bicky2

Please critique my itinerary.

I will be staying in St Remy for three nights and would appreciate lunch and dinner recommendations. Also I am interested in wine. I am planning on scheduling a ½ day tour on my 1st day. But if anyone knows of other nice wineries that are in the areas of my tentative itinerary please I would love to hear from you.

Wednesday September 14

Arrive via TGV at 10am and pickup rental car

10:30 Avignon, Place du Palais, Pont St Benezet

(grab lunch somewhere easy)

2:30 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, wine tour – wine uncovered

5-7:00 St Remy to check into hotel

Dinner in St Remy (suggestions?)

Thursday September 15

Arles

Pont du gard

(maybe Uzes?)

Suggestions for lunch and dinner?

Friday September 16

Isle-Sur-la-Sorgue, Gordes, Roussillon

Suggestions for lunch and dinner?

Sat Sept 17

Check out of Hotel in St Remy

Ruins of Glanum

Monastery of St Paul de Mausole

Les Baux-de-Provence

(5-7) Drive to Cassis check into hotel

Thanks in advance for your help

cigalechanta

isle-sur-la-Sorge, dine at Jardin du quai, it's by the train station.
In Avignon, quick lunchat Cafe des Artistes,
St Remy, Jardin de Frederic
Just out side Gordes in Les Emberts is Mas de Tourteron
in Uze lunch at Bistri Grac, dinner at Trois Seasons

cigalechanta

sorry, Bistro Greac

bicky2

Thanks cigalechanta!

Does my itinerary seem OK?
I’m wondering if I should switch Friday and Saturday’s plans… Would it be easier to get to Cassis from Les Baux or from the Luberon Region?

el13207

Some random thoughts:
Pick up your car in Avignon after seeing the city sights (which are within walking distance of each other). Why would you need a car until you're ready to leave Avignon?

Arles, Pont du Gard and Uzes seems like a lot for one day...especially since Arles is in the opposite direction from Uzes and P d G. When we were there in April we loved Uzes- had a lazy lunch in the main square- and the Pont (my husband could have spent hours in the museum there, me not so much), but thought Arles over-sold. We did have a nice crepe lunch next to the Arles Coliseum (in RS book, Le Grillon?)but Arles mostly just seemed like a big city. The market is certainly not as I expected- great food but little in the way of crafts/linens/etc (Aix and Nice much better for that).The whole Van Gogh connection is a stretch in Arles, imo- you will "feel" his presence much much more at the sanitorium in St. Remy. Glanum ruins in St. Remy are amazing- give yourself time to walk through if you are a history buff.
In St. Remy we enjoyed both lunch and dinner at Le Bistro des Alpilles, but the best meal we had was at our hotel, Le Mas des Carassins.
In Roussillon we had a nice lunch again in town at a place w/ balcony overlooking the ochre cliffs (sorry the name escapes me). You can easily do the villages you've described on your itinerary in one day. We spent the better part of a day in Les Baux (it was very windy) and had lunch at Le Hostellerie de la Reine Jeanne. It is so lovely in this part of France- don't plan too much or rush around. You can add or subtract as you go!

cigalechanta

Les Baux should be visited
while your are in St Remy/Arles area, as Gordes and Roussillon are further away and yes Luberon is closer to Cassis

CailinDeas

Another vote for Uzes. We really enjoyed it there both on market days and non market days. The last time we were there we were travelling from our rented house in Languedoc to a rented house in Luberon and we went out of our way to get to the market in Uzes to stock up for the second week of our trip and to savour the wonderful atmosphere. http://www.discover-uzes.com/2010/03...uz%C3%A8s.html

Christina

I don't think your times are very realistic, but You'll find that out when you aren't on schedule. For example, your train will arrive at 10 in Avignon and yet you plan to be doing your tourist activities by 10:30. How that will happen, I don't know, since you must pick up the rental car at the station, then drive to Avignon (sure, it's not very far, only a few km, but you still must and traffic can be a bit heavy), then drive around and around and around the parking garge to find a space if you are lucky. So I don't think you can do all that in 30 minutes. If you get your car rental and are driving out of the lot by that time, it would be good.

