September in Paris and Provence
 

We are planning a trip Sept 10th until Sept 29th with the first 4 days in Paris and then taking tgv to Avignon and renting a car there. We are in our 50's--really wanted to concentrate on Provence but think it would be a mistake to not see Paris while we're in France.
Our itinerary is:
4 nights Paris
Train to Avignon
3 night Bonnieux at la Bastide de Capelongue to rest up from Paris
4 night somewhere near Gordes
6 nights in St Remy
Can anyone help us:
1. Does this time frame look good?
2. ? hotel in Paris--150 euros or so--Someone recommended near Place de Madeline
3.Recommendations for lodging near Gordes-150 euros or so
4. 2 places in St Remy interest us :
1. Les Mas des Carassins
2. Hotel Gounod
Has anyone stayed at either?

September/October is a great time to travel in France...Last October we arrived in Paris and took the TVG to Avignon..Provence is incredible!, You will love it. We rented a villa in St Remy and took day trips from there. All of the interesting towns are approximately 1-2 hours by drive from St Remy, including Avignon, Nimes, Vaison-la- romaine, Les Baux, Seguret, Sablet, Fontaine de Vaucluse, and Gordes. I would recommend driving from Avignon right to St Remy, it is a short 45 min drive. Also for 150 a night in Paris, you can find a great apartment. It is much more enjoyable than staying in a hotel. Good luck! mike1728

We stayed at Mas De Carrassins last May and absolutely loved it. You can click on my name and get more information and I posted some pictures. It is very accessible to St. Remy and has the most beautiful lawns, gardens, patios. Owners are fantastic.

Do make a point of having dinner there at least once. We did it twice and it was the best meals we had on our trip. Each time we dined by candelight in the rose garden and the food was delicious. You have to sign up each morning.

The owners also run Mas de Romarins in Gordes. It is on the main road going into Gordes and has quite a nice view of the town. Its in your price range. Do go to Rousillion when you are in the Gordes area. Very nice 1/2 day trip and very close.


Here is a link that shows both places mentioned.
http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/h...s-romarins.htm

Hi NS,

>hotel in Paris--150 euros or so--

We always stay at the Hotel Bonaparte, 61 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th. About 124E dbl w/bkfst

Tel 33 1 43 26 97 37
FAX 33 1 46 33 57 67
www.hotelbonaparte.fr

For more info, enter "Hotel Bonaparte" in the "search this forum" box.

Photos are at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-l95uyr

Looks like a lovely trip.

I suggest adding a day to Paris.

((I))

I wouldn't spend 7 nights in the Luberon at two different hotels. Gordes & Bonnieux are only about 20-30 mins apart at most.

For 13 nights, I would spend:

5 in the Luberon (Gordes or Bonnieux)
4 nights near St Remy
4 nights near Vaison

This would allow you to experience different regions of Provence, and reduce the day-trip driving.

Stu Dudley

Stu,
Good response. Have you any recomendations for staying near Vaison, St Remy, or Gordes?

Thanks--your pictures are great! Which room did you have at mas des Carassins ? It looks like you had a suite?

Yes we had a suite which you enter from the outside of the main building. I believe it was called l'Estable as this part of the building used to be stables.

The rooms that are upstairs in the main building are equally as nice - we just had an additional sitting room with our own small terrace and table.

We stay in Gites (houses) while vacationing in France, so I don't have any current hotel recommendations.

Stu Dudley

Rooms at the Bastide de Capelongue are smallish, except one called Simeone, designed for handicapped access. This is a comfortable and attractive hotel with a good restaurant. Consider one dinner at La Feniere, about 20 minutes away, just past Lourmarin on the road to Cadanet.

My husband and I love St. Remy. Two years ago,we stayed at Mas De Cornud, which is a charming bed and breakfast just outside of town. We will return in June. We planned our trip to this region for Fête de la Transhumance. This is a local festival where sheep parade through the town in the morning, then back to Mas De Cornud, where there will be food and music. The Inn is owned by a lovely couple, David and Nito. Go to their website, www.mascornud.com for more information and pictures. You will see that it is also a cooking school. The last time we were there, I was lucky enough to take part in a cooking class. It was wonderful. David and Nito know Provence very well and are a wealth of information. Nito will prepare dinner, if there are enough guests who wish to participate. Breakfast is served outside and consists of coffee, croissants, bread, cereal and home-made jams and jellies. We highly recommend it.

Three nights at Mas de Coupier near Cassis. Lovely hostess and amazing scenery.

http://www.guideweb.com/provence/bb/coupier/indexa.html

Three nights at L'Eveche in Vaison la Romaine. Stunning B&B in the historic section of the city with views over the mountains and city below. Amazing food and perfect hosts. This city is a must!

http://eveche.free.fr/uk_index.htm

On to Mas de la Beaume in Gordes. This beautiful B&B looks across the valley at the city of Gordes. An outstanding view, especially at night. Hostess gave much attention and lots of great restaurant recommendations and driving routes. This B&B has been featured in many magazines.

http://www.labeaume.com/page1anglais.html

Last - but not least - was staying in Avignon with the most congenial Madame Michele at Villa Agape. You will not believe this beautiful home - on the top floor of a commercial building right in the heart of Avignon. Great restaurants are just steps away. Shopping is right downstairs. Markets for al fresco lunches at the pool. Its hard to believe this is a private home. She could not have been sweeter or less intrusive.

http://avignon-et-provence.com/bb/vi.../gb/index.html

I found all B&Bs on the following web site and booked them directly with the owners via email.

http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/b...t_provence.htm

My apologies for starting the above post so abruptly. This was the itinerary for our two week drive through Provence last November. We flew in and out of Marsailles. Rented a car from Auto Europe and had a marvelous journey.

