First time poster here on Fodors.

I'm hoping to get some feedback on the first draft of my Gard/Provence itinerary. My plans cover the Gard, Vaucluse, and the Bouches-du-Rhone. My tendency when trip-planning is to pack way too much in and not leave time for "savoring." This is one consideration I'd like explicit feedback on.

My wife and I will have 10 days in mid- to late-September. We'll have a car. Our interests include history, architecture, gardens, photography, landscapes, pretty towns, etc. — typical stuff for anyone interested in the region. What we're not interested in is extensive tourist infrastructure, but given how well-trodden the region is, this is largely unavoidable. We're hitting all the "name brand" sites and towns, as you'll see. The only conspicuous omissions are Aix, the Luberon, St.-Remy, and the Dentelles de Montmirail (we saw these areas on previous trips).

We're spending all 11 nights in the same base town. We currently have 2 very attractive options for renting a flat: Nimes and Beaucaire. Regarding Nimes, not only are we interested in the town itself, but it's very central for our trip and seems to be a real working town with lots of rough edges, which we enjoy. For Beaucaire, we have a chance to stay in a gorgeous 18th Century hotel particulier, but wonder if the town is too small to use as a base. When we choose a base town, we enjoy staying in a place that has ample opportunities for nighttime strolls, cafes and restaurants, buildings flooded in lamplight, and good people watching.

So which town would you be inclined to choose?

The following is the itinerary itself. It's in no particular order (yet). I might determine that based on market days:

2 days in Nimes (if we stay in Nimes). You might say that Nimes isn't worth 2 days, but we really like to get to know our base town when we travel. We think Nimes has enough to see to fill 2 days.

2 "beach days" (I've promised my wife a break from relentless site-seeing, so L'Espiguette or Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer, also hitting places like Aigues-Mortes, St.-Gilles, Sommieres, the Camargue, etc., en route)

1 day for Pont du Gard, Uzes, Castillon-du-Gard, and Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie

1 day for Avignon and Villeneuve

1 day for Orange and villages of the Ceze (Aigueze, La Roque-sur-Ceze, Lussan, etc.)

1 day for Beaucaire, Tarascon, and a recommended hike from Barbentane to Frigolet Abbey

1 day for Arles

1 day for Les Alpilles: Glanum/Les Antiques, Le Baux, Eygalieres, Mausanne, Fontvieille, Church of St.-Gabriel, the Roman aqueduct and mill at Barbegal, Montmajour (obviously, I'll need to narrow down sites for this day)

So, what do you think?

I have some other specific questions:

I was toying with a Bassin de Thau day, touring Bouzigues, Gallo-Roman Loupian, the Jardin Antiques Mediterraneen, and Marseillan. Seems like a nice change of pace, if a bit farther away. Thoughts?

I was also thinking of adding a day for Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Pernes-le-Fontaine, and Vaison-la-Romain (Haute Ville and churches of ND de Nazareth and San Quenin only; we've seen the Roman sites previously)

Would you make time to see a couple villages in the Terre de Provence (Chateaurenard, Rognonas, Noves, etc.)? My thinking was that my itinerary is so heavy on Provencal honeypots that I wanted to mix in a few things completely out of the way.

I mentioned villages on the Ceze. There are also villages recommended in various guidebooks closer to the Rhone, and others close to Ales. Does anyone have any experience with these? The list includes Saint-Victor-la-Coste, Laudun-l'Ardoise, Pont-St-Esprit, La Roque-sur-Ceze, Cornillon, Goudargues, Montclus, Barjac, Aigueze, Saint-Ambroix, Lussan, Vezenobres, Anduze, Saint-Jean-du-Gard and Sauve. Of course, we'd only be able to do a handful.

Any insight you could give would be appreciated. And, of course, if there are any glaring omissions or places you'd be sure to add, please let me know. Thanks in advance for entertaining such a long post

Cheers,
Ryan

I would probably choose Beaucaire over Nîmes, if only because getting in and out would be easier. But I am very much a small town person, preferring to visit big towns during the day and come "home" to a small, quiet place at night. Besides,I've given Nîmes a few tries over the years and it just doesn't grab me.

As for the rest of it, I couldn't possibly pack all those things into your given timeframes, especially the confusing 2 beach days and the day in Les Alpilles, so it's probably best if I don't comment.

Thanks for the feedback.

The beach days are simply trips from Nimes. From Nimes, we could do Aigues-Mortes en route to l'Espiguette; St.-Gilles en route to Stes.-Maries. We'd never spend more than 3 or 4 hours sunbathing and swimming, so that leaves the rest of the time open for site-seeing.

