Trip report -- Provence/Cote d'Azur
Oct 1st, 2007, 11:01 AM
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Trip report -- Provence/Cote d'Azur
Just returned from my 11-day honeymoon in Provence/Cote D’Azur, and thanks as always to my fellow Fodorites, we had a great time. I’d like to thank Stu Dudley for his massive tome on the area which he shares so readily and particularly thank PB Provence whose interests seemed to match mine the closest. Thought I’d share some of our adventures for those planning a trip there and happy to answer questions as well. It’s a tad long, but no worries, I left the juicy honeymoon stories out!
To set the stage as to who we are, my husband and I are in our late 30’s/40’s, live in Hoboken, just outside NYC, and were up for a combination of food, art, history, food, wine, outdoor activities, antiquities, food… did I say food? Really you could narrow that down to goat cheese and then all other food for me! We’re not the biggest shoppers – I have tolerance for about one day of wandering around looking at stores -- but were up for the fantastic markets. We are also NOT early risers. I speak a bit of French, enough to get by, and he can’t pronounce merci! Since my hubby is a redhead we also didn’t intend to spend a lot of time at the beach – he’s sizzles up like a piece of bacon. And to be fair, we are not far from sandy havens at home, so the rocky Mediterranean thing, really isn’t our scene. If you’re looking for the best beach vacation – stop reading!
Since we were arranging upgrades by using miles, we found the best option for us was to fly through Paris and then on to Nice, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend this as the ideal plan. On the other hand, the weird flight thing bought us an afternoon/evening in Nice without having to worry about driving and parking, so it worked out for us.
Here’s a brief look at the days, and the long-winded details (sorry!) are below:
Day 1 – Nice
Day 2 – 6 Stayed in St. Remy and explored nearby sites, including Pont du Gard, Uzes, Les Beaux, Gordes, Rousillon, Oppiede, Arles, Avignon, L’Isle de la Sorgue etc.
Day 7 – 11 Stayed in Villefranche and explored St. Paul de Vence, Cap Ferrat, Roquebrune, Gorbio, and Bordaghera Italy.
Day One: The long trip there…
We took an overnight flight from NYC to Paris, and then took a short flight to Nice. Landed around 3 p.m. and checked into the Windsor Hotel. (Thanks Stu!). It’s kind of a funky place, but the price and location are great. It’s just a few blocks off of the Vieux Nice (which is the core of the old city, where the Marché aux Fleurs and all the great restaurants are). It’s also, very conveniently, just about four blocks from where all the car rental places are. We wanted to have dinner at La Mérenda, but we were so tired, we couldn’t wait until they opened. (Note to early eaters – get over it! You’ll be having late dinners and loving it!) Instead we had dinner at L’Estrilha, where I had a delicious bourride. (FYI -- If anyone has the new Rough Guide Provence, the map showing where La Merenda is has it in the wrong spot). By this point, hubby was collapsing (for some reason airplanes put me to sleep, but no so much for the poor guy!).
Day Two: Our first salade avec chevre chaud
After breakfast, we checked out and walked over to get our rental car. We booked through AutoEurope, which serves as a broker of sorts and came highly recommended. (Go Fodorites!). And then we were off to Provence, to stay in St. Remy. Driving was easy, the signs easy to read. Only panic were the tolls – and no, it’s not because they are so hard to navigate, it’s because we were momentary idiots. We totally spazzed out and started yelling, “Euros, I need small euros!” at each other (naturally had gone to the ATM and had all these 50 euro bills) before realizing that you can simply pay by credit card! We also had moments of idiot relapse the first time we approached one where you simply pick up a ticket. Spent about 30 seconds looking for the hole to stick my credit card in before my rudimentary French kicked back in and I realized it was telling me to take a ticket instead. Word of advice for those driving there, if you don’t want to wait in lines, we found the credit card lanes were really quick and easy to navigate, even if you don’t read French.
To break up the ride, around 2 p.m., we reached Aix au Provence and followed Stu’s recommendations in terms of which exit to take and parking (a note on the parking follows in a minute!). We had initially been a little uneasy about leaving the car with all our stuff in it, but were correctly advised by fellow tourists to simply load the trunk of the car before we left and not leave anything visibly out.
Aix was great and easy to navigate. We had a late lunch at Les Deux Garcons (naturally salad with goat cheese for me!) and with white wine glass in hand, sipped away the afternoon from there. Great experience! We still needed to get to St. Remy so we mostly just cruised the Cours Mirabeau and hung out, then made our way back to the car.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t follow Stu’s advice about parking, since the entrance by the Post Office was closed due to construction so we had to improvise. The underground system is quite easy to get into, but if you are driving into town, pay careful attention when exiting the lot. We ended up coming out on a one way street heading away from the center of town and then getting lost for a bit trying to find our way back to the A8. Needless to say, we got to see the main fountain in town from pretty much every angle! Beyond this though, it was really quite easy to get into Aix and find the center of town. And it’s a great way to break up the ride from the Nice area to St. Remy/Arles.
Once back on the A8 we made our way to St. Remy, which we just loved. Even driving into town on the D99 you know you’re getting there, when all of a sudden you see dappled sunlight coming through these gorgeous trees that are lining the route all the way into town. We stayed at Mas de Carassins just outside of town (about a 5 minute walk, if that). (Again, Go Fodorites!). I don’t think I can say enough about how great this Mas is. The staff are warm, friendly and helpful, and the place itself is just gorgeous! That first night we had made arrangements to have dinner there, and it was a perfect plan. In addition to being a great place to stay, their food was delicious!
Day Three: the bridge from Beaucaire is our enemy!
