DandK

Has anyone stayed at this place -
La Maison dans les chenes verts
http://www.leschenesverts.net/maison.htm ?
If so, was it as good as it looks in the pictures? Is it in the country? Is it a long way from all the sights?

Also, what is the easiest and best way to get from Charles de Gaulle to the Marais in Paris? Is there an easy shuttle or good taxi company?

yipper

Hi,
We rented a gite ourside of Uzes 2 years ago. I love Uzes. It is a charming town with a wonderful Saturday market. It is on the other side of the Rhone from Avignon and near the Pont du Gard. We had a car and every day we would go off to explore Provence. We took the country roads around Avignon, as it can get busy around Avignon. I like the location, but I think others might suggest that you stay on the same side of the Rhone as Avignon. It is convient to Nimes, Arles, Orange, and
Avignon. Plus it was not a problem for us to drive to St. Remy, I'Isle-sur-la-
Sorgue, Gordes, Roussillon, and Beaux(sp), which seem to be the usual suspects. The hotel looks lovely and resonable priced.

DandK

Yipper, thanks for the input. We really wanted to stay in St. Remy or Les Baux, but all of the good places are booked already! Avignon looks too touristy for us. From what I have read online, Uzes looks & sounds nice, but I'm afraid it will be too far from things. Hmmm...our other choice is to extend our stay in Vaison la Romaine and base ourselves from there for 4 days. We will have a car.

AnselmAdorne

DandK, I can't help you with La maison dans les chenes verts, but we have stayed in Uzès three times over the past four years. I don't think you need to worry about being a long way from great places to visit. The Pont de Gard is about 10 minutes away, Nîmes about 25 minutes. We made day trips to Aigues-Mortes, Arles, les Baux, St-Rémy, les Alpilles, Avignon, Tarascon, St-Gilles, and as far north as Nyons. Just as an example, les Baux is less than 90 minutes away by car.

As yipper noted, Uzès is delightful. I don't think you'll be disappointed by your choice. Be sure to have a drink at a café in Place aux Herbes. It's an experience you'll never forget.

About the trip from CDG to the Marais ... the easiest way is by taxi. We've made the trip for €40 to €45, but that was in light traffic. You don't need to pre-book a taxi at CDG--just follow the signs to a taxi queue and take the next one in line.

I can't recommend a shuttle service (you might try the search feature), but you can also take the Air France bus from CDG to the Gare de Lyon, and then a taxi to wherever you're going in the Marais. The CDG website gives you information on bus fares, times, and routes: www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/en-GB/Passagers

Anselm

DandK

Anselm, that's just the kind of advice we needed, thanks! 10 minutes to the Pont du Gard is exactly our pace. Where did you stay in Uzès? We are San Francisco folk, so looking for class, but we want our vacation to be an escape from the big city - we are totally up for small town ambiance...walking to good restaurants, a place to relax and breathe in the air, etc.

I like the suggestion about the Air France bus, I'll check into that.

Keep the advice coming everyone!

StCirq

I'd definitely consider Uzès. Particularly if Vaison la Romaine is your only other option. VLR is OK - I'm not quite sure why it gets so much fabulous press - it's got a lovely upper old town, and some rather feeble Roman ruins, but the lower town is kind of scraggly, and it's a lot farther away from the main things you'd want to see in the St-Rémy area than Uzès is. Now if your concentration was on wine, VLR would be an excellent choice, but it seems you want to see the usual sites of the Bouches-du-Rhône.

AnselmAdorne

DandK, we stayed in rented houses. One was on rue le Barry, on the south side of the town, and the other was on rue du 4 Septembre, which runs off Place aux Herbes. These places rent by the week.

If you decide to have a picnic, stop by the Boucherie Martinelli on rue de la République. They had wonderful cooked chicken and ham. We tried every bakery in town and ended up favouring the Boulangerie Provençale on rue de la Grand Bourgade. They have excellent baguettes, quiches, pizzaladières, and patisserie. Drop into La Cave du Suisse d'Alger on rue de la République for a wide choice of wines.

We ate few restaurant meals in Uzès. We did have a couple of meals at Le Bistrot du Grézac, which we enjoyed.

Anselm

Christina

I ate at Bistro de Grezac when I was staying in Uzes this June, and liked it very much, also. I think Uzes could be a good choice, but that place you've picked out isn't in Uzes, I assume you've looked at the map and realize it. You won't be walking to things within Uzes if you stay there, it's in a small village out in country around Uzes -- probably about 12 km away. Actually, I don't think that place is even in the village, just out in the country, as is common for some modest B&Bs in Provence.

There is no specific taxi company you have to call or know, you just go out to the taxi rank at the airport and there will be legitimate taxis there. There are a couple main taxi companies in Paris, but I've never paid any attention to the names, or rejected one to wait for another. I think I usually take G7 or Taxis Bleus, but always get into whatever the next cab is without worrying.

Peteralan

We also rented a house in Uzes and loved the town. It was great wandering down to the fabulous bakery nearby and going to that great weekend market. We had cars and did lots of village hopping out of Uzes. You will love it!

HelenJ

Hi
We rented a house in Uzes for a week in May this year and loved it.

Have a look at www.frenchcottages.com - there are 2 houses and 1 apartment, all right in Uzes - just a few minutes walk from Place aux Herbes.