I should've been clearer: those are all simply possibilities. I obviously can't do everything I've listed, nor would I want to.

OK, entendu, but...<<I've promised my wife a break from relentless site-seeing, so L'Espiguette or Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer, also hitting places like Aigues-Mortes, St.-Gilles, Sommieres, the Camargue, etc., en route)>>

Maybe it's the phrase "hitting places" that puts me off, but this really is confusing, if only because Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mère and Aigues-Mortes are IN the Camargue, which is a fairly vast tract of land that one would be hard-pressed to visit in a day or two, though I'm sure many people do (as I have, but with only a single destination).

At any rate, I would not consider Nîmes an ideal jumping-off point for a visit to the Camargue. Why not Arles?

If the rest of your lists are just possibilities, that's good, because it all looks impossibly exhausting to me. I've been to almost everywhere you mention at one time or another, but for the most part spent a few hours in each of them. I guess I'm a really slow traveler.

I would probably be more inclined to base in Nimes-but unlike St. Cirq, I am more of a big city person. If you do base there or even if you are just visiting, I can recommend tea or a meal at the restaurant at the roof level of the Carré d'Art, their museum of contemporary art and the city's municipal library. The restaurant is called the Ciel de Nimes. The architecture of the building is modern and quite lovely and the restaurant has a lovely view.

Ciel de Nîmes

If I was going to base is a smaller places then Uzès would still be my favorite. Beaucaire is actually one of my least favorite places in the area but that is just one's person opinion. In Uzès you might consider the Hotel Entraigues because while it is right in the walking area of town it also has A/C and a pool so might help ease some of the pressure to spend more time at the beach. It is also right across the street from the paid city underground parking.

I travel hard, by which i mean that I pack a LOT into each day. I can't imagine making some of your proposed days work -- I think you are trying to do WAY too much. I could be wrong!

If you haven't already seen it, I'm in the midst of posting a trip report on my recent time in the area. You might find some useful information in it:
A stellar month in southeastern France

@St. Cirq: What didn't you like about Nimes? Too gritty? Too much traffic?

@jpie: What didn't you like about Beaucaire? Too small for a base? Too run-down?

If you can tell me the whys, I can judge if I might feel the same way (or might not). This would help me make a final decision.

@kja: I actually read your trip report yesterday before you posted. Hell of a trip! I must say, though, given your own itinerary, I'm surprised by your reaction to mine. You had many days of checking out of one place and checking into a another on the same day. You also had to deal with public transport sometimes. On the other hand, I have but one check in and check out for the duration of my trip, and will have my own car the whole time. The longest drive I have is from Nimes to Orange, clocking in at just over an hour. Completely manageable for us.

Maybe you're being thrown off by days in my itinerary like the Alpilles day or my Beach days. Unfortunately, Fodor's won't let me edit my post for clarity. But these lists are just things I *could* do; not things I intend to do. For example, for the Alpilles day: Glanum/Les Antiques, Les Baux, and perhaps Eygalieres or Barbegal, if time permits.

As it stands, I've devoted entire days for both Arles and Avignon, and 2 just for Nimes. I don't think this unreasonable. This is but a *tour* of Roman/Classic Provence. My intention is not to thoroughly get to know each town. That would require 3 or more days for each, at least.

But maybe I'm wrong and will find out the hard way

Also wanted to add that we drove through Beaucaire to visit the Pont du Gard, and I was not impressed with it. The city did not appeal to me, and parts of it did look somewhat rundown. But I have never spent any time there.

Yes I agree with Karen Woo about Beaucaire, and I would add that since I am more of a city person, smaller places don't appeal to me that much unless they happen to have more charm. I guess especially since Uzès is less than 25 miles form there-that would just be a "no contest" choice between the two, although given some of your inteded destinations it might be taking you off route a bit. Also, Uzès has a very nice and walkable city center with lots of restaurants that are easily accessible whereas my limited experience with Beaucaire was that things were more spread out along the river and we needed the car more there and it just comes across as a little run down. In Uzès we were able to just park the car, walk everywhere and then use the car to go out to the Pont du Gard and other villages.

I think your itinerary seems fine to me given you are looking at only 2 bases that is about the kind of distances we would plan with a car.

By the way, we ate at a very good restaurant in the area outside of Uzès. It is in a lovely little village called Castillon-du-Gard:

L'AMPHITRYON
8 Place du Huit Mai
30210 Castillon-du-Gard, France

https://restaurant-lamphitryon.ovh/?...edium=referral

Here is a photo of the village at night as we arrived:


Castillon-du-Gard just before dinner

I definitely misunderstood some of your plans. That said, checking in/out doesn't necessarily take more time than using a base, nor does using a car rather than public transportation -- it all depends on the traveler, the locations, etc.