Following PB Provence’s ideas, we took the day by storm and made a plan to visit the Pont Du Gard, Uzes, Tarascon castle and Les Baux in the same day. Easy enough to find all four locations (leaving Tarascon -- not so much -- more on that in a minute), and tourist-wise, the Pont du Gard was pretty much empty when we were there. (Based on the size of the lot, I assume it can be quite crowded in the summer). If you’re into antiquities, it’s pretty impressive, but I would say after taking a string of silly pictures and walking across the Pont a few times, we were done. If you’re not planning on doing other things along the way, might be a far ride to only do that.
We left Pont du Gard and headed another 15 minutes up the road to Uzes, which is an adorable little town. We felt so lucky to find free parking on the street fairly easily – yes, those are the chimes of doom you are hearing – and headed into the center of town to have a late lunch. We tried to go to Les Fontaines, but it’s changed hands for those following PB Provence’s suggestions. We stayed anyway since we loved the setting and had a decent lunch (sorry, can’t remember the new name). After wandering around Uzes for a bit, we made our way back to our car and there, as you may have already guessed, was our parking ticket! (Our only parking ticket, I might add – we were slow on the take-up, but never made the same mistake again!). We learned the lesson that you have to check quite a bit down all the streets for the P sign indicating the parking situation and the little box where you can pay for your ticket. Luckily, two police officers were standing just down the street and explained that you can pay your ticket in a local store and then simply mail in the ticket with a sticker showing it was paid. Took literally all of two minutes to resolve and we were on our way. For those going, if you do get a ticket, don’t sweat it. (At home, they skip the ticket and boot or tow your car – so parking violations actually cause grown men to cry!)
We next headed through Beaucaire into Tarascon to visit the castle. Again, quite easy to do. We really liked the castle and had fun visiting the rooms and checking out the area from the top.
Now over the ticket incident and excited to make our way to Les Baux, we got back in the car and there is where the bridge between Tarascon and Beaucaire decided to mess with us. Coming out of the Castle and trying to get back on the road to Les Baux, was not as clearly marked as others had been and we ended up being forced over the bridge to Beaucaire instead of going left as we had hoped. No problem we thought – we carefully made our way through the town, turned around and tried again crossing over into Tarascon. Then the evil bridge did it again, and there we were, somehow going into Beaucaire again. It was probably the gods demanding we stop there for a drink, but we’re stubborn and determined to make it to Les Baux before the sun went down. Third time was the charm (or maybe we just finally cleared the fog of jetlag) but either way, we were off and made it to Les Baux in time to visit the village. I second PB Provence’s advice about getting there in the late afternoon/early evening. There really weren’t too many people and on the way home we were also able to see the village with the sun going down, which is really beautiful. (Note about parking: we simply parked on the main road all the way at the bottom and didn’t bother trying to make the lots farther up the hill. In addition to free parking (yay!), the walk up was fun). To head back to St. Remy, we took thid great windy path over the hills and through the countryside instead of main roads. Loved the twisty turns and views though it’s probably not the fastest way back. That night we had dinner in town at Alain Assaud (recommended often by Chowhounders and Fodorites) which totally lived up to its reputation. One of our most memorable meals.
Day Four: Burning our heads over Provence
We broke our own “sleep late” pact and made our way out to the Gordes area by 8 a.m. to go hot air ballooning over the whole region. It wasn’t cheap, but then again, this was our honeymoon! The views of Roussillon, Gordes, and neighboring communities with the mountains as a backdrop is simply amazing from above. If you do decide to go, just be sure to be the last people into the basket. We ended up right under the burners, which gives you an unpleasant “head on fire” sensation the whole time. My husband is taller and got the brunt of it, but my little head was burning too!
From there we made our way to Abbaye de Senanque which is worth visiting. Unfortunately the lavender wasn’t blooming, but I can imagine it must be stunning over the summer. Anyway, ballooning took a bit longer than we had thought, and by now it was well into lunchtime, so we drove from the Gordes area (stopping to look at the beautiful town from afar again) and headed straight to Roussillon for lunch at one of the cafes near the church after walking around a bit. Except that the church bells went wild and rang for 20 minutes straight – when it ended, everyone applauded together -- Rousillon was a cool place to wander around, and the connected orange and red buildings are well worth the trip.
From there we drove through the Luberon to Oppiede le Vieux, which was by far our favorite village! The village has not been fully restored, so there is very little commercial activity. We explored the entire community, spending time at the ruined castle and the somewhat restored church before leaving. Not being shoppers, we really liked the peace of the place and definitely recommend it for those looking to escape the over-touristy stuff.
That night, Christophe at Mas de Carassins was able to get us into La Maison Jaune, probably the best restaurant in St. Remy. We had their five-course tasting menu (degustation) and it was worth every penny! From the sardines to the squab, each bite was delicious. Splurge if you are near St. Remy, and have dinner there!
Day Five: Our first market..
Being Sunday, we had a leisurely breakfast and then made our way up to L’Isle sur la Sorgue for their antiques market (which is also an everything else market). Though we’re not usually patient shoppers, we really had a great day wandering around the stalls and taking in the village. It’s certainly not a French “Venice” but there is something appealing about dining near the little bridges over the water. Parking-wise, we ended up parking a bit out of town, but don’t worry if you go there – it’s fairly small and nothing is too far a walk away. We had lunch at Café de la Sorgue which had been recommended by Rough Guide. I thought it was only so-so (the fact that its toilets were out, didn’t help after a few hours of wandering around!)
From there, we made our way back to St. Remy and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around town and picking up souvenirs and the like. I know others have mentioned this, but do, by all means, make your way to Jean Durand for chocolates!! It’s located on Boulevard Victor Hugo just on the edge of the center of town. Even thinking about the place is making me drool!!
Despite eating plenty of chocolates, we found the room for dinner back at Mas de Carassins. This was my husband’s favorite meal by far – soup pistou, a fresh grilled fish, a little ratatouille and a crème brulee for dessert. (I naturally skipped dessert and asked for more fromage instead).
