Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)
-   Europe (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/)
-   -   Southern France / Provence with Kids - Help Please (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/southern-france-provence-with-kids-help-please-1714136/)

bb7574 Apr 7th, 2023 04:17 PM

Southern France / Provence with Kids - Help Please
 
Hi there, I've been reading so many itinerary help posts here, thanks to everyone who contribute to these!
I wanted to get some thoughts on our upcoming trip in June. We are a family of four, with a 4yo and <1yo...
- Ideally we would like 2-3 home bases over a two week period, spending majority of our time exploring small villages in Provence, and ending the trip with 3-4 days in a small town on the beach, not far from Marseille. We plan to rent a car from Marseille airport.
- We plan to arrive on a Wednesday to Marseille, and return from Marseille again two weeks later.
- We would like to keep any day trips we take to be within 30-45 minute drive. We will likely leave in the morning after breakfast, return late afternoon around 4-5pm and stay in our accommodation for the evening.
- I assume most sights/villages are not stroller friendly, I was thinking we would use the carrier for baby majority of the time?
My original thoughts (based on accommodation availability) were.. 2-3 days in Aix, 4-5 days near Uzes, 4-5 days in the Luberon area, 3-4 days in Cassis. I keep going in circles and can't seem to land on an itinerary and would greatly appreciate recommendations - especially keeping in mind we will have two kids with us and will have a slower pace. (I keep flipping between Provence vs. Portugal! Would love to hear from others who might have done a similar trip with little kids)
Thank you so much, really appreciate any insights here.

FTOttawa Apr 8th, 2023 09:56 AM

One possible plan:

-land at Marseille airport, take the swift, convenient shuttle bus to Aix. Do not rent a car right away if jetlagged.

- ride the carousel, check out the fountains and gardens, see what other ideas from this page strike your fancy:

https://provencewithkids.com/2021/04...ix-en-provence

- pick up a rental car and on Saturday move to a gîte for a week. Tough to choose an exact location, but select “Vaucluse” and “Bouches du Rhone” départements then plug in your dates and the number in your family to see what’s available. You can use other filters such as “air conditioning,” “pool,” “baby equipment,” “washing machine.”
Saint Remy de Provence and Isle sur la Sorgue get a lot of love on here, but anywhere roughly between Pernes les Fontaines and Maussanne les Alpilles will put you within visiting distance of the Luberon, Pont du Gard and Baux de Provence.

- back to the beach for your remaining time, although it’s possible the water may not be as warm as you’d hope. La Ciotat might have nicer beaches than Cassis. Another area to consider is west of Marseille — Carry-le-Rouet or Sausset-les-Pins,

bb7574 Apr 10th, 2023 05:23 PM

Thank you this is very helpful and reassuring!
We’ve decided to do Aix for 3 nights, then Luberon area for a week. For the seaside location I will look into those towns as well. Many thanks!!!


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 07:32 PM.