My husband and I went to Provence about 10 years ago and want to plan another trip there for May. We plan to go for about 12 days (flexible). Last time, we went to Paris, took the train to Avignon and then rented a car--we stayed in St. Remy, day tripped to the surrounding towns. We then went to Aix on Provence and toured around there, ending up in St. Tropez and Cannes, returning home from Nice.
Should we follow the same basic route (except that we wouldn't want to stay in Aix) or are there some variations we could make for Provence/surrounding area ? (We are active, like to walk, love the food, exploring, experiencing, etc)

You could do the reverse-fly into Nice and out of Paris!

We stayed in Monpellier one time and found it great--a nice city to come "home" to, and a super base for train travel. We trained to Arles and Avignon from there. Ran out of time for going to Collioure. Can't help with car rental though--other Fodorites can.

I believe a TGV line to/from Paris was getting ready to open. You can google to see if it's there now,

On the above trip we flew into Barcelona and then took the train to Monpellier, then to Nice and finished in Paris. Good to not backtrack.

You did say much about your "day trips to the surrounding towns". Did you visit Uzes, Lourmarin, Vaison, Buis les Baronnis, Simiane la Rotunde, Seguret, Sault, Dieulefit, Grignan, Montbrun les Bains, Brantes, St Paul Trois Chateau, Crillon la Brave, Venasque, Grambois, Pertuis, Ansoois, Cuuceron, Lauris, Mirabeau - just to name a few interesting towns that you may not have visited. Did you explore the lavender fields around Sault, the Gorges de l'Ardeche, Aven d'Orgnac, the Baronnies, Gorges de la Nesque, the dentelles?? Near Aix, did you visit the villages in the Var - Cotignac, Entrecasteaux, Aups, Tourtour, Salneres, Correns, Lorgues, Chateaudouble, Tourrettes, Fayence, Seillans?

Lots to see !!!

Do you have my 27 page itinerary that I've sent to over 3,000 people on Fodors & aol?. E-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach a copy to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

Visit the vineyards,museums galore to see,
You can hire the car at the airport, drive through
burgundy before Provence.

Looking forward to receiving the itinerary Stu. Most of those little towns don't sound familiar so I am excited to learn about checking them out. Sounds like we will have a great time and a new experience.
Although we did some exploration of little towns--I remember Gordes, Bonnieux, Rousillon, Chateauneuf-du-pape I think we mostly saw the bigger places.