We had to cancel our trip to Provence in April and have just booked our tickets for two weeks in October. We fly into Marseilles and out of Paris, so will split our time.
Now comes the fun part of selecting rentals...I want to start with Provence and am considering these three so far:a small apartment in Goult(our original booking for April); a studio in St.Remy and an apartment in Apt.
The rates for the Goult and St.Remy are about E300 for the week(they look more rustic) and the Apt apartment is E500 (looks more elegant).
I'd appreciate feedback regarding differences in basing in those three places at the end of October which seems to be the beginning of the "low season" I also seem to remember reading some notes of aprehension regarding the center of Apt at night and definitely don't want to feel unsafe. So what do you think?
Thanks,
Barbara

We recently spent 2 nights in St Remy, 1 night in Cassis and 5 nights in Bonnieux.

We very much enjoyed our stay in St Remy and thought it made a very good base for what we wanted to see in the area. We had been to Provence some years ago and based ourselves for a few nights in Avignon and a few nights in Arles. This time around we wanted to see Les Baux, Uzes and the Pont du Gard...and of course spend some time in St Remy. It's a charming town with some great restaurants and enough services to make a great base.

We don't like to spend too much of our day driving to and fro so we based ourselves for 5 nights in the Luberon as we intended to spend a large chunk of our time there. We were very happy with our choice. Evenings and mornings are lovely when you wake up surrounded by mountains and vineyards.

Goult is a cute town and the location is central enough to make a good base for the Luberon. I'm not sure there were enough restaurants and services for our needs as we don't like to drive at night but it was certainly a charming town.

We passed through Apt a few times and it seemed like a very busy centre. I prefer a more tranquil setting near the countryside. Goult would win hands down as far as surroundings.

Good luck with your planning

Kelly

Hi Kelly,

After reading your response I immediately e-mailed the apartment in Goult to see availability...your statement about Goult winning hands down as far as surroundings struck a chord and helped clarify what I really want in where we base ourselves.
Thanks again,another opinion always helps!
Barbara

St. Remy would be my first choice!
A beautiful place and so much to do in the surrounding area.

It really is a lovely area and I don't think you'll be disappointed. I'll look forward to hearing how it turns out.

Curious about the place you're staying in Apt that is "elegant". Haven't gotten a chance to write a review, but I'm suspicious you might be staying in the same place we did this spring.

We absolutely loved the charm of Goult and its location. It's on our list for a stay in the future.

I've had a vacation home very close to Goult for 4 years and go there about 4 times a year. If I were to live in ANY village in Provence, I would choose Goult. It's my number one favorite village! As others have said, Apt is a big town with lots of stores and hustle and bustle. It's a great place to shop, but isn't very charming. However there's a wonderful HUGE farmers market there on Saturdays.
St.Remy is smaller and chic and pretty with lots of restaurants and shops. It wouldn't be a bad place to stay.
Goult however, is very quiet, very beautiful (did you know there's a windmill on top?)and has only 2 restaurants, 2 butchers, 2 bakers and a small grocer....that's it! The houses are beautiful and there's a privately owned chateau that's recently been restored. At the very top of town, behind the windmill, there's a path that leads to a Conservatoire of Terraces which is a sort of outdoor museum to preserve the art of building stone walls.
Here's an interesting site with pictures of Goult.
http://www.vaucluse-visites-virtuelles.com/glvirtualbluepopouts/goultus.html
October is a perfect time to be in the Luberon. It's not too hot or too cold and on a nice day you can eat lunch outdoors. Have a great trip!

I have to say that one of the things we loved in Goult was that the town A) had two butchers even though it was so small and B) that they were across the street from each other!

I just got an reply back from the owner of the apartment that we were going to rent in April(when we had to cancel) and it is available..so Goult, it will be!

That's great news TravelB...I don't think you'll regret it at all. The area around Goult is lovely. I can't wait to hear how it all turned out when you get back.

TravelB,
Goult is a good choice, St Remy also.
Apt is less so... even if its Saturday morning local market is worth seeing.
Have a very nice trip!
Laurent

I looooove Goult. You will have a great time.

TravelIB,

One more thing. Don't miss the Sunday farmers market in Coustellet, just down the road. It's wonderful because it doesn't cater to tourists and is full of neighbors greeting neighbors and buying beautiful produce from neighborhood farmers. On the north side, there's a shop open only on Sundays which sells roasted chicken and meats. Maison Gouin in