Tweaking Dordogne Provence itinerary--input please
 

I've got the itinerary down pat and am starting to make reservations now. But I think a few tweaks might make this holiday a little more enjoyable. Trouble is...so hard to decide what to leave out...

So, this will be mid-Sept to end of September and we will have a rental car.

we will be in the Dordogne,4 nights, Lot River Valley 1 night, Cordes-sur-Ciel 2 nights, areas for a week total from Sept 13.

From there, here is what I have:

Wednesday Sept 20
Drive to Carcassonne through Graulhet
Stay Carcassonne

Thursday Sept 21
Day trip to Toulouse
Stay Carcassonne

Friday. Sept 22
Drive from Carcassonne to Avignon
Les baux de Provence on way to Avignon

Saturday Sept 23
Avignon Saturday morning
Uzes Saturday afternoon or morning market?
Stay Avignon

Sunday
Isle sur la sorgue Market Sunday am
Bonnieux Gordes Rousillon Sunday pm
Stay Avignon

Monday
Pont du gard am
Lunch in Chateauneuf du Pape
Some wine caves
Move to Gigondas-supper and stay -can't find hours/days closed for L'Oustalet?

Tuesday
Vaison la romaine market Tuesday am
Vacqueras etc wine tasting Tuesday pm
Sleep Gigondas

Wednesday
Circle tour around the east side of Cote du Rhone
Area of Mont Ventoux Brantes Le Barroux etc
Stay Gigondas

Thursday
Drive to Avignon, take train to Nice.

I'm debating whether to take one day away from Avignon, which would be Saturday, and stay 2 nights in Toulouse, and one night in Carcassonne, (which is on my hubby's wishlist) rather than the 2 in Carcassonne that I have planned.

So we would be trading a day in Avignon/Uzes for half plus a full day in Toulouse. I'm thinking we may have 'small town overload' by the time we finish in Provence. Toulouse would help break it up a bit.

Have never been to Toulouse, so it would be something new, plus no day trip driving for one day for a change.

Another thing is, we don't need to do too many markets, so we are going to Vaison la Romaine on Tuesday morning, and I'm stuck on which is a better market, Uzes on Saturday or L'Isle Sur la Sorgue on Sunday? That could also play into my decision.

Any thoughts on this or the rest of my itinerary? I'm also debating about staying in Avignon vs Arles or St. Remy.

FWIW, I loved Toulouse and seriously regret giving it only 2 days.

Enjoy!

I would stay in Toulouse for two reasons:

1. Driving into a large city uses up time, and it takes a while to orient oneself in the city. But you would also have the evening to familiarize and enjoy the city if you stayed there.

2. Toulouse has more to offer for evening activities than Carcassonne.

Ditto Toulouse. Spend the time in Toulouse (I assume you'll visit Albi from Cordes).

I think the Uzes market is mostly in the morning - closing at 1PM. I know that their Wednesday market closes at 1. So you won't be able to visit Avignon and Uzes with it's market all on one morning. Plus - IMO, the Uzes market obscures the lovely arcaded Pl aux Herbes. The market is colorful and quite active - which detracts from the enjoyment of the architecture surrounding it. A Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday market might be more than enough for many people. Parking for the Uzes market is difficult.

We spent 2 weeks just outside of Carcassonne last year - and a 2-3 hr visit is more than enough. We had dinner in Carcassonne one evening - and IMO there is nothing special about being in Carcassonne at night. The outside of the fortress is well lit at night - but not-so-much the inside. Perhaps leave Toulouse early and visit Carcassonne on the way to Avignon.

Stu Dudley

*Perhaps leave Toulouse early and visit Carcassonne on the way to Avignon.*

Stu I like that idea! Then we'd get 3 nights in Toulouse. But Can I talk my hubby out of staying in Carcassonne?? Good feedback thanks...
And your info really helped my itinerary, since we are in Provence both Sunday and Monday....thank you.

We would go early to Uzes, but like you say, we don't need to go to that many markets, not even sure we need to go to L'Isle sur la Sorgue for the market. Maybe we can visit on Sunday afternoon after driving around the Luberon, although I really wanted to have dinner in Bonnieux...

<i>. The market is colorful and quite active - which detracts from the enjoyment of the architecture surrounding it. </i>

That's what I liked about Uzès, the market surrounded by arcades; which,BTW, is not in the Provence.

*Perhaps leave Toulouse early and visit Carcassonne on the way to Avignon.*

Stu I like that idea! Then we'd get 3 nights in Toulouse. But Can I talk my hubby out of staying in Carcassonne?? >

if you can't get your DH to give up a night in Carcassonne, why not just one night there? your parking problem would be solved by booking a hotel with parking, and if you timed it well, you could have a nice lunch somewhere en route, arrive after lunch and check in, then spend the afternoon and evening exploring Carcassonne. Leave early in the morning before the crowds arrive. Normally I don't like one night stands but they can have their uses!

http://www.loustalet-gigondas.com/en/offrir-2/

there's an icon of an envelope, which I assume means you could e-mail a request for their hours.