Day Six: Avignon vs. Arles
We hadn’t yet made our way to Avignon or Arles, so decided to hit them both in the same day. (I don’t really recommend this approach). We had expected to like Arles better, but it was actually Avignon we appreciated more. Yes, it’s a larger city, but there’s something about its giant walled center and preserved history that’s really compelling. The Palais du Pape is quite impressive. We also visited the Pont d’Avignon, but I admit to not knowing the song, so a lot of the curiosity was lost on me.
In Arles, we visited the Arena, but the rest of Arles just didn’t hold much interest for us. Could be that it was Monday, and kind of dead. I will leave that up to others to debate…
From there, we made our way back to St. Remy and spent the rest of the day wandering around and visiting shops and places we’d missed the day before. We ate dinner at Bistrot des Alpilles, which was also good. Their cold salmon appetizer and grilled lamb especially.
Day Seven: Go East, young couple!
This day we made the drive back east to Villefranche-sur-Mer from St. Remy. Easy ride and easy directions. We stayed at the Hotel Welcome (again, Fodorite’s recommended, you all rule!) which is located right on the water and steps away from the better restaurants. We had a little balcony looking over the village and water. The location is great, and the staff are incredibly helpful.
We sipped that night away at the Wine Bar at the Hotel Welcome and then had dinner behind the hotel at Café Cosmo ( I think?). Had decent simply fare – pastas, salads, but nice and relaxing after the long day. This was also the day that my husband discovered the gelato stand by the water. Needless to say, he found his way there daily for the rest of the trip.
Day Eight: Our failed attempt to do it all
We set out thinking we were going to be able to hit points east and west of Nice in the same day, specifically Peillon and St. Paul de Vence. I’m sure for the experienced, this isn’t an issue, but somehow we ended up circling around Nice for a long time trying to find a faster way through it, rather than going down along the water. I’m sure others will have their opinions, but if you are visiting the area and intend to spend a lot of time west of Nice (St. Tropez, Cannes, St. Paul etc) you might consider staying west of Nice. From Villefranche sur Mer, to head west often meant sitting in traffic on the Promenade des Anglais and the roads leading up to it or risking being lost in northern Nice. We could have gotten up early to avoid this, but if you want to sleep in and take it easy, it’s something to think about. (Going east was never an issue, except for crowded Monaco).
Anyway, we wasted a good hour getting past Nice, but eventually found our way to St. Paul de Vence and headed up the hill to Foundation Maeght. I highly recommend making your way here if you are in the area. The Maeghts were art collectors and friends of some of the world’s most famous 20th century artists. The building as well as the collection are worth visiting. (Unfortunately there was a special exhibition, so we didn’t get to see as much of their collection). It’s worth the trip for the Miro outdoor sculptures alone though!
From Foundation Maeght, we headed to St. Paul for lunch. This was much more touristy compared to the other perched villages we visited, but also better maintained and quite beautiful. We ate at Le Tilleul, which is a little café just as you enter the village from the parking area and really enjoyed our meal. Simple tarts and salads, but really fresh and tasty.
At this point, quite a bit of the day had passed, so rather than make our way straight to Peillon as originally intended, we decided to get a better sense of the area by driving the Corniches. We took the Moyenne Corniche east first. If you are thinking of visiting without a car, think again! Driving the corniches was actually one of my favorite things to do. Loved actually doing the driving and loved the views from every turn. There wasn’t a lot of traffic, so it was quite fast to get from the Villefranche area to Monaco and also gives you a much better sense of the area than you can get from simply reading maps/tour books.
Along the way, we turned off to cruise through Monaco, and in a lot of ways, I’m glad we did. Monaco is seriously over built up. It’s a lot of fancy shops and banks and yachts. We had originally intended to spend time there, but after the drivethrough, we changed our plans. We’re from NYC, so the high-rise fancy shop thing does nothing for us. From there, we found our way to the Grande Corniche and cruised its turns on our way home. That night we had dinner reservations at Le Mere Germain, so wanted time to clean up and have a leisurely night. Le Mere Germain totally lives up to its reputation, and we both had excellent meals. I had their signature bouillabaisse and my husband had this delicious sea bass in a zucchini sauce. Definitely make reservations since they were definitely sold out every night.
Day Nine: The day we burned out on perched villages..
My husband wanted to catch up on some sleep, so I headed over to Cap Ferrat to check it out that morning. It’s only about 10 minutes along the lower corniche from Villefranche so quite easy to do with limited time. It’s a beautiful area and makes you wish you were fabulously wealthy so you could have your vacation home there along with all the celebrities! I made the most of my time by visiting the Ephrussi de Rothchild. This is a villa and gardens that belonged to Beatrice Ephrussi (nee Rothschild). The very pink villa was interesting, but what really captivated me were the gardens. In addition to lovely traditional French gardens, she had planted garden types from around the world – Japanese, stone, Spanish, rose gardens etc. At points along each of the gardens are spectacular views over the water and across to Villefranche and Nice. It’s just a beautiful place to wander around and a great vantage point to see the eastern Riviera.
After a quick lunch in Villefranche, we headed upwards, to cruise the villages above Monaco, starting with Roquebrune. There was an art class in the village that day, so every turn there was someone sketching the scene in front of them. Kind of a cool introduction! We made our way into the center of town and up to the castle. It’s a little touristy, but the old parts (not the new English tower) were interesting and the views down along the village from the top of the castle are pretty cool. They’ve built an ampitheater at the top of the village with awesome views. I can only imagine how nice a little concert could be from there. After a little more village touring, we headed off to Gorbio. It had been our plan to walk from Gorbio to St. Agnes, but we never did figure out which path to take. Gorbio is much smaller than St. Paul or Roquebrune, but feels more authentic. It’s cute, but by this point -- our seventh perched village -- we were just villaged out and wanted instead to hang by the water. We wandered around Villefranche for the rest of the day and had dinner along the water. Not our most memorable meal.
Day 10: Caio!