I also think Arles and Uzes and the Pont in one day are too much, but I don't do drive-by tourism, I know some people don't like to be in a place more than a couple hours at most.

bicky2

el13207.... thanks for you thoughts... but we will have luggage.... where am I supposed to store two suitcases after I get off the TGV train? and why backtrack to the station when I can get my car and then head north to old Avignon then on to Châteauneuf-du-Pape?

Is Arles worth a visit? Or should I visit Orange or Nimes instead? I do love roman ruins.

thanks cigalechanta... I will move Luberon to Saturday before heading to Cassis....

Christina... I will adjust my time on Wednesday, thank you.... I'm not sure I want to go into the Place du Palais... I may just walk around the old town for a while and have lunch.....

bicky2

Here’s my revised itinerary… any better?

Wednesday September 14

Arrive via TGV at 10am and pickup rental car

11:00 Avignon, Place du Palais, Pont St Benezet

2:30 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, wine tour – wine uncovered

6-7:00 St Remy to check into hotel

Thursday September 15

Arles, Les Baux-de-Provence

Friday September 16

Ruins of Glanum, Monastery of St Paul de Mausole, St Remy
(Maybe Uzes)

Sat Sept 17

Check out of Hotel in St Remy

Isle-Sur-la-Sorgue, Gordes, Roussillon

(5-7) Drive to Cassis check into hotel

CaliNurse

We were in St Remy last month. So here's one big recommendation.

For us, Bistro des Alpilles was a disappointment. Not terrible, just nothing special. It had been recommended in the Winns' "Provence Byways" book. Well, after reading tripadvisor reviews ( wish we'd read them BEFORE eating there) i understood why ...there was a change in ownership a couple yrs ago, and with that, came a decline in the restaurant.

We had a fantastic and memorable meal in St Remy at the Brasserie du Commerce, on the corner on Place de la Republique where it intersects with the road that encircles the "old quarter" of St St Remy. Easy to spot. Can't say enough GOOD things about this place: the dinners were perfect, the price was great (lower than Bistro des Alpilles) the service friendly, helpful, unpretentious: a true brasserie place, loads of local couples and families (we were the only tourists that Saturday night)

When we mentioned this to the owner of our gite in St Remy, she said she had recently come from a mtg of St Remy business people, who said the same. Apparently there was a recent change of chef, and the place has improved tremendously in recent months. Give it a try...and if there is the baked pineapple on the dessert menu, order it!!!!

llane125

Not to be missed for a perfect provencal lunch, Le Bistrot du Paradou, south of Les Beaux on the D17 and just west of Maussane-les-Alpilles. Book in advance, and no menu; you eat what is served and it is wonderful. Can find more info here in the Michelin Guide: http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Res...dou-4674-41102

llane125

Not to be missed for a perfect provencal lunch, Le Bistrot du Paradou, south of Les Beaux on the D17 and just west of Maussane-les-Alpilles. Book in advance, and no menu; you eat what is served and it is wonderful. Can find more info here in the Michelin Guide: http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Res...dou-4674-41102

CaliNurse

p.s. I thnk your revised itinerary looks better in that you have given more time Friday to St Remy. Take the country walk from the center of St Remy to the monastery/asylum. (The TI center will give you a map.) I fond it very moving emotionally, to be walking down that country road where Vincent walked and was inspired on his trips out of the asylum. The path is lined with plaques of some of his paintings. I'll never look at his scenery paintings the same way!
Also, you can easily drive to Les Baux the same day,from St Remy. It is probably better to go later in the day , you can see the sunset from up there (not sure what time that is in September) and the emptier the town, the better, IMHO .