Maybe you can see what you want to see and experience in the times you are allotting. If you've checked out your options and are confident with your decisions, go with them and enjoy!

@jpie, that's a fantastic restaurant recommendation. And what a wonderful photo! Thank you!

To be clear, I'm only going to have one base. The Beaucaire option exists only because of the offer for the specific rental I'm considering.

I haven't been to Beaucaire and obviously have no knowledge of that rental you are considering, but I just returned from Nimes and I wonder if you should consider some other options. Nimes was one of my least favorite towns in the region. Nothing 'wrong' with it , and you should definitely go to see the Roman sites, but as a town it just didn't do it for me. One of the main things I do when traveling (I'm a photographer) is wander streets and just soak up the ambience of a place. Most of my photos are of streets, squares, fountains, bridges, store fronts, benches, etc. My photos from Nimes are almost entirely of the Roman sites, the town itself was just kind of boring. In contrast I love Arles, Avignon, St Remy, Aix, Uzes. I would (and have) base in any of them. Any town you use as a base you will not only be spending the one or two days you have planned for it there, but each evening when you return from your day trips as well. So it should be someplace you enjoy wandering around in.

In terms of time - for example we did Uzes and Pont du Gard as a day trip from St Remy and that was a full day, could not have fit in anything else. But then we hiked a bit up the river (got away from the crowds and got a much nicer view of the Pont) and my daughter went for a swim and we had a picnic. If all you want to do is 'see' it then maybe you'd have time for other things.

I often do have plans for day trips that include 'only if time' destinations which I rarely get to, but have convinced myself they are not important enough to rush through something else for but are only on the 'list' if the main things I've planned are much quicker.

My wife & I have vacationed for 22 weeks in Provence. Like many here - we are not fans of Nimes for the same reasons isabel mentioned.

Just like buying a house, the three most important things to consider are location, location, & location. We like staying in the countryside, but if you need to stay in a city - I would choose Uzes, then St Remy, then Arles.

Stu Dudley

@isabel, thanks for the great feedback. I took the liberty of visiting your photo blog site — wonderful pics.

@Stu, I've tried e-mailing to get your Provence guide, but I imagine lots of other people are, too The server says my message can't be delivered.

I mentioned visiting St.-Remy on a previous trip, and I wasn't taken with it. It seemed overrun by American tourists (including me), the shops seemed a bit too chic, and both the shops and the cafes seemed insanely overpriced. Granted, that was a market day. Further, I've read that Arles is basically a ghost town at night after the summer holiday crush. I definitely don't want that. I want people out and about, walking and sitting in cafes, a bit of noise, etc. I can only assumes that places like Uzes, being smaller, would be even ghostlier.

That leaves me with Nimes and Avignon. I'd choose Aix in a heartbeat, but it's completely out of the way. I get what everyone's saying about Nimes. One can tell from a simple Google Street View that Nimes looks less stereotypically "Provencal" than the other big-hitters. A bit sanitized, the buildings too uniform… a bit boring, even. And I really don't like that it doesn't have a river.

A certain blonde-haired American travel guru (he's so annoying) who we all probably love or hate had this to say about Nimes: "A distinct lack of overnight visitors"; "Nimes feels richer and more sure of itself [in comparison to Avignon and Arles]." And are the Quai and Jardin de Fontaine not some of the most beautiful and unique sites in the region? Anyway, I'm probably going to give it a shot, and if I'm disappointed, I'll let you all revel in the Told-ja-so…

>> The server says my message can't be delivered. <<

Whose server? I get 2-5 requests every day. If you are trying to reach me through Fodors - I have set up my profile to NOT receive messages via Fodors. Send me an e-mail at [email protected]

>> are the Quai and Jardin de Fontaine not some of the most beautiful and unique sites in the region? <<

Not in my opinion, nor the Michelin Green Guide's opinion (they give it a 2 star rating out of a possible 3). For Roman Ruins, I think the Pont du Gard*** is more impressive and so is the Maison Carree***. Non -Roman Ruins - there are perhaps 50 sites in Provence that are more interesting to me.

Stu Dudley

Uzes all the way. Seriously HerrA, if you might want a recommendation for an excellent apartment rental there, we'd be happy to pass the contact info along. Possibly the best-ever vacation rental that we've ever come across. Was just emailing with the owner the other day. Nice lady, a real pro. Was also just reviewing our various photos of that property, because we used it also as a staging for numerous wine-oriented photographs, ones that we're about to submit to a major wine distributor to consider for promo.
Uzes has a lot of easy, small-town charm, and would make an excellent, restorative choice for your promise about a 'break' from sight-seeing' to your wife.
Bon chance.
I am done. The end.