Or, TripAdvisor says their hours are:
Hours:
Tue - Sat 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm; 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Many restaurants in France are closed for Sunday dinner, and on Mondays.

Stu Dudley

I also would stay in Toulouse rather than Carcassonne. And in addition to Graulhet, I'd make time for Revel and Castelnauary

If in Chateauneuf du Pape you may want to consider visiting Chateau Beaucastel winery. The Perrin family (Beaucastel) also owns l'Oustalet and 2 years ago the restaurant did a tasting menu for us at lunch featuring the Perrin family wines. It was the best meal of that trip.

I'd suggest emailing them to see if they are open that Monday (winery and restaurant)

Also agree stay in Toulouse!

The Red Michelin Guide says that l'Oustalet is closed on Mondays. Beaucastel is open by appointment (see their web site)

Stu Dudley

PAtricia Wells said it was closed both Sunday and Monday last year. In any case, it looks like Monday will be the problem.

I also concur that I wouldn't stay in Carcassonne and really liked Toulouse, and that you are doing too many markets. But it's your holiday, I just don't know what you are looking for in all of them and what you want to buy. They aren't that different except a bit by size. And since you are traveling, what do you want to buy, anyway? I wouldn't think you'd be buying food that much. Isle sur la Sorgue's market is not one of my favorites, though. I would prefer Uzes but I don't know what you want to buy. Actually, I think Orange and Apt have nice markets, also. But they really aren't that different.

Great, thanks everyone. Great response...So looks like we are going to trade the Saturday in Avignon (Uzes market) for an extra day in Toulouse.

Sunday we may feel like sleeping in rather than rushing to L'Isle sur la Sorgue, and spend the whole day in the Luberon with a bit of a late start perhaps...

Tuesday is the big market in Vaison la Romaine, no? I see that there's a Saturday and Tuesday market there, but I think the Saturday one is seasonal? It seems different websites have different info.

We can eat at L'Oustalet on Tuesday night, but I guess I will be scrambling to find something for Sunday and Monday. Maybe a picnic Sunday?

I was surprised to find that many of the wine caves ARE open on Monday (yay!) but not caves-du-verger. Thanks, Stu, I have the email for Beaucastel.

Hoping one of the wine caves will have a restaurant open on Monday. Any ideas for Chateauneuf do Pape area restaurants that might be open for lunch on Monday?

Or maybe we can lunch at Pont du Gard before moving on to CdP. I read there's a decent resto there, does anyone know the name?

Again, thanks for the help.

>>Tuesday is the big market in Vaison la Romaine, no?<<

no. It is not a very big market. Not a very good market either, IMO. The Monday morning market in nearby Bedoin is much better.

If you have never visited a market in France - l'Isle sur la Sorgue is probably the best for a first-timer. Lots of food, crafts, Marseille soap, Provence fabric, flea market stuff, and quality antiques. Get there early, however (8:00 & have a cafe creme & croissants near the church & watch the vendors set up their stalls). The market "officially" starts at 9. It gets "too crowded" for us by 10:30. We've visited it 8-10 times. Our two other favorite markets in Provence (in addition to Bedoin & l'Isle sur la Sorgue) are Carpentras on Friday & Apt on Saturday.

For Monday's dinner, try Les Florets also in Gigondas - but up in the hills - not the main square in Gigondas. The food is not as good as l'Oustalet - but the outside setting is terrific (don't dine inside).

Do you have my 33 page Provence & Cote d'Azur itinerary? We've vacationed for 20 weeks in Provence & another 20 weeks on the Cote d'Azur. The itinerary describes our favorite markets, villages, scenic drives, restaurants, and has a section on Provence fabric. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail. I also have a 33 page itinerary for the Languedoc and a 20+ page one for the Dordogne. Specify which one(s) you want - I have others also. I've sent my various itineraries to over 6,000 people on Fodors.

Stu Dudley

Looks like Les Florets is open Mondays. We had a reallly good meal there 10 years ago.

Still hoping to find something open Sunday in Bonnieux.

Thanks Stu yes I have got your itineraries, very helpful.

I look at restaurants in hotels to find something open for Sunday & Monday dinner. When we were in the Luberon for 2 weeks in 2014, our best meal was at Xavier Mathieu in Joucas at the Hostelliere le Phebus. It's a Michelin 1 star restaurant, and a bit of a splurge.
http://www.lephebus.com/fr/page/rest...rovence.3.html

Stu Dudley

Bartaville and Le Carillon in Goult are also open on Sundays. We've dined at both of them - Bartaville several times. They are both open on Monday too.

Stu Dudley

Just a note about parking in Toulouse. Much of the center historical area is pedestrian only now, so it might be worthwhile to book a hotel with parking. There are some underground public pay parking lots as well and many time there are coupons on the internet for those. The mass transit in Toulouse is great-very cheap bus and metro passes, so we found it bast to just park the car during our time there.

YOu can buy Marseille soap in many stores throughout France, you can buy it in Dept stores in Paris or even over amazon in the US.