ANd take some time to wander through the historic old quarter of St Remy! I chanced upon Nostradamus' birthplace house--didnt know he was born there! Great sweets on the street that is one of 4 "boulevards" that encircles the old town:Joel Durand chocolates, Le To (cant recall name--it is nr Joel Durand) for macaroons.

Uzes--we didnt make it there this time, which i regret, But make your Thursday instead to see Uzes and Pont du gard (since you love the Roman ruins) Perhaps skip Arles this trip for the reasons el13207 says above-you will feel Van Gogh in those hours in the countryside around St Rmey (easy walk form the town center to both there, Glanum, and Les Antiques)

nini

We were in St Remy last month and can recommend for lunch or a simple dinner the Creperie Lou Planet on Favier Square behind Hotel de Ville. The crepes (gallettes) were great but the salads are fabulous. We had huge salads of heirloom tomatoes ( in various colors) sitting on the freshest greens. We did not love Arles-wish we had skipped it. We had the surprise experience of the Mistral winds for twenty four hours during our stay in Provence.

uhoh_busted

You can easily see the ruins at Glanum on your way to les Baux. Maybe even have lunch at Paradu -- we LOVED that lunch experience. A surprisingly good place for lunch in Uzes is on the Place des Herbes, Burger Bistrot or something like that. NOT the standard burger, for sure. We looked at renting an apartment just off the Place, and the owner told us both bistrots on the place were excellent.

bicky2

Calinurse thanks so much for the restaurant recommendation.... I have noticed that some of the restaurants being suggested have received bad reviews...

Nini why did you not like Arles? Due to the winds or because of something else.... I'm starting to wonder if I should even go there.... Maybe I should go to Nimes instead or Pont du Gard and Uzes...

What are everyone else's thoughts on Arles?

Also I just did google maps .... les baux is closer to cassis then gordes is to cassis..... So maybe I should switch Friday and Saturday plans back to the original.... Unless the google is wrong..????

nini

We did not have the Mistral winds in Arles-those winds made for an interesting market day in St Remy. Arles was way larger than we expected and parking was tough. If you want to see the Roman Arena it may appeal to you. The 12th C Romanesque church was interesting of course but I found Arles busy and lacking in charm. The small towns are wonderful-Uzes, Rousillon, Les Baux, Isle-sur-La- Sorgue (antique lover's paradise),Gordes, Lacoste, etc. We did not go further south but drove on to Vaisson Romaine and Gigondas (great little village). Be sure to visit the monastery and hospital where Van Gogh spent some time. The lavender behind the monastery was just beginning to bloom. St Remy was, IMO, the perfect place to stay-loved our hotel, Sous les Figueres. Enjoy your trip!

Christina

I don't know about Google maps, but I have real maps of France and Provence and, in fact, Cassis is almost the exact same distance from Gordes as from Les Baux (as the crow flies). By car, I would think it would probably be quicker from les Baux but I'm not sure. Using www.mappy.fr for driving directions and times, which I often do, they take about exactly the same time (about 1:30). It is a bit shorter to Les Baux (114 km vs 121 km).

So you don't need to make plans based on that issue. Both Arles and Nimes have their assets, I think you should choose based on which has the things you most want to see. Nimes has that famous Maison Caree, but what I really liked in Arles was their folklore or ethnological museum. I love those kind of things. It had furniture, clothings, etc., all kinds of things relating to the area from historical time periods, so you could see the history and the traditional older dress, etc.
http://www.museonarlaten.fr/museon/CG13/

I personally rank Arles a bit higher than Nimes in the interest category, as well as Pont du Gard/Uzes (although I would rank them above Nimes). Arles has Roman ruins also, obviously. gen info http://www.tourisme.ville-arles.fr/us/a2/a2f.php

I'm not gaga over Roman ruins, though, a bunch of old stone to me most of the time, I am not a big "Roman" fan.

cigalechanta

ilane. I have dined at the Paradou for about 14 year but have
not been there since my husband died. I framed the autographed poster the owner gave me and have one of their pitchers.