hotel (Les Romarins) sort of poo pooed it and sent us to a place up at the top of the hill in Gordes. Can't remember the name, but if you're interested, can go back to handwritten notes. It was OK, and I have no idea what Ferme de Huppe is like.

Katerbug

We're leaving for France next Sat and have ressies for 2 nites at La Ferme so I'll let you all know how it was when I get back in October. What's the name of the place on the top of the hill? I'll check it out too!

Andrewgcraft

Mas Pomona is an ideal place to visit if you want to do Provence and the Luberon. My wife an I have visited in summer and winter. The food is fantastic, the rooms are absolutely sumptious (great place for a romatic weekend, esp. if your loved one has never seen the South of France before) and David and Marriane are just so incredibly helpful. They know everything and everybody and will always point you in the right direction for lunches, dinners, nearby villages, walks, things to do and see. Summer is very different from winter- it's when the lavender is really doing its best, but winter is lovely too. The breakfasts are delicious! You'll feel totally spoiled and sorry to go. They have a good website too- www.maspomona.com check it out...