Hi, we plan to be in Provence next May for 12 days. We will have a car and want to see as much as possible. I would like to stay 3-4 days in a different town and use it as a base for the immediate areas. Can someone recommend towns that can be used for this purpose? We prefer to to stay in smaller towns and visit the bigger cities (Avignon, Aix, Arles) for the day. Thanks!
Staying in a small town can indeed be a pleasure - you can stroll about, exploring and observing the lifestyle of a place, easily finding a favorite bakery or cafe. I assume from your post that you want to stay right in town, instead of out in the countryside, and that staying near town would work well also. It might help to know what parts of Provence you are most interested in, and what sort of lodging you are seeking - a B&B, a hotel? Most apartments would require a one week Sat.-Sat. commitment, but there may be exceptions, especially if there are unfilled openings for May.
I would look at the hotel reviews in SlowTrav. You might find something that looks wonderful - and you could go from there. My experience is in the northern part of Provence - up around Mont Ventoux, northeast of Avignon. And if you are interested in villages there, I can give you some feedback on choices Linda
Posts: 936 | Location: Outlying area of Chicago | Registered: 15 September 2004
Our family just got back from a trip to France and Italy. We stayed in Bonnieux for 5 days at the Clos Du Buis. It was a highlight of our travels. The town and the Hotel/B&B were fabulous.We found it to be a great base for traveling around the Luberon, although it was alluring just hanging around the town - great restaurants/coffee shops/boulangeries etc -- lots of picnics in the Clos Du Buis garden - we used their kitchen to cook some meals. Great vineyards just out of town, and a Friday(?) market that was vibrant. Can't say enough about the place!
Glad to hear that you really enjoyed Clos du Buis. It looks great. We would love to have another review for the B&B. Here is a link to submit a review for it or any of the other locations you stayed.
The places you mention visiting (Aix, Arles, Avignon) are within an hour of each other. I'm not sure if it makes sense to move three or four times in an area that small, unless you just want to "sample" different towns or villages. You really wouldn't be moving too far.
If you have 12 days, you could consider taking a full week (Saturday to Saturday) in a rental in one of three areas: the Luberon, the Alpilles, or the area around Mont Ventoux that Linda likes so much. In a full week, you can settle in and experience more of the lifestyle in one village, then make day trips from there. (This is our Slow Travel philosophy.)
You could then split your other five days between the other two areas, depending on how your time is arranged.
I don't know the area up around Mont Ventoux as well (just day trips from the Luberon). You might look near Vaison-la-Romaine or Bedoin. There are some lovely smaller villages too. In the Luberon, many Slow Travelers like to base in the villages of Bonnieux (mentioned by Robert), Lourmarin, St. Saturnin, Saignon, Goult, Ansouis. In the Alpilles, St. Remy, Maussane or Egalyieres would be good places to base.
You can read Slow Travelers' hotels and B&Bs in Provence here. Or if you'd like to consider rentals, see those reviews here.
The ProvenceWeb website is an excellent resource to learn more about individual villages.
I agree about Bonnieux as an excellent choice for the Luberon area. We had a wonderful stay there (also at the Clos du Buis) several years ago.
This past May, we enjoyed a week in a small village near Nimes and the Pont du Gard. The closest town of any size was Uzès. It was actually just across the border from Provence in Languedoc, but well located for a lot of day trips into western Provence, as well as a lot of beautiful and fascinating places in the Languedoc region.
Here is the review I wrote about the apartment where we stayed. At the end of the review is a link to my photo album showing some of the places we visited in that area.
Hi Kathy, thank you for your reply. As you can tell, I am not very familiar with this area. We will be flying into Nice and leaving from Nice. We have 12 full days to get to know the area. We want to stay in small quaint hotels or B&B's for 3-4 days at a time. What towns would you suggest in the entire area that we can use as a base and have something different to do every day (we will have a car).
Since you are flying into and out of Nice, I would suggest you take some time to explore that area on either end of your trip. There are so many beautiful little towns all along the Mediterranean and a bit inland.
We have reviews of some hotels / B&Bs in that general area on the page Kathy linked to -- including St. Paul de Vence, Vence, Tourrettes sur Loup, and Villefranche sur Mer. Any of those would be a great choice. You might also want to spend your last night before flying back in Nice itself, which is one of our favorite cities in France.
If you click on the link under my name, you'll see a page with links to reports on our trips to Nice in 2005 and 2007. They will give you some idea of the many things we did in that area.
So I would start with a few nights exploring the area close to the Riviera, then move farther west, perhaps to the Luberon.
For our 3 week trip to Europe last year we visited Paris and Venice then flew from Venice to Marsaille (spent our arrival night there.) The next AM we rented a car and took an easy drive to St Remy for 4 nights, 1 night in Arles and the remaining 5 nights we were in St Paul de Vence. I loved the contrast of the small towns with somewhat of a rural feeling when we were based in St. Remy and Arles,(although some of the towns were not small) vs the more coastal area of the Riviera that we visited (Nice, Monaco, VilleFrance Sur mer, Eze) while based in St. Paul de Vence. It was a wonderful trip and we would do it again in a heartbeat!
I'll chime in saying that St Remy is a great place to base yourself. It's not too big (feels like a country town/village), but not too small either - you will have all the convenience of restaurants, cafes, chemists etc on hand and it has a great atmosphere.
It's also a good location for exploring the surrounding area.
If you do decide to stay here, I'd confirm with your hotel/b&b if they have parking. We never have a problem parking there (eg we drive in for dinner and always find a spot) but still worth checking for your own peace of mind.
What about the small town of Mirabel aux Baronnies? It is a beautiful old village in between Nyons and Vaison-la-Romaine. It's tiny and quaint, but you have the tabac and the boulangerie and a couple restaurants. Then there are larger grocery stores not far away.
Day trips to Nyons (AOC olives), Vaison-la-Romaine, Grignan (beautiful perched village), Avignon, Arles, Orange are all possible.
Check out the Gites Les Mirabelles for accomodations. They have quite a few gites, but they also have a fabulous rental house right in the middle of the village.
To visit the towns you mentioned, we have stayed in Eygaliers, Fontville, Maussane and the larger St Remy. with day trips to our favorite Lourmarin and Bonnieux. We stayed in St Paul de vence also several times to visit that area
Posts: 1277 | Location: cambridge,ma.usa | Registered: 27 January 2003
Several year ago, we spent a week in Vaison-la-Romaine and easily visited Pont du Gard, St Remy, Nimes, Les Beaux, Tarascon, Mont Ventoux, the wine villages, the Dentelles, etc. We went to Avignon on our way to Aix, where we also stayed. Cassis is a nice day trip, too.
We also love the coast from Nice to Saint Tropez and spent time there in 2008 (based in Mougins) and are going back next year (based in Antibes).
Great views of Mt. Ventoux, charming hosts, just outside of a small town but very accessible to Orange, Aix, Avignon etc etc. You are well situation for Chat. du Pape if that is your thing.