For our last day, we decided to drive into Italy, passing through Menton on the way. I’ve been to Italy, but my hubby hadn’t, so we treated it a little like a two for one trip! For those who’ve been to Amalfi and the like, it’s probably not worth it, but it was a fun change of pace for us and not too far. We headed to Bordeghera which doesn’t look like much from the main road, but which has a pretty little boardwalk built up along the beach. We had lunch at a little pasta place right on the water and whiled away the afternoon there. From there, we headed back to Villefranche to pick up a few more souvenirs and to explore the Citadel in town and then settled down later that evening for dinner at the Brasserie (La Fille du Pecheur) a few doors from our hotel, which was also good. Since it was our last night, it was mostly spent packing after dinner and then hitting the hay for our early drive to Nice airport the next morning. (By the way, dropping off our rental car was really easy and convenient).
Sorry for the long windedness! Happy to answer questions if anyone is still awake after reading this!!
To set the stage as to who we are, my husband and I are in our late 30’s/40’s, live in Hoboken, just outside NYC, and were up for a combination of food, art, history, food, wine, outdoor activities, antiquities, food… did I say food? Really you could narrow that down to goat cheese and then all other food for me! We’re not the biggest shoppers – I have tolerance for about one day of wandering around looking at stores -- but were up for the fantastic markets. We are also NOT early risers. I speak a bit of French, enough to get by, and he can’t pronounce merci! Since my hubby is a redhead we also didn’t intend to spend a lot of time at the beach – he’s sizzles up like a piece of bacon. And to be fair, we are not far from sandy havens at home, so the rocky Mediterranean thing, really isn’t our scene. If you’re looking for the best beach vacation – stop reading!
Since we were arranging upgrades by using miles, we found the best option for us was to fly through Paris and then on to Nice, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend this as the ideal plan. On the other hand, the weird flight thing bought us an afternoon/evening in Nice without having to worry about driving and parking, so it worked out for us.
Here’s a brief look at the days, and the long-winded details (sorry!) are below:
Day 1 – Nice
Day 2 – 6 Stayed in St. Remy and explored nearby sites, including Pont du Gard, Uzes, Les Beaux, Gordes, Rousillon, Oppiede, Arles, Avignon, L’Isle de la Sorgue etc.
Day 7 – 11 Stayed in Villefranche and explored St. Paul de Vence, Cap Ferrat, Roquebrune, Gorbio, and Bordaghera Italy.
Day One: The long trip there…
We took an overnight flight from NYC to Paris, and then took a short flight to Nice. Landed around 3 p.m. and checked into the Windsor Hotel. (Thanks Stu!). It’s kind of a funky place, but the price and location are great. It’s just a few blocks off of the Vieux Nice (which is the core of the old city, where the Marché aux Fleurs and all the great restaurants are). It’s also, very conveniently, just about four blocks from where all the car rental places are. We wanted to have dinner at La Mérenda, but we were so tired, we couldn’t wait until they opened. (Note to early eaters – get over it! You’ll be having late dinners and loving it!) Instead we had dinner at L’Estrilha, where I had a delicious bourride. (FYI -- If anyone has the new Rough Guide Provence, the map showing where La Merenda is has it in the wrong spot). By this point, hubby was collapsing (for some reason airplanes put me to sleep, but no so much for the poor guy!).
Day Two: Our first salade avec chevre chaud
After breakfast, we checked out and walked over to get our rental car. We booked through AutoEurope, which serves as a broker of sorts and came highly recommended. (Go Fodorites!). And then we were off to Provence, to stay in St. Remy. Driving was easy, the signs easy to read. Only panic were the tolls – and no, it’s not because they are so hard to navigate, it’s because we were momentary idiots. We totally spazzed out and started yelling, “Euros, I need small euros!” at each other (naturally had gone to the ATM and had all these 50 euro bills) before realizing that you can simply pay by credit card! We also had moments of idiot relapse the first time we approached one where you simply pick up a ticket. Spent about 30 seconds looking for the hole to stick my credit card in before my rudimentary French kicked back in and I realized it was telling me to take a ticket instead. Word of advice for those driving there, if you don’t want to wait in lines, we found the credit card lanes were really quick and easy to navigate, even if you don’t read French.
To break up the ride, around 2 p.m., we reached Aix au Provence and followed Stu’s recommendations in terms of which exit to take and parking (a note on the parking follows in a minute!). We had initially been a little uneasy about leaving the car with all our stuff in it, but were correctly advised by fellow tourists to simply load the trunk of the car before we left and not leave anything visibly out.
Aix was great and easy to navigate. We had a late lunch at Les Deux Garcons (naturally salad with goat cheese for me!) and with white wine glass in hand, sipped away the afternoon from there. Great experience! We still needed to get to St. Remy so we mostly just cruised the Cours Mirabeau and hung out, then made our way back to the car.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t follow Stu’s advice about parking, since the entrance by the Post Office was closed due to construction so we had to improvise. The underground system is quite easy to get into, but if you are driving into town, pay careful attention when exiting the lot. We ended up coming out on a one way street heading away from the center of town and then getting lost for a bit trying to find our way back to the A8. Needless to say, we got to see the main fountain in town from pretty much every angle! Beyond this though, it was really quite easy to get into Aix and find the center of town. And it’s a great way to break up the ride from the Nice area to St. Remy/Arles.
Once back on the A8 we made our way to St. Remy, which we just loved. Even driving into town on the D99 you know you’re getting there, when all of a sudden you see dappled sunlight coming through these gorgeous trees that are lining the route all the way into town. We stayed at Mas de Carassins just outside of town (about a 5 minute walk, if that). (Again, Go Fodorites!). I don’t think I can say enough about how great this Mas is. The staff are warm, friendly and helpful, and the place itself is just gorgeous! That first night we had made arrangements to have dinner there, and it was a perfect plan. In addition to being a great place to stay, their food was delicious!
