I’m in the very early stages of planning a month-long solo trip to southeastern France for next spring, with most of the trip to be during May. (I’ll slide a bit to either side if it makes a substantial difference.) This trip will likely include parts of Provence, the Cote d’Azur, the Rhone Valley, bits of the French Alps, and bits of the Languedoc -- specifics and edges all TBD.

Assume that I will include anything I want to include at the far SE corner of France (as far as, say, Menton) and work outwards. Of the areas that could define the outer edges of this trip, I will not skip the Grotte Chauvet; it IS a priority (even though a recreation). Other outer-edge priorites include Lyon and Annecy. Marseiles and Nice also have firm holds on this plan. I sincerely hope to make it as far west as Aigues-Mortes, which could mean going as far as Montpellier -- TBD.

I will use public transportation (my preference) whenever it makes sense, but will rent a car if/when necessary.

I’ve been reading trip reports and planning threads and have a stack of guidebooks, but I’ve learned – from prior experience! – that there are enormous benefits to obtaining input from Fodorites sooner rather than later.

As my thread title states, I want to plan a trip that ensures a range of experiences. My goals include maximizing the diversity of my exposure to art, architecture, natural scenery, and experience.

By way of contrast, I am NOT seeking
· Beach time (except, perhaps, a brief sunset stroll or two)
· Shopping opportunities (except to buy a few regional gifts for family and friends)
· Relaxation (other than what I will experience over meals or while in transit)
· Active sports (unless you count some short, easy hikes or walks)
· Any exposure to the Cannes Film Festival, which I believe will be from May 14 to 25 – will the areas around Cannes be much affected?

So, with these loose constraints, please offer your comments about what I might add, skip, consider (and OK, even reconsider!), research, whatever! Any and all comments are welcome.

TIA!

I thought the the Chauvet site was closed to the public; is there a nearby repli9ca?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/collections/ if you click down in the French collection, you will find albums that cover your area of interest and might give you some ideas. There are also various trip reports, the last one of the Alps, Côte d'Azur, the Provence and the Pyrénées.

@ Michael -- Yes, the original Chauvet cave is closed to all but a very few researchers, but the recently completed Pont d'Arc replication is open (circa 2015?) to all.
https://en.cavernedupontdarc.fr/disc...nt-d-arc-cave/


And thanks for your wonderful photo journals -- I've been browsing them for some time!

It might be too far, but a friend who visited the original Lascaux cave says that Lascaux IV is definitely worth a visit.

On a technical issue, if you see the URL as you go down to the album level, if you add "/show" to the URL you might be able to get a slide show that allows a variety of controls including speed and titles of each photo.

Thanks, Michael! I'm incredibly grateful to have been able to see Lascaux II and several caves with original prehistoric art in the Dordogne and Lot in 2011 -- and also in northern Spain in 2015. I'm sure I would enjoy Lascaux IV, but I'm not willing to go that far west on this trip. To my regret, I haven't the time or resources to see or do everything I might like. But OMG, I'm so fortunate to be able to travel as I do!

Again, thanks for making your trips available with such compelling and delightful photographs!

Ever done 'les gorges du Verdon' ? quite nice - you need a car of course. We consider it needs 2 days - so one night somewhere in the middle.

If you like wine, you could sleep at 'le chateau de Berne" Hôtel 5 étoiles en Provence | Château de Berne | Luxe & Art de vivre eat and drink - it is close to Flayosc.
From there you can go to Lorgues, le Thoronet (another super nice abbey) , lake of Carces (beautiful area and quite 'wild') Les Arcs sur Argens (nice small village, the resturant 'le logis du guetteur' was excellent.
Draguignan is a big town - small city close by.

In the Var, if you like animals there is the turtle park of Gonfaron http://www.villagedestortues.fr/ (we were not impressed, but are not super fans of trutles), also Marineland close to Antibes (orcas etc).

I recommend Collobrières (specialties of 'Chataignes' (chestnuts ? ) with the monastery where you can go into a 'retraite' - and a nice walk towards a lake - beautiful.

