rholt

I am in the early stages of planning a family vacation to Provence and I need advice. The trip will probably be next June and it will probably be 10 days long. The family is my two parents, myself, my wife, a 4 (then) year old, and a 2 (then) year old.

Mainly because of the kids, there are several constains on the trip -
a) One base of operation - no packing and unpacking
b) Relatively non-rural base of operation - the kids need a fair number of distractions
c) Rent an apartment or house - no hotels
Of course my wife and I still want access to all the pastoral charms of Provence - at least via car.

So - I have a ton of questions - but let me start with the most basic. Given the above constraints - any suggestions for the base of operation? My inital shot in the dark guess was Avignon

Thanks,

Rick

mamc

Avignon is a great base, IMO. Lots to do there and fairly easy access to many charming areas. We have never stayed in an apartment or house in Avignon so I can't be of help there. You might also consider St. Remy - large enough to have some variety but small enough to be more accessible to the pasatoral charms!

mamc

Oops! That's pastoral charms.

rholt

bump

AnselmAdorne

rholt, a couple of thoughts come to mind. Provence is huge, so it can be a little difficult for someone to suggest a base of operation without some sense of which area you wish to explore.

Your plan to rent an apartment or house is a great approach. We have used the French Connections and the Holiday Rentals sites numerous times with good results, and there are other sites offering rentals, such as Gîtes de France. There are certainly some places for rent that will accommodate four adults and two children. Note, though, that a lot of these places rent by the week (either Saturday to Saturday or Sunday to Sunday), so you may have to look a little harder to find a place that rents for only ten days.

I understand your idea of wanting a non-rural location. You might want to consider, though, that a town the size of Avignon or Aix can be a bit diffilcult to enter and exit by car, especially if your house or flat is in the older areas. As an alternative, a town the size of St-Rémy or Uzès would be easier to get in and out of when making day trips.

Anselm

walkinaround

you, my friend, have the right idea. we stayed a week in aromon at le rocher pointu (a rural property with a small b&b and a maybe 5-6 apartments). we had an apartment. probably a bit too rural for you (could not walk to the village). but, it did have a pool and a donkey and plenty of room for the kids to play, a bbq, etc.

we explored many of the main attractions in provence from this base (by car, of course). having a kitchen was great and it beat moving all around. this is the secret to travel that most americans don't understand...choose one base and make it a house or apartment rather than a hotel.

avignon would not be my first choice for a base - i would much rather be in a village or even rural. considering the age of your kids, i think you might want to consider a more rural place as the churches, etc of a town/city like avignon are not likely to provide distractions like country life would. just a thought. maybe a better comprimise would be in one of the many beautiful villages rather than a larger place like avignon.

rholt

Thanks for all the thoughtful responses.