Day Three: the bridge from Beaucaire is our enemy!
Following PB Provence’s ideas, we took the day by storm and made a plan to visit the Pont Du Gard, Uzes, Tarascon castle and Les Baux in the same day. Easy enough to find all four locations (leaving Tarascon -- not so much -- more on that in a minute), and tourist-wise, the Pont du Gard was pretty much empty when we were there. (Based on the size of the lot, I assume it can be quite crowded in the summer). If you’re into antiquities, it’s pretty impressive, but I would say after taking a string of silly pictures and walking across the Pont a few times, we were done. If you’re not planning on doing other things along the way, might be a far ride to only do that.
We left Pont du Gard and headed another 15 minutes up the road to Uzes, which is an adorable little town. We felt so lucky to find free parking on the street fairly easily – yes, those are the chimes of doom you are hearing – and headed into the center of town to have a late lunch. We tried to go to Les Fontaines, but it’s changed hands for those following PB Provence’s suggestions. We stayed anyway since we loved the setting and had a decent lunch (sorry, can’t remember the new name). After wandering around Uzes for a bit, we made our way back to our car and there, as you may have already guessed, was our parking ticket! (Our only parking ticket, I might add – we were slow on the take-up, but never made the same mistake again!). We learned the lesson that you have to check quite a bit down all the streets for the P sign indicating the parking situation and the little box where you can pay for your ticket. Luckily, two police officers were standing just down the street and explained that you can pay your ticket in a local store and then simply mail in the ticket with a sticker showing it was paid. Took literally all of two minutes to resolve and we were on our way. For those going, if you do get a ticket, don’t sweat it. (At home, they skip the ticket and boot or tow your car – so parking violations actually cause grown men to cry!)
We next headed through Beaucaire into Tarascon to visit the castle. Again, quite easy to do. We really liked the castle and had fun visiting the rooms and checking out the area from the top.
Now over the ticket incident and excited to make our way to Les Baux, we got back in the car and there is where the bridge between Tarascon and Beaucaire decided to mess with us. Coming out of the Castle and trying to get back on the road to Les Baux, was not as clearly marked as others had been and we ended up being forced over the bridge to Beaucaire instead of going left as we had hoped. No problem we thought – we carefully made our way through the town, turned around and tried again crossing over into Tarascon. Then the evil bridge did it again, and there we were, somehow going into Beaucaire again. It was probably the gods demanding we stop there for a drink, but we’re stubborn and determined to make it to Les Baux before the sun went down. Third time was the charm (or maybe we just finally cleared the fog of jetlag) but either way, we were off and made it to Les Baux in time to visit the village. I second PB Provence’s advice about getting there in the late afternoon/early evening. There really weren’t too many people and on the way home we were also able to see the village with the sun going down, which is really beautiful. (Note about parking: we simply parked on the main road all the way at the bottom and didn’t bother trying to make the lots farther up the hill. In addition to free parking (yay!), the walk up was fun). To head back to St. Remy, we took thid great windy path over the hills and through the countryside instead of main roads. Loved the twisty turns and views though it’s probably not the fastest way back. That night we had dinner in town at Alain Assaud (recommended often by Chowhounders and Fodorites) which totally lived up to its reputation. One of our most memorable meals.
Day Four: Burning our heads over Provence
We broke our own “sleep late” pact and made our way out to the Gordes area by 8 a.m. to go hot air ballooning over the whole region. It wasn’t cheap, but then again, this was our honeymoon! The views of Roussillon, Gordes, and neighboring communities with the mountains as a backdrop is simply amazing from above. If you do decide to go, just be sure to be the last people into the basket. We ended up right under the burners, which gives you an unpleasant “head on fire” sensation the whole time. My husband is taller and got the brunt of it, but my little head was burning too!
From there we made our way to Abbaye de Senanque which is worth visiting. Unfortunately the lavender wasn’t blooming, but I can imagine it must be stunning over the summer. Anyway, ballooning took a bit longer than we had thought, and by now it was well into lunchtime, so we drove from the Gordes area (stopping to look at the beautiful town from afar again) and headed straight to Roussillon for lunch at one of the cafes near the church after walking around a bit. Except that the church bells went wild and rang for 20 minutes straight – when it ended, everyone applauded together -- Rousillon was a cool place to wander around, and the connected orange and red buildings are well worth the trip.
From there we drove through the Luberon to Oppiede le Vieux, which was by far our favorite village! The village has not been fully restored, so there is very little commercial activity. We explored the entire community, spending time at the ruined castle and the somewhat restored church before leaving. Not being shoppers, we really liked the peace of the place and definitely recommend it for those looking to escape the over-touristy stuff.
That night, Christophe at Mas de Carassins was able to get us into La Maison Jaune, probably the best restaurant in St. Remy. We had their five-course tasting menu (degustation) and it was worth every penny! From the sardines to the squab, each bite was delicious. Splurge if you are near St. Remy, and have dinner there!
Day Five: Our first market..
Being Sunday, we had a leisurely breakfast and then made our way up to L’Isle sur la Sorgue for their antiques market (which is also an everything else market). Though we’re not usually patient shoppers, we really had a great day wandering around the stalls and taking in the village. It’s certainly not a French “Venice” but there is something appealing about dining near the little bridges over the water. Parking-wise, we ended up parking a bit out of town, but don’t worry if you go there – it’s fairly small and nothing is too far a walk away. We had lunch at Café de la Sorgue which had been recommended by Rough Guide. I thought it was only so-so (the fact that its toilets were out, didn’t help after a few hours of wandering around!)
From there, we made our way back to St. Remy and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around town and picking up souvenirs and the like. I know others have mentioned this, but do, by all means, make your way to Jean Durand for chocolates!! It’s located on Boulevard Victor Hugo just on the edge of the center of town. Even thinking about the place is making me drool!!
