My husbands and I (60yo) are planning a trip to Provence in early September. We will have a car. We are looking for a place near Aix so we could easily go in for shopping or dinner but we don't necessarily need to be in the city. Than you for any suggestions.

If you plan to visit the "major" sites in Provence - Aix is not centrally located enough to do that without a lot of driving. For example, the Pont du Gard is 1 3/4 hrs away and Uzes is almost 2 hrs away. Sault (where the lavender fields are located) is over 2 hrs away. Although you won't be there during lavender season - the area is quite scenic. Vaison is over 1 1/2 hrs away as is the Cote du Rhone winegrowing area.

Also, IMO, the area around Aix is not that attractive, compared to other regions in Provence.

Consider staying in/near St Remy, Arles, or Vaison instead.

Stu Dudley

Thank you Stu. I have used and greatly appreciated your valuable comments in planning past trips and I was hoping you would reply! We are going to St. Remy for the first week of our trip; we stayed there before and really loved it. I am trying to get a little further east so we can go to Bandol. We absolutely love their wine and have not ever been there.
I would also like to do some shopping in Aix because the last time we were there it was only for part of a day and it was pouring rain the whole time. We did have lunch at Deux Garcons thanks to your suggestion and it was wonderful. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thank you again, Susan Darby

Visit Chateau du Pibarnon just outside of Bandol - great red & rose. We didn't think much of the town of Bandol, however.

We stayed at Chateau Meyrargues one night many moons ago. Great location for visiting Aix and the southern Luberon - Lourmarin, Cucuron, Pertuis, Cadenet, Silvacane Abbey, etc. See my itinerary for more details about this area. If you don't have my 27 page itinerary, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll send you one.

http://www.chateaumeyrargues.com/
http://en.directrooms.com/hotels/info/2-8-209-60145/

Ch Meyrargues is 1 hr from Bandol & 20 mins from Aix. Aix is 50 mins from Bandol.


Stu Dudley

Uzes and Pont du Gard aren't the only major sites of Provence, anyway. I agree with your plan, there is plenty to see from a location other than St Remy.

I stayed in a lovely inn just NW of Aix when I had a car and that location was perfect. It was right on a major N highway (the route d'Avignon or D7N) and made it easy to get to places N or NW of Aix (like abbaye de Silvacane), and it was also close enough to easily visit places just east of Aix, like montagne Ste Victoire. It's a pretty easy drive from St Remy, also, on major roads.

http://www.masdentremont.com/uk/index.php

I stayed there when it wasn't too old and the rates were very good, they've gone up quite a bit, but it was a really nice place and their in-house restaurant was wonderful. Parking was free and it's easy to drive into Aix from there, just a few miles, and park in one of the garages.

I think if you want to still visit Provence some, and visit Bandol one day, that's about the best location to suit both fairly well. It's not that far, about an hour drive.

We really liked a small property just above Aix, Le Mas d'Entremont. There are a main building and a number of bungalows scattered around the pool and restaurant, which is excellent. From the hotel it's very easy to drive down to Aix and Marseille.