Seven days in Provence: Can you help with itinerary?
 

We will be spending a week in Provence (where we have never been) in midOctober, basing ourselves in Avignon all seven nights, in part because my husband has two hour plus commute every day and does not want to rent a car. We will rent a car 1 day while we are there.
A beginning thought of itinerary is:

Sunday --train from Genoa, Italy to Nice. Stop for lunch and Chagall Museum. On to Avignon
Monday--Avignon
Tuesday--(our 25th anniversary) Lunch at L'Atelier in Arles, stroll around Arles
Wednesday--back to Arles
Thursday--rent car, go to Les Baux and St Remy
Friday--leave open
Saturday--Chateaux Neuf de Paps (spelling, I'm sorry)
Sunday--train to Paris Airport for 5pm flight back to Oakland.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions. I'd also like to include some hiking, small villages (Luberon hills), but don't know how to do this via train or bus. a

I'm curious - why don't you want to rent a car for the duration??? Driving in Provence is nothing like driving on the 880, 238, 24, 80, 580, or 680 in the Bay Area. I drove either 880 or 101 to work for 22 years. We've spent 22 weeks vacationing in Provence & we've always had a car. Unless you hire a private drive or do a van tour - visiting the small hill villages in the Luberon will be difficult. And 2 trips to Arles is about 1 too many, IMO. One trip to Les Baux & St Remy will not consume an entire day. Neither will a trip to Chateauneuf du Pape. Unless you don't have a car. Also, visiting wineries in France is noting like visiting wineries in Napa/Sonoma, or the Gold Country.

Do you have my 35 page Provence/Cote d'Azur itinerary??? I've sent it to over 3,000 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy. e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley in San Mateo.

How about Pont du Gard for Friday? Go by car - the most remarkable Roman relic outside of Italy just about. And not far from there Uzes is one of the nicest old towns in the area.
And Genoa to Avignon will take several hours train time alone - to get off at Nice put bags in left-luggage (not in station but a short walk away last I heard) and then trek up to Cimiez outside of Nice for the museum would take a few hours plus museum time. Maybe stay the night in Nice?

Book Genoa-Nice on the few daily Thello trains that go direct Genoa to Nice - most others you have to switch at border station Ventimiglia to a commuter train to Nice - Thello is much more convenient and faster - Thello ? Trains France-Italie - site officiel. Book Nice to Avignon at www.oui.sncf.com - both sites will give discounted fares if you book early enough to get them as they are sold in limited numbers. Ditto for Avignon-TGV station (few miles ouside Avignon and connected to town center by shuttle trains). For lots on trains check www.seat61.com - by far the best rail info site on the web and especially didactic on helping you book your own discounted tickets - general train info like 1st v 2nd class, etc I also like BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

When going to Chaeauneuf des Papes (sp? also) can also hit nearby Orange with a famous Roman gate and a nice old town.

I thin the best way to visit that part of Provence is with a car and not from Avignon. I have an office which requires a four hour commute on 2 days. Driving through Provence is nothing like a city commute. Use a GPS and it is easy

nimes & carcasson !

I stayed several days in Arles and loved it, but used it as a base for day trips by train and bus. For just visiting and touring, however, one day for lunch and walking is enough. It is an easy, quick train trip from Avignon.

There is also a bus that does many RTs a day to Les Baux and, I believe, also St Remy, from Avignon and Arles. We did it from Arles, and it was cheap, easy and a short trip. It went on to Avignon, then back to Les Baux. There were no set times you had to go or return, just meet the bus at the bus stops.

A car would be nice for the other places.

Carcassone is 2 1/2 hrs away from Avignon by car.

Stu Dudley

Thanks. My husband has unequivocally refused to rent a car for more than a day and since I usually get my way, I just gracefully (I hope) acceded.

I'll email you now.

You may get in touch with Mr. Kevin Widrow and his wife Elisabeth, the Inn Keepers at Le Mas Perreal, Provence. Who knows Provence better than them. Kevin is a US expat settled in Provence.
They can be reached on [email protected] / [email protected].
​​​​​​Enjoy your travels!

Can you get your rental car on Tuesday instead of Wednesday? Perhaps your husband may realize how easy the driving is and how much freedom it provides and want to keep it the rest of the week.

I can see. Tuesday is our 25th anniversary. That could make him more willing...or less. That day I don't want to do anything more than go to a pretty and interesting town where we can walk around and have a Michelin lunch.

Does your husband realize that in most cases the cost to rent a car for a single day is much the same as renting for 3 days? What's the rent for only one day rule about? If he can drive on one day, he can drive on other days, I should think. It's very easy driving in that part of the world at that time of year, and it certainly gives you WAY more flexibility than trying to conform to rural French public transportation schedules. OTOH if that's how you wish to do it, so be it.

And yes, Carcassonne is not a daytrip from where you're headed, or I should say it would be quite a long one.

If you would like to see a walled city, rather than Carcassonne, consider Aigues Mortes, but stay over night within the walls. It is crowded and touristy by day, but magical at night.

Agree with PalenQ
 

One day in Arles is more than enough time; of all the places in southern France not my favorite. Another vote for Uzes, Pont du Gard. We’ve always rented a car & found driving easy - many places are hard to reach without one and we’ve never been willing to lose time waiting around for buses and trains.
Since you’re stopping in Nice have you thought about basing there rather than Avignon? That would be a perfect place to base and make day trips by train (Cannes, Antibes, Ville-Franche, Vence, Menton, Monaco,etc). Just a thought. And Nice itself is fabulous & well worth several days.

Where might that be???

If you are planning on a 1 star Michelin lunch, there are not that many in "towns". Of course, the "cities" of Avignon has a 1 star, Nimes has a 1 star, and Arles has a very expensive 2 star - but it is closed on Tuesday. The "towns" of St Remy has a 1 star, Uzes has a 1 star but it is closed on Tuesdays. I think I've dined at all of the 1 stars in the Luberon Valley, and they are outside of town.

So that leaves St Remy if you want to dine at a 1 star. It is close enough to Avignon so you could take a taxi there & back if you plan properly & reserve ahead. Personally, I would not want to wait on a bus going to or from St Remy, or even sit on a bus - especially after a nice long anniversary lunch at a Michelin 1 star restaurant.

Stu Dudley

>>Tuesday--(our 25th anniversary) Lunch at L'Atelier in Arles, stroll around Arles<<

Nope - it is closed on Tuesdays.

Stu Dudley

Near St-Remy is a **Michelin restaurant at modern-day Les Baux:

https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Rest...iere-815-41102

I know diddily about restaurants but why settle for one star?

That restaurant is not in a city or village where you can walk around - it is by itself in a valley.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Re...75!4d4.7958139

Stu Dudley

Take a taxi there and back and also visit awesome Les Baux the ancient perched citadel town -one of very most popular attrations in whole area:

https://www.google.com/search?q=les+...w=1708&bih=838

"but why settle for one star?"

Because they can be absolutely fabulous at a very reasonable price, that's why. It's not "settling," it's often enjoying an inventive and delicious multi-course meal for 30-40 euros by a chef who is working plenty hard to make a name and succeed.

The OP says she wants to be in a pretty town where she can walk around and have a Michelin lunch. The restaurant you gave a link to does not meet those criteria, and Les Ateliers is closed Tuesdays. She needs to find something else, and her wish list is limiting.