Despite eating plenty of chocolates, we found the room for dinner back at Mas de Carassins. This was my husband’s favorite meal by far – soup pistou, a fresh grilled fish, a little ratatouille and a crème brulee for dessert. (I naturally skipped dessert and asked for more fromage instead).
Day Six: Avignon vs. Arles
We hadn’t yet made our way to Avignon or Arles, so decided to hit them both in the same day. (I don’t really recommend this approach). We had expected to like Arles better, but it was actually Avignon we appreciated more. Yes, it’s a larger city, but there’s something about its giant walled center and preserved history that’s really compelling. The Palais du Pape is quite impressive. We also visited the Pont d’Avignon, but I admit to not knowing the song, so a lot of the curiosity was lost on me.
In Arles, we visited the Arena, but the rest of Arles just didn’t hold much interest for us. Could be that it was Monday, and kind of dead. I will leave that up to others to debate…
From there, we made our way back to St. Remy and spent the rest of the day wandering around and visiting shops and places we’d missed the day before. We ate dinner at Bistrot des Alpilles, which was also good. Their cold salmon appetizer and grilled lamb especially.
Day Seven: Go East, young couple!
This day we made the drive back east to Villefranche-sur-Mer from St. Remy. Easy ride and easy directions. We stayed at the Hotel Welcome (again, Fodorite’s recommended, you all rule!) which is located right on the water and steps away from the better restaurants. We had a little balcony looking over the village and water. The location is great, and the staff are incredibly helpful.
We sipped that night away at the Wine Bar at the Hotel Welcome and then had dinner behind the hotel at Café Cosmo ( I think?). Had decent simply fare – pastas, salads, but nice and relaxing after the long day. This was also the day that my husband discovered the gelato stand by the water. Needless to say, he found his way there daily for the rest of the trip.
Day Eight: Our failed attempt to do it all
We set out thinking we were going to be able to hit points east and west of Nice in the same day, specifically Peillon and St. Paul de Vence. I’m sure for the experienced, this isn’t an issue, but somehow we ended up circling around Nice for a long time trying to find a faster way through it, rather than going down along the water. I’m sure others will have their opinions, but if you are visiting the area and intend to spend a lot of time west of Nice (St. Tropez, Cannes, St. Paul etc) you might consider staying west of Nice. From Villefranche sur Mer, to head west often meant sitting in traffic on the Promenade des Anglais and the roads leading up to it or risking being lost in northern Nice. We could have gotten up early to avoid this, but if you want to sleep in and take it easy, it’s something to think about. (Going east was never an issue, except for crowded Monaco).
Anyway, we wasted a good hour getting past Nice, but eventually found our way to St. Paul de Vence and headed up the hill to Foundation Maeght. I highly recommend making your way here if you are in the area. The Maeghts were art collectors and friends of some of the world’s most famous 20th century artists. The building as well as the collection are worth visiting. (Unfortunately there was a special exhibition, so we didn’t get to see as much of their collection). It’s worth the trip for the Miro outdoor sculptures alone though!
From Foundation Maeght, we headed to St. Paul for lunch. This was much more touristy compared to the other perched villages we visited, but also better maintained and quite beautiful. We ate at Le Tilleul, which is a little café just as you enter the village from the parking area and really enjoyed our meal. Simple tarts and salads, but really fresh and tasty.
At this point, quite a bit of the day had passed, so rather than make our way straight to Peillon as originally intended, we decided to get a better sense of the area by driving the Corniches. We took the Moyenne Corniche east first. If you are thinking of visiting without a car, think again! Driving the corniches was actually one of my favorite things to do. Loved actually doing the driving and loved the views from every turn. There wasn’t a lot of traffic, so it was quite fast to get from the Villefranche area to Monaco and also gives you a much better sense of the area than you can get from simply reading maps/tour books.
Along the way, we turned off to cruise through Monaco, and in a lot of ways, I’m glad we did. Monaco is seriously over built up. It’s a lot of fancy shops and banks and yachts. We had originally intended to spend time there, but after the drivethrough, we changed our plans. We’re from NYC, so the high-rise fancy shop thing does nothing for us. From there, we found our way to the Grande Corniche and cruised its turns on our way home. That night we had dinner reservations at Le Mere Germain, so wanted time to clean up and have a leisurely night. Le Mere Germain totally lives up to its reputation, and we both had excellent meals. I had their signature bouillabaisse and my husband had this delicious sea bass in a zucchini sauce. Definitely make reservations since they were definitely sold out every night.
Day Nine: The day we burned out on perched villages..
My husband wanted to catch up on some sleep, so I headed over to Cap Ferrat to check it out that morning. It’s only about 10 minutes along the lower corniche from Villefranche so quite easy to do with limited time. It’s a beautiful area and makes you wish you were fabulously wealthy so you could have your vacation home there along with all the celebrities! I made the most of my time by visiting the Ephrussi de Rothchild. This is a villa and gardens that belonged to Beatrice Ephrussi (nee Rothschild). The very pink villa was interesting, but what really captivated me were the gardens. In addition to lovely traditional French gardens, she had planted garden types from around the world – Japanese, stone, Spanish, rose gardens etc. At points along each of the gardens are spectacular views over the water and across to Villefranche and Nice. It’s just a beautiful place to wander around and a great vantage point to see the eastern Riviera.
After a quick lunch in Villefranche, we headed upwards, to cruise the villages above Monaco, starting with Roquebrune. There was an art class in the village that day, so every turn there was someone sketching the scene in front of them. Kind of a cool introduction! We made our way into the center of town and up to the castle. It’s a little touristy, but the old parts (not the new English tower) were interesting and the views down along the village from the top of the castle are pretty cool. They’ve built an ampitheater at the top of the village with awesome views. I can only imagine how nice a little concert could be from there. After a little more village touring, we headed off to Gorbio. It had been our plan to walk from Gorbio to St. Agnes, but we never did figure out which path to take. Gorbio is much smaller than St. Paul or Roquebrune, but feels more authentic. It’s cute, but by this point -- our seventh perched village -- we were just villaged out and wanted instead to hang by the water. We wandered around Villefranche for the rest of the day and had dinner along the water. Not our most memorable meal.