Uzès is definitely not a ghost town at night-but to be fair I have been there mostly in June rather than September. Contrary to others here I like Nimes-although I don't "love" Nimes. You may find Uzès too "Disney-esque" given that you didn't like St. Remy. I tend to agree with you about St Remy-it isn't my favorite because being overrun by tourists it is quite expensive as is most of Provence compared to Languedoc-Roussillon for instance.

I am sure that where ever you choose as your base you will have a great time-the distances are pretty close, so you can always scout out your favorite place for the next trip.

No help with Beaucaire, but DH and I spent a nice day in Nimes (a day trip from Aix). We were there early enough to want breakfast and ate that at Les Halles there. The area around the Colosseum had lots of places to eat. The area with the oldest building was neat and we walked to the park.

We had planned to take a bus to Orange but missed it. If you search for maitaitom, he has info about Nimes as well. Enjoy and please report back!

We liked to base in a place with restaurants and places to relax after a day of touring. But we never drove so that might make a difference. Here's what I wrote:

Up at 5 and 5:30 to get to our Marseille train to Nîmes with the following time frame:
5:45 a.m. Cab to Gare (10,50 &euro
6:05 a.m. Bus to Marseille (18,40 &euro
7:14 a.m. Train to Nîmes (41.40 &euro

Less than gas and car rental? DR got a little breathless as we hustled up the hill to the Gare but a short rest and a puff was sufficient to keep going. Caught the train with 10 or 15 minutes to spare. DR was happy to be in the lilac train once again! Train passes many apartment houses and some looked pretty shabby. Drowsed and awoke to a beautiful field with yellowing plants that looked just like Van Gogh colors. DR is appreciating his work more and more. Also, passed many turbo windmills (so smart with the Mistral winds, eh?). JR says they look like synchronized swimmers.

We pass the Arles station and see on the wall a drawing depicting Camargue’s symbols- Van Gogh, Cowboys, Horses, etc. We reach Nîmes on time and visit mighty nice toilets. These are “womanned” and cost .50 € which might explain why they are nice. Two young girls are counting their pennies when we arrive and still digging into purses as we leave!

Thought we’d get tickets for Pont du Gard but Tourist Info is still closed. Train ticket line is pretty long so we head on out to visit Nîmes. By the way, denim (de Nîmes) is from this town. We take a taxi to the Vieux Maison and it is pretty cool. Nîmes is larger than we thought but very attractive and with many tree-lined streets.

We find the tourist info nearby and meet the loveliest woman who gives us all the bus info for Pont du Gard, Uzés and Orange and tells us exactly where to find the bus stop behind the Gare. She also gives us a Nîmes walking tour which we take. Since it’s only a little after 9 a.m., the streets are quiet. We pass a day care center and children are there already. We detour by the market and stop in a sweet little square (Place de les Halles) with lots of folks having coffee and reading papers.

We had pain chocolat and briochette au sucre, juice and coffee breakfasts and talked with a nice couple from Britain. Wife took shot of us. Her hub was working in Nîmes for 6 months and loved it. Back to and through the big market (Les Halles). Saw piles of cheese-some so soft they looked like ice cream. We strolled and ended up at the huge arena with cafés encircling it.

Worked our way back toward Canal and Jardin de la Fontaine via Victor Hugo Blvd. Many nice restaurants and businesses along this road. Lovely park and walkway. Believe the canal is fed from water at Pont du Garde. Head back to Gare for bus. Stop at book store that has stuff in English. DR finds a Robert Parker and Peter Mayle.

A cautionary tale for train/bus travelers. We missed the 12:05 bus and the line for trains was way too long for us to make the Orange train (rats) so we decided to just go back to Aix. It took ½ hour in line to get our ticket. That “cheep” is really needed! We had some time to kill before the Aix train so we walked back out to nearby café-studded road and had some wine and beer. Back to Marseille and we double-checked train schedules for Cassis on Thursday. Price from Aix is almost double and takes longer so we’ll bus it to Marseille.

@Stu, I'm not a tech guy. I don't know what the issue is, but I've tried e-mailing you at your AOL address a few times now. The error message reads:

"Address not found. Your message wasn't delivered to [email protected] because the address couldn't be found, or is unable to receive mail."

@zebec, I'd be happy to have a look at this flat in Uzes. Do you have a web link or some other sort of info you can pass along? Feel free to message me directly if that might be better.

@jpie, thanks for the feedback! And I think you're absolutely right: there's always a next trip.

@TDudette, thanks for the fun trip report!