There's a lot of art, history, food and wine in villages!

Thank you all for your great feedback and insights. If you think of anything else to share, please let me know. I'm going to try and finalize the high-level itinerary and then work on filling in the the day trips, restaurants, market days, etc. I will report back once I get this into reasonable shape. Thank you again so very much!

If you do include Nice I enthusiastically recommend a day trip to the Villa Ephrussi and Villa Kerylos. Magnificent!

It seems that you are somewhat limited in your choice of flights. You could otherwise fly one stop to CDG/MRS/NCE and your best trip options change with your initial destination in France. Availability of an automatic car best at the airports or Avignon TGV.

I'm back. I still have a lot to do but thought I needed a sanity check. What do you think about this itinerary in terms of number of days, day trips, route we are taking, etc. Since it will be low season, I feel like we have a little less to worry about regarding crowds but not sure about everything being open, etc. THANK YOU!!!!Again, this is a quickly planned trip due to American Airlines Tickets expiring on Feb. 21, 2025. We must start our trip before the 21st.

Day 0: Feb. 19th (wed) Fly out of Las Vegas

Day 1: Feb. 20 (thur) Arrive in Nice – Drive to Aix, unless we arrive in the evening – TBD??

Day 2: Feb. 21 (fri) Aix

Day 3: Feb. 22 (sat) Aix

Day 4: Feb. 23 (sun) Aix



Possible Day Trips from Aix:

Drive 1.5 hrs to Moustiers

Drive 30 min to Marseille



Day 5: Feb. 24 (mon) Drive 60 min to St. Remy

Day 6: Feb. 25 (tues) St. Remy

Day 7: Feb. 26 (wed) St. Remy

Day 8: Feb. 27 (thur) St. Remy



Possible Day Trips from St. Remy:

Drive 60 min to Le Baux

Drive 40 min to Gordes

Drive 30 min to Avignon

Drive 45 min to Bonnieux

Drive 50 min to Lourmarin



Day 9: Feb. 28 (Fri) Drive 2.5 hrs from St. Remy to Nice

Day 10: Feb. 29 (sat) Nice

Day 11: Fly to Las Vegas

As already noted, driving within 36 hours of flying across multiple time zones is a terrible idea.

IMO, your plan is overly ambitious. Of course you can always skip some things, but you might want to re-think now. For example, you are giving yourselves virtually no time in Nice -- is that intentional? It easily merits several days.

Hi kja, Our focus isn't so much on Nice this time around so just a day or two to get a feel for the city itself is good for now. Next trip we would definitely spend more time there. We are flying into to Nice because it seemed the most logical airport and easiest to navigate versus flying into CDG. Based on that, do you still think we are being too ambitious with the rest of the trip? Merci :-)

Hi mjs!! We haven't solidified our flights yet. You are probably correct. I was trying to avoid CDG because my husband doesn't like driving in the big Cities and it seemed like we would need to spend the night in Paris (we love Paris but have been many times) then I think it was a 3 hr train ride to Avignon to get a car. We weren't planning on basing in Avignon so then it was a drive to St. Remy or Aix which is closer. So flying into the CDG didn't seem as convenient. Maybe I'm overthinking, over complicating and have my time-frames wrong. What do you think? Thanks so much.

Yes.

I'm sure I'm starting to look crazy or like I have multiple personalities. I'm normally not like this but also used to having more time to plan. Based on some of your comments above, I'm rethinking our itinerary.

It looks like we can fly in on AA and arrive in CDG early in the day so we can take the train to Avignon. Avignon is one place I haven't done any research on so if any of you have advice on areas to stay, etc. that would be wonderful. Thinking we stay in Avignon for 2 nights, any comments or suggestions.

Rent a car from Hertz in Avignon and drive to St. Remy. Stay in St. Remy for 6 nights. Any hotel recommendations in St. Remy (approx $350 per night). Day trips Uzes, Gordes, Bonnieux, Lourmarin.

We would really like to stay in Aix for 2 nights (not a lot of time but would give us a taste) but this may be too much.

Maybe we should go back to Paris and stay two nights and then fly out. Any hotel recommendations and neighborhoods to stay in. We will only have 2 nights but would like to be in a nice central area with shops and restaurants nearby. Could spend slightly more than 350. if needed.

Thanks for keeping me sane and for your patience ;-)

Much better! I enjoyed Avignon … look around for the window art. 😁

Bonnieux and Lourmarin could easily be brief stopovers on a drive from St Remy to Aix. Ditch the car on arrival in Aix and take the train back to Paris from there. You’d save two days of rental and parking, which compensates for the possible one-way fee.