Closer to the sea, Grimaud and Bormes les Mimosas are beautiful, and I like La garde Freinet quite a lot too. Again, walks from there - ask info tourisme.
On the seaside le Rayol Canadel is splendid - former house of Mr Bloch (before he changed his name into Dassault) now a park with a lot of mediterannean plants and more. https://www.domainedurayol.org/
We love Gassin and one of our favorite restaurant of the region is there : le micoulier (name of a tree) https://www.lemicocoulier.com/ the view from Gassin is spectacular towards the sea and the mountains.

From the seaside you can take a boat and go to Port Cros (from le Lavandon is easy)

visit Hyères and even better la presqu'île de Giens. https://www.hyeres-tourisme.com/hyer...uile-de-giens/

The spectacular Verdon gorge (and potentially terrifying for anyone with severe vertigo) is approximately 25 kilometres long, although the roads along the rim are quite twisty and so the driving distance is further. It can be traversed in a timid hour or so. There are other attractions for those that care to linger. Wikipedia has useful information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verdon_Gorge

I didn't visit les gorges on Wiipedia, we did it by car. with a few stops, some kayaking and pedalo-ing. Count 2 days or just go through like a bullet ...
NB : the car is following the (winding) road, not the river.

Two rail trips from Nice into the hinterlands of Provence will show a very different Provence than along the coast - the Chemins de Fer de Provence is a narrow-gauge train going north from Nice into the hill and a sleepy Provence - get off at say Annot for a nice small town and if into hiking walk to another station as many tourists do. But, this is not a plush tourist train but one mainly outside of July and August a local train - nothing fancy at all.

CHEMINS DE FER DE PROVENCE Tourist trains Railway transportation Nice Côte d'Azur

Another train goes from Nice to Sospel - an old fortified town and you can go on on this line via Cuneo to Turin if looking for a back rails way to Italy.

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1280&bih=625&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=gT0VXPWBH ofGsAWnrYqABA&q=nice+sospel+rail+line&oq=nice+sosp el+rail+line&gs_l=img.12...4626.5358..8198...0.0.. 0.86.170.2......1....1..gws-wiz-img.ep-C8kkxL0k

Cheers and happy travels!

@ thibaut: Thank you for these wonderful suggestions! Some (the Domaine du Rayol, le Thoronet) were already on my wish list; others sent me to my books to learn more (Carces, Collobrières). The Chateau de Berne looks lovely, but is much too rich for my blood and I’ll probably pass on the Village des Tortues (though I like knowing it exists). Much to consider!

@ Southam & thibaut: My Michelin guide for the French Alps describes some half day drives near Gorges du Verdon, complete with various stops and options for walks. It’s going to be difficult to choose among them!

@ PalenQ: Thanks for those recommendations! They sound enjoyable.

Would have been wonderful to invite you at our house on the seaside but may is the month we are never there... kids, examens ...

kja - my summer trip is going to include some of the same places - Marseilles, Dijon and Lyon - so will be interested in what you turn up about those places. I'm not going to be there until July so will also be interested in your experiences once you've been there. I just booked 'aparthotels' in Dijon and Marseille this week, still looking at Lyon.

Previous trips to those areas probably one of my favorite places in all of Europe is the hilltowns above Nice - especially Vence (not St Paul de Vence, though that's beautiful too) and Tourettes-sur-Lupe. And in Provence I loved St Remy. And although 'touristy' don't miss the Pont du Gard and Carcassonne. Also love Aix. I had a car for most of those places.

Photo Safari to the south of France, the Italian Rivera and the Swiss Alps
Barcelona to Carcassonne - Isabel's Spring Break to snowy Spain and France

Photos - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/f667172952

Been to Cote d'Azur many times but as you know not recently but here are some evergreen observations:

Antibes to me is the finest town on the coast and has super communications by train along Riveria and buses to the iconic hill towns and also train to Grasse, an old old town that few are excited about but I like it a lot and of course is the the Perfume Capital of Provence with several Perfume Houses open to show production and sample a dizzying array of perfumes - so Grasse for an old-the-beaten track regional town. Anyway Antibes is an cute lively old town on the castle - the Picasso Museum occupies an old chateau right on the sea. Amtibes is much smaller than Nice but has everything most tourists will want - when I stayed there there was a lively market sone days in the congenial town square. Anyway great base IMO.

