Were now in Provence--help!
 

Having a lovely time in France but thought we would rely on our dear friends here in Cavaliere to guide us to short excursions once we arrived. We did not know that they have not explored much of their own region! So i am appealing to the Fodors folks to help us out. We are looking for a three to four day excursion from Cavalaire (it is 20 minutes west of St. Tropez). We are interested in Grasse as my son finds perfume making very interesting. We are also thinking of heading over to the Avignon area for Arles, St Remy, etc. Would like to know if anyone has an absolute favorite place to stay that would not cost more than 150 to 175 US dollars a night. We dont need to be right in the thick of the action; we wouldnt mind having some interesting nature around us. And being that we already stayed on Rue Cler in Paris, we would prefer to be out of our comfort zone a bit more. Thx for any help asap!

I can vouch for Auberge La Tourmaline, up on a hill just outside Grasse - - it is listed on the Logis de France website as "Grasse (Plascassier)", though it is NOT in the separate town of Plascassier.

Charming little place, very much "family-run" (which means that Maman does everything).

Worth your while to visit Montauroux or Tourettes in this area - - and make the terrific coastal drive from Frejus to Cannes along the Corniche de l'Esterel.

Best wishes,

Rex

Just back from Provence. We LOVED Vaison-la-Romaine and L'Eveche B&B. It is the most beautiful place. Cost for a large two story room with two sitting areas and a balcony was only $95 Euros per night. Other rooms less expensive.
http://avignon-et-provence.com/eveche/gb/index.html

The other real treat was staying with Madame Michelle in Avignon at Villa Agape. http://avignon-et-provence.com/bb/vi.../gb/tarifs.htm Her home in the middle of old Avignon - near the Pope's Palace is nothing short of amazing. I think that cost about $115 Euros per night.

We thought Cassis was a spectacular town and enjoyed the Calanques. We stayed in a small, country B&B in Geminos (spll?) north of Cassis. Cost $70 Euros. http://www.guideweb.com/provence/bb/coupier/indexa.html

We also visited St. Remy for the afternoon and really liked it although we did not overnight there. Visited Gordes and stayed in a superb B&B, but was not impressed with the city. Very touristy.

If you get to Marseille, eat at Fon Fon. The food and especially the setting are wonderful.

Tc, I recently returned and had the bouillabisse at chez fonfon and they were nice enough to give me my menu.
There are so many B&B's, you shouldn't have a problem.
In seguret, "Chambre de Séjour."
in Bonnieux, "La Bouquiere."
in Grasse, "Le Coteau de Malbosc."
in Fontvielle, "Mas Richard."

We loved Hotel d'Arlatan in Arles (and loved Arles too.)

Arles has a wonderful market on Saturdays. We liked Hotel Calendal: www.lecalendal.com