Winging it in Provence?
 

We will be in Provence late May into early June-- about a week or so. We will round out the week by heading down towards Narbonne and Carcassonne and dropping off the car before taking a train to Barcelona.

I was thinking of the first night in Avignon and then renting a car and winging it from that point on. I have notes and guide books on where I want to go and have noted a few hotels. Is it unwise at that time of year to not have any more than one reservation which is for the first night?
Opinions anyone on winging it?

I am a reservation person(meaning I make them). Some folks might consider winging it to be part of the adventure. May-June in Provence is a peak season.I would worry about also having to pay far more for a room than I had hoped because that was the only room available. With so much to do and see in Provence I wouldn't want to spend the bulk of my time figuring out where I was going to sleep that night.

PamSF; Thanks for the great response.I didn't realize that is peak season.
For a week would you stay in one place? Where would you suggest: Saint Rémy, Arles, Isle sur la Sorgue?
Thanks,
Marie

I did a trip report called "Provence Sandwich"-we didn't make any pre-trip arrangements but didn't drive. If you want to see how much we were able to see, please read it.

Also, Stu Dudley has an incredible list of driving destinations. Do a search on his name as well.

It also depends on how many of you are traveling. If you need more than one room or accommodations for children, it can be more difficult to wing it.
We, like PamSF, are reservation people....hate to spend time trying to find lodging, especially when we start to bicker about where to stop!

It's really possible to visit most of Provence from just 1 base location - but a few day trips would require a couple of hours of driving time.

The greatest number of different base locations would be three, IMO.

There is really no need to "wing it" unless you like the adventure/challenge of seeking out accommodations. With even a minimum of planning, you can settle on 0 to 3 bases - depending on how often you prefer to change hotels, stay in different surroundings, pack/unpack, etc.

When we started to travel to Provence, we enjoyed staying in the Luberon the most - near Gordes/Roussillon/Bonnieux. If I were to pick only 1 location, that's where I would stay. Others prefer to stay in St Remy to get a 'village feel" and be able to walk to dinner/cafes/shops.

I'm not a fan of staying in Avignon. Avignon is one of my favorite cities, but getting in & out is a little difficult and unsightly (lots of ugly sprawl.)

If you want to sample 3 different bases, I would recommend:

-St Remy (for the village feel) and easy access to Arles, Nimes, Les Baux, Alpilles Mountains, Pont du Gard, Aix, & Uzes.

- The Luberon would provide good access to Gordes, Bonnieux, Roussillon, Saignon, Goult, Aix, Lourmarin, Cucuron, Lauris, Ansouis, Grambois, l'Isle sur la Sorgue (incl market), Pernes, some hidden "gems" east of Apt, Senanque Abbey, Oppede le Vieux, market in Apt, Sault (lavender fields, mountains, & remote villages).

- In the Cote du Rhone winegrowing region near Vaison, good access to Vaison, Carpentras market, Mont Ventoux, Bedoin Monday market, Sault region (mountains & lavender fields), Nyons, Dentelles mountains. Wine villages of Seguret, Gigondas, Vacueyras, Chateauneuf du Pape. Also the beautiful Gorges de l'Ardeche and the wonderful cave of Aven d'Orgnac.

If I were to pick two locations, I would probably choose (for a first timer), St Remy and then either the Luberon or the Vaison region - depending on your interests.

I have a 27 page Provence itinerary that has a lot more info. I've sent it to over 800 people on Fodors and aol. If you want a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach it to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

>>you can settle on 0 to 3 bases <<

That would, of course, be 1 to 3 bases.

Stu Dudley

Thanks Stu; I'll email you.
and thanks to everyone--- I guess I won't be winging it! I am always a "reservations" person, too, but I thought it might be fun to be unencumbered and free to be spontaneous for a change. But you all reminded me why I don't do that. Paying more and arguing is definitely not fun.

Uzes is technically not in Provence. Like the Pont-du-Gard it is in Languedoc.
Uzes is a deiightful place. If you go, try to time it for the Saturday morning market. Wonderful!

We stayed in Hotel Les Ateliers de L’Image in St. Remy. The hotel is located on the "main street" of St. Remy, has free parking in the back, has a pool and a large park area behind the hotel. I liked being able to walk around town at night. Some of the other hotels recommended on this board were outside of town. I passed by a few of them and was glad we decided to stay in town.

When I go back to Provence, I will be staying back at this hotel.

If you like wine, stop by Entre Terre et Verre (www.lacave.eu) 43, rue du Chateau, St. Remy-de-Provence. The owner, a transplanted Norwegian, offers a great wealth of knowledge, and fantastic tastings! Be careful, we wound up spending lots of money on some incredible wines. It was all worth it!! Vieux Telegraphe 1998 Chateauneuf-du-Pape was one of the best ever. The 2007's are supposed to be even better!!

All the best!

Masterphil We stayed at the Atelier de L'Image and returned a second time because we had so much fun playing pool after dinner while a film was being watched on the big screen.

I like so many places. Arles and The Luberon are two of my favorites. Is it possible to divide your time between those two bases? I happen to really like two places in the Luberon at which to stay: Trois Sources(Bonnieux) and Le Ferme de la Huppe (just outside Gordes) both have websites. We stayed at Le Calendal in Arles which was just fine(3 stars).

Cigalejis right. You should defintiely go to Uzes for the Saturday market. It is fabulous.

I also am not a big fan of staying in Avignon. For one thing it is hard to find parking and getting in and out of the city is more difficult than you want it to be for day trips.

Just a thought...

Google maps has a "street view" of downtown St. Remy. That really helped me decide to stay there.