A great bus ride from Antibes or Nice goes to the iconic hill towns of Vence and St-Paul-de-Vence. Though the latter is inundated by tourists and tour buses Vence is a it more normal - but you say looking for easy walks then the walk I took from Vence to St-Paul-de-Vence you'll love - thru some forests and countryside and you come right to the Maeght Foundation (assume you know about it but for others:

https://www.fondation-maeght.com/en/ - with an eclectic collection in a sweet setting. The walk between Vence and St-Paul-de-Vence is maybe 3-4 km if I recall correctly - not far anyway and easy downhill walk.

My favorite walk of all amongst many I've done along the Cote d'Azur goes from the Cap d'ail train station with trains from all along the coast - and a very famous sentier - path - a few miles to Monte Carlo and Monaco for trains or buses along the coast. This pass is near totally isolated from the modern garish developments found along much of the Cote d'Azur and meanders along a coast where you only see the deep-azure blue waters and cypress trees and other flora clinging to large boulders that seem poised to tumble to the sea any second. There are also isolated swimming holes and if no suit no problem as I've seen several folks skinny dipping. Finally, the path rounds a cape and voila the glitzy modern world of Monte-Carlo and a sea of fancy yachts appears. Many people diss Monaco but a brief look at it to me is great - especially going into the famous casino where rich and famous wager - the dress code: }There is no specific dress code for the casino, but <proper attire' is required. This means no shorts,
sports shoes or flip flops to be worn at any times> says one guide to the casino. The total walk is 5 km and can be windy and at times barriers may be down if flooded as it goes at points very close to the sea.

https://randoxygene.departement06.fr...-ail-9334.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=sentier+du+Littoral+Cap%27+d%27ail+to+Mon aco+images&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ah UKEwiMjfGY-6LfAhUMI6wKHWoXC0AQsAR6BAgDEAE&biw=1280&bih=625

Cheers!

@ thibaut: Meeting doesn’t seem to be in the cards, but what a lovely thought – thank you!

@ isabel: I don’t think I’ll be going any where as far west as your 2010 report, but I took copious notes on your 2013 report, to which I recently added my thanks – I’m not sure you saw that. I took special note of the Matisse chapel outside of Vence.

@ PalenQ: Thank you for these additional recommendations! I must admit that Monaco does not appeal to me at all, but the walk from Vence to the Maeght Foundation sounds very pleasant, and google maps confirms that it should easily be within my capabilities.

I also recommend Gorges du Verdon. Spent 2 nights there with my daughter and grandchildren. We took it slow because of the grandkids but we had a nice leisurely drive, very scenic. And yes, the roads are twisty, and you definitely need a car.

We enjoy Marseilles, and I would also recommend visiting Cassis and going on a boat ride through the calanques. We love Aix, too. It's a lovely city for leisurely strolling around, many lovely cafes, and tons of fountains. We visited Cezanne's studio, Musee Granet, and Cathedral St. Saveur. We happened upon a choir rehearsal at the Cathedral, which made our visit even more interesting. There is a wonderful market in Aix, too. Don't know what days it's open, but sure you can find out in your guidebooks.

And St. Remy is one of our favorite cities in Provence. How long will you be in Provence? We loved the Camarques! Saw thousands of flamingos!

We also like Egalieres. They have a wonderful market on Fridays, and the cafe next to the market serves a delicious fish dish only on Fridays. If you plan to go to Egalieres, I can find out the name of the restaurant we ate at last spring. It was one of the best meals we have had in Provence.

Sounds like a wonderful trip!

@ KarenWoo: Thanks for your comments! I fully expect to include Cassis (and a boat ride through the calanques), Aix-en-Provence (and its markets), and the Comarques on this trip. Eygalières hadn’t gotten my attention as yet – I’ll be sure to look into it! (If your meal there was among your best in Provence, that says a LOT!) The choir rehearsal in Aix sounds special – isn’t it wonderful to encounter things like that?

Don't confuse Comarque and Le Camargue - you'll be visiting Le Camargue, which is wonderful. Google for the restaurant called La Telline and try to find it - a unique, memorable experience.

It's la Camargue

Oops.

@ StCirq & Michael: Thank you for the correction. One trouble with going to a region to which I've never traveled is that many place names are new to me. Throw in auto-correct, and it does get confusing!

@ StCirq: You sold me on La Telline!