We are two couples in our mid-50s.

In Paris we like Hotel Jardin du Luxembourg. Small, but comfortable rooms in a great location. We stay here often.

http://www.travel-in-paris.com/jardi...rg/english.htm

Enjoy!

I agree with Stu D.; Bonnieux and Gordes are too close together to bother changing hotels. We spent over a week outside Gordes and did all day trips, the farthest away being Moustiers Ste Marie, to the east.

Otherwise your trip sounds wonderful; happy planning!

Does anyone know of particular dates and towns which may have festivals or interesting events in late Sept?
I have checked provence web sites and get vague info. Does anyone know what the fetes votives in St Remy is for ex.? Thanks.

In a fête votive, bulls are allowed to run through the streets. See here:

http://www.prestigeproperty.co.uk/pa...c_property.asp

We base ourselves in one village in Provence and travel all over from there, This year there'll be a day trip to the Camargue again, to Arles and to Languedoc (Sommieres) and that is only a few besides the usuals , Lourmarin, Bonnieux and more.

grandmere: Where did you stay in Gordes? We will be 2 couples traveling in September for 5 nights. Inquiring now on another post if we should consider a gite in the area. Where did you stay for your week?

I don't remember where grandmere stayed, but a hotel I'd recommend is La Ferme de la Huppe, on a road that runs down from Gordes to the main road going through the Luberon. The hotel is small, with a rustic theme, but there's a good pool and an excellent restaurant. Prices are moderate.

We are staying at Mas des Romarins in Gordes--recomended by this site and then we are moving to St Remy and staying at Mas de Carcassins. We realize these inns are 20 miles apart but we wanted to change at that time--less driving--new location.

Hi nsalerno.

We are also staying at Mas des Romarins the last week of September.

I noticed that "delvino" had recently stayed there and I posted a message here asking him about his experience but haven't seen a reply yet.

Have you heard any first hand experiences lately?

Nsalerno:
Just noticed that "delvino" has replied to my request this morning for info on Mas des Romarins.

Check it out.

Royal: I haven't heard any comments lately about Mas de Romarins. I would love to read Delvin's reply. I am not very experienced with this forum. How do I find his reply to you. Sorry!!

Hi nsalerno

I see you found delvino's post. Just click on the poster's name and all messages will appear.

Sounds like they liked Mas des Romarins but found Gordes too small and quiet. We were looking for a fairly quiet place so this suits us. Also delvino mentioned the rooms were on the small side and I had read that in other posts and also in a guidebook to small charming hotels. However the guidebook said they were well equipped and quiet and the grounds were private and well maintained.

We are happy with our choice and hope you will be too. We thought about moving over to Mas des Carrassins halfway through the stay but decided to stay put. Des Carrassins sounds lovely and am sure you will enjoy it - the rooms may be larger there from what I have read.

Have a great trip!

We recently returned from our trip to Provence, where we divided our week in Provence between Mas des Romarins in Gordes (four nights) and Mas des Carassins (three nights) in St. Remy. Personally, we liked the Luberon and the area around Gordes much more than the area around St. Remy. We also enjoyed Mas des Romarins more than its sibling Mas des Carassins. While the two hotels are owned by the same people and are very similar, the one in Gordes is somewhat more intimate and enjoys fantastic views of Gordes and the Valley below. We also had dinner once at each of these establishments and were pleased with the food and service. While in Gordes, I recommend dining at Le Clos de Gustave www.luberon-news.com/clos-gustave, which was very-very nice. In short, both of these hotels are very nice and a good value.

Please feel free to e-mail me directly at [email protected] with any specific questions.

Anna Roz

We liked the Bastide de Gordes. It was in the center of town. There was parking for the car by the hotel staff.
The restaurant is great, beautiful views, swimming pool and nice rooms.
The town is very small. We spent 3 days and had to leave because the hotel was full and we did not have a reservation. We did day trips to I'sle Sur Sorgue(sp)a great market town and carpentras. We also visited Menerbes because we loved Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence". Have fun on your trip!

Anna--Thank you for your reply. I love to get a response from someone who has been to the hotels we where we will be staying. I definitely will check out the restaurant--it looks great--just like we want--small--not pretentious. Do we need a reservation?

Hi Anna_Roz

Thanks for your post on the Mas des Romarins - so happy to hear you enjoyed your stay there.

We are booked for 7 days around the end of September after much researching on different hotels and areas it is a relief to hear a positive review of our decision.

Thank you for your email address I will email you with further questions - kind of you to offer.
Royal

Yes, you would need to reserve, since it was full (the outside area) on the evening we dined there, but the hotel will gladly call a reservation for you. There are tables indoors, which is also very nice, but I would recommend dining outside. I would suggest that you specify a table on the lawn as opposed to on the patio, since it is more dramatic and may even have some views. If it is a warm evening, the lawn area would be cooler than being under a covered patio. Very gracious people and a wonderful experience.

Anna Roz

Last June we stayed 2 nights in Mas des Romarins and we have already made reservations for next summer for a week.
We loved being just on the outside of the village of Gordes and we really liked the hotel and staff.

Next year we will use it as a base to see so many things we did not see last year, Aix-en-Provence, Pont du Gard, Isle de Sorge, Bonnieux. Enjoy your trip in Sept.

Sebina

nsalerno - looks like you can't go wrong. all of the recommendations for OPs look terrific. I'm definitely thinking about Provence for our next trip.