Day 10: Caio!
For our last day, we decided to drive into Italy, passing through Menton on the way. I’ve been to Italy, but my hubby hadn’t, so we treated it a little like a two for one trip! For those who’ve been to Amalfi and the like, it’s probably not worth it, but it was a fun change of pace for us and not too far. We headed to Bordeghera which doesn’t look like much from the main road, but which has a pretty little boardwalk built up along the beach. We had lunch at a little pasta place right on the water and whiled away the afternoon there. From there, we headed back to Villefranche to pick up a few more souvenirs and to explore the Citadel in town and then settled down later that evening for dinner at the Brasserie (La Fille du Pecheur) a few doors from our hotel, which was also good. Since it was our last night, it was mostly spent packing after dinner and then hitting the hay for our early drive to Nice airport the next morning. (By the way, dropping off our rental car was really easy and convenient).
Sorry for the long windedness! Happy to answer questions if anyone is still awake after reading this!!
Oct 1st, 2007, 11:51 AM
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Great trip report. Did you like the elevator in the Windsor??? Every room at the hotel was painted by a different local artist.
I much prefer Avignon to Arles too - although Mondays can be kinda dead.
We also had a great meal at Le Mere Germain last year.
Stu Dudley
Stu Dudley
I much prefer Avignon to Arles too - although Mondays can be kinda dead.
We also had a great meal at Le Mere Germain last year.
Stu Dudley
Stu Dudley
Oct 2nd, 2007, 03:57 AM
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Thank you for sharing your trip. My husband and I are going to spend 3 nights in St. Remy and 5 nights in Menerbes next June. Your experience with the Beaucaire bridge will be of particular interest. I could easily see a repeat of that incident if we're not careful.
Book marking for future planning.
Book marking for future planning.
Oct 2nd, 2007, 05:52 AM
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JES,
Thank you for your report. What a great trip you had!
We'll be in Villefranche-Sur-Mer in two weeks, so I am particularly interested in your descriptions and recommendations.
I'll be sure to try the salad with goat cheese!
Byrd
Thank you for your report. What a great trip you had!
We'll be in Villefranche-Sur-Mer in two weeks, so I am particularly interested in your descriptions and recommendations.
I'll be sure to try the salad with goat cheese!
Byrd
Oct 9th, 2007, 11:10 AM
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JEStraveler: thanks so much for your report-- very helpful indeed. And hearty congrats on your marriage!
Could you possibly give more details about the mas that you liked so much in St Remy? We're hoping to base ourselves in St Remy for 5 days next June and there seem to be so many choices. Did you consder other accommodations? Did you see any others while you were there? The most impt thing for us is that the place be very quiet and restful.
Could you hear noise of any sort? from outside? from other rooms? Were the beds and linens of good quality? Bed comfort is very impt to us. Did they have king beds as far as you know? Were there separate showers and tubs in the bathrooms-- or just one or the other or combo (which we don't enjoy)? Were restaurants convenient to get to by strolling in the evening?
Any other kind of in-put that you can offer would be much appreciated. Trying to decide is difficult, and I want this trip to be as wonderful as can be-- will be our first and no doubt our last to that region of the planet. Thanks!
Could you possibly give more details about the mas that you liked so much in St Remy? We're hoping to base ourselves in St Remy for 5 days next June and there seem to be so many choices. Did you consder other accommodations? Did you see any others while you were there? The most impt thing for us is that the place be very quiet and restful.
Could you hear noise of any sort? from outside? from other rooms? Were the beds and linens of good quality? Bed comfort is very impt to us. Did they have king beds as far as you know? Were there separate showers and tubs in the bathrooms-- or just one or the other or combo (which we don't enjoy)? Were restaurants convenient to get to by strolling in the evening?
Any other kind of in-put that you can offer would be much appreciated. Trying to decide is difficult, and I want this trip to be as wonderful as can be-- will be our first and no doubt our last to that region of the planet. Thanks!
Oct 9th, 2007, 11:49 AM
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Hi Poss!
We heard about Mas Des Carassins through this site, and when I was searching I found something like 30 recommendations for hotels in St. Remy. 29 were for were Mas des Carassins and the last one said, "I couldn't get into the Mas so I stayed somewhere else"! Believe if you type in St. Remy you can see other hotel names. We didn't see any other hotels, so can't comment personally.
In terms of Mas des Carassins, we found it to be quite peaceful and very quiet. Our room had a private entrance with a little patio and sun chair and I never heard anyone else. The same could be said for its grounds, which include a pool and garden. In terms of bathrooms, not sure it's a match for you -- it has a shower/tub where the handheld shower nozzle could be attached to the wall. The bed was a fairly comfortable large queen -- not sure if they have kings. (To be honest, I don't recall many European hotels having King beds, but I usually stay at smaller places). I thought the sheets and the like were decent quality and they provided a lot of extra pillows. (Big fan of that!)
In terms of walking into town, it couldn't be easier. A few blocks and easy to do. We had all the restaurants of town at our disposal, but the Mas itself also has delicious food, so it's a nice option to stay at "home" and relax as well.
Not sure what the rest of your trip is looking like, but when it comes to hotels, I usually like a clean, well situated place with some amenities, but most of the time, I'm actually out and about, so some of the finer things, aren't nearly as important. I'll leave it up to you to decide what's a priority for you.
Happy to answer any questions you have. You are going to love every minute of your trip!! I'm jealous that you are still going and I'm down to memories. Ah, must start planning...