Days of the week matter. Check the closing days of any museums or art galleries you’d like to visit, make lunch and dinner reservations for Sunday and Monday when many restaurants close (or, in the case of Sunday lunch, are packed with local families), and don’t plan to shop on a Sunday afternoon or Monday.

haha, Yeah!!!! I'm getting closer and closer. Lots to fill in but I think I'm on a better track now. Thanks for the all the great feedback.

FTOttawa, I like the sound of that, actually. I will have to look into it a little more in terms of how long the train ride is, etc. but i like looking at all the various options. Thanks.

I think if you fly into Nice you should spend some time in the Cote as you will already be there and to rest up before driving. If you are flying into CDG I would take the TGV to Avignon and spend at least one night in Avignon before picking up your car and driving to St Remy. St Remy is a good choice from which to visit this area of Provence as it is very central to many interesting locations. Easy to visit Arles, Pont du gard, Les Beaux, Orange, Gordes, Roussillion, Chateauneuf-du pape, Cotes du Rhone, the Camargue etc. Aix is only about a 25 minute drive. St Remy is big enough to have a fair number of restaurants and even a supermarket. We once stayed at Le Vallon de Valrugues which is about a 15 minute walk into town. Has a spa and good parking. Rooms rather small but Jr suites looked nice. La Maison du Village also comes to mind but I have not stayed there. Ate at the restaurant at the Hotel et Restaurant de Tourrel which is in the center of town and it has a nice looking small hotel. Restaurant is a pretty good Michelin 1 star and there is a decent wine shop next door. Do not know about parking. I should caution however that I have never been to Provence in January or February take my advice with a little grain of salt. You will have limited daylight hours.

Oh, and if you rent a gite or Airbnb type place, make very sure they mention heating.

Late February and early March daylight is not so bad - similar to mid October.

Now it's time to muddy the water with a suggestion of going to the Camargue and Aigues-Mortes. I see no reason to settle in Saint Rémy.

OK. As another poster say's a lot "I'M DONE" (i think and hope). Thanks again to everyone for all the great feedback. Here’s the latest and final itinerary. I don’t want to make any major changes unless I’ve messed up on distances, etc., i.e., train time from CDG to Aix, etc. I would love to get your opinions on the plan below. Also, I tried to look at previous posts, etc. regarding hotels but hoping you all can weigh on my questions below. Merci, Merci, Merci!

Day 0: Feb. 20th (thurs) Fly out of Las Vegas

Day 1: Feb. 21 (fri) Arrive in Paris – Train to Aix (3 hrs). Does that sound right? I check Rome to Rio.

HOTEL: Marriott Renaissance Aix-en-Provence. We have points so thinking this will be a good choice. Any comments? Does this look like a good location for walking to main part of town, etc.? Any other recommendations?

Day 2: Feb. 22 (sat) Aix

Day 3: Feb. 23 (sun) Aix

Possible Day Trips from Aix: Without a car?

*Marseille



Day 4: Feb. 24 (mon) Pick up car at Hertz in Aix and drive to St. Remy (60 min)

HOTEL: Auberge de Saint-Remy. Anyone have any feedback. Central location, etc.? Any other recommendations?

Day 5: Feb. 25 (tues) St. Remy

Day 6: Feb. 26 (wed) St. Remy

Day 7: Feb. 27 (thurs) St. Remy

Possible Day Trips from St. Remy:

Drive 60 min to Le Baux

Drive 40 min to Gordes

Drive 45 min to Bonnieux

Drive 50 min to Lourmarin

Ile-sur-la-Sorgue


Day 8: Feb. 28 (fri) Drive to Avignon. Drop car off at Hertz and Train to Paris (3 hrs)

Day 9: Feb. 29 (sat) Paris

Day 10: Mar 1st (sun) Paris

HOTEL: Any recommendations on best location (the 4th or 6th arr) to stay (walking distance to shops, restaurants, etc.
Day 11: Mar 2nd (mon) Fly home

[QUOTE=ciaociao;17604532]

HOTEL: Marriott Renaissance Aix-en-Provence. We have points so thinking this will be a good choice. Any comments? Does this look like a good location for walking to main part of town, etc.?

I stayed there in 2015. It’s a good hotel. About a 12 minute walk to the old town.

First thing you are missing: Roussillon.

Second, Fontaine de Vaucluse.