JES
http://www.masdescarassins.com/
We heard about Mas Des Carassins through this site, and when I was searching I found something like 30 recommendations for hotels in St. Remy. 29 were for were Mas des Carassins and the last one said, "I couldn't get into the Mas so I stayed somewhere else"! Believe if you type in St. Remy you can see other hotel names. We didn't see any other hotels, so can't comment personally.
In terms of Mas des Carassins, we found it to be quite peaceful and very quiet. Our room had a private entrance with a little patio and sun chair and I never heard anyone else. The same could be said for its grounds, which include a pool and garden. In terms of bathrooms, not sure it's a match for you -- it has a shower/tub where the handheld shower nozzle could be attached to the wall. The bed was a fairly comfortable large queen -- not sure if they have kings. (To be honest, I don't recall many European hotels having King beds, but I usually stay at smaller places). I thought the sheets and the like were decent quality and they provided a lot of extra pillows. (Big fan of that!)
In terms of walking into town, it couldn't be easier. A few blocks and easy to do. We had all the restaurants of town at our disposal, but the Mas itself also has delicious food, so it's a nice option to stay at "home" and relax as well.
Not sure what the rest of your trip is looking like, but when it comes to hotels, I usually like a clean, well situated place with some amenities, but most of the time, I'm actually out and about, so some of the finer things, aren't nearly as important. I'll leave it up to you to decide what's a priority for you.
Happy to answer any questions you have. You are going to love every minute of your trip!! I'm jealous that you are still going and I'm down to memories. Ah, must start planning...
JES
http://www.masdescarassins.com/
Oct 9th, 2007, 12:51 PM
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Hello JES,
I'm glad you're still checking your post-- and thanks so much for answering so promptly. Very kind of you to put all that energy into your report and follow-ups.
As we get older (hubby nearing 80), we find that our accommodations when we travel are more and more important to us. If we love where we're staying, pretty much everything else falls into place; if we're displeased with our accommodation, we tend not to much enjoy anything else. Wasn't always this way with us, but seems to have devolved. We don't require luxury (though don't mind it either), and definitely tend to prefer smaller hotels/inns to larger. But we do enjoy very comfortable rooms and bathrooms and sometimes haven't been very happy in European hotels. Last month in Nice (which we adored, and hadn't even expected to like it very much), we stayed for 3 nights in Hotel La Perouse-- a perfect place for us, just the kind of hotel we wish we could find for our Provence trip.
I e-mailed the mas you like so much in St Remy and hope they'll answer some of my specific questions (bed size, possible to have separate shower and tub, etc) The place sounds lovely and looks very pleasant on the website, but the kind of bathroom we hope for may be the sticking point. (I do so dislike when water goes all over the floor from those combo things with the half doors and the like.) We've found that almost all European hotels have rooms where the two beds can be pushed together, and while we don't love that little gap between, it beats having to sleep separately! Queens, alas, are too small. (We're fidgety and awful sleepers.)
Another thing I forgot to mention: I have severe cat allergies. Is this a no-pet establishment? (I hope.)
Thanks again for your terrific helpfulness.
I'm glad you're still checking your post-- and thanks so much for answering so promptly. Very kind of you to put all that energy into your report and follow-ups.
As we get older (hubby nearing 80), we find that our accommodations when we travel are more and more important to us. If we love where we're staying, pretty much everything else falls into place; if we're displeased with our accommodation, we tend not to much enjoy anything else. Wasn't always this way with us, but seems to have devolved. We don't require luxury (though don't mind it either), and definitely tend to prefer smaller hotels/inns to larger. But we do enjoy very comfortable rooms and bathrooms and sometimes haven't been very happy in European hotels. Last month in Nice (which we adored, and hadn't even expected to like it very much), we stayed for 3 nights in Hotel La Perouse-- a perfect place for us, just the kind of hotel we wish we could find for our Provence trip.
I e-mailed the mas you like so much in St Remy and hope they'll answer some of my specific questions (bed size, possible to have separate shower and tub, etc) The place sounds lovely and looks very pleasant on the website, but the kind of bathroom we hope for may be the sticking point. (I do so dislike when water goes all over the floor from those combo things with the half doors and the like.) We've found that almost all European hotels have rooms where the two beds can be pushed together, and while we don't love that little gap between, it beats having to sleep separately! Queens, alas, are too small. (We're fidgety and awful sleepers.)
Another thing I forgot to mention: I have severe cat allergies. Is this a no-pet establishment? (I hope.)
Thanks again for your terrific helpfulness.
Oct 10th, 2007, 07:31 AM
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Don't remember cats, but there was a dog (French Bull). Definitely check with the hotel for those details. In terms of distance from town, it was roughly 2 1/2 blocks south of the center of town. Not far for a 30+ year old, but something to consider for your husband, ie if you are out to dinner on the far side of town, that could be more like a 10 block walk.
I pulled up my original notes and the other hotel people wrote about was Hotel Gounod. Never saw it in person.
www.hotel-gounod.com
I pulled up my original notes and the other hotel people wrote about was Hotel Gounod. Never saw it in person.
www.hotel-gounod.com
Oct 10th, 2007, 09:39 AM
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Sorry to be a nuisance, JES. If you're willing, here are a few more questions:
Some posters said that plumbing and a.c. were loud at the mas. Did you find that to be the case?
Also: that while the property itself was very pleasant, "the area outside the gate" was run-down. I wonder what was meant by that??
Thanks again!
Some posters said that plumbing and a.c. were loud at the mas. Did you find that to be the case?
Also: that while the property itself was very pleasant, "the area outside the gate" was run-down. I wonder what was meant by that??
Thanks again!
Oct 16th, 2007, 07:11 AM
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Sorry for the delay. No, I didn't notice any weird plumbing noises from our room. In terms of "run down" they might mean that it's down a small country road off of the main route into town. It's not exactly run-down, more that's it's not built up. I didn't consider it seedy or scary or the like. Again though, if you were looking to roll out of bed and be in the action, this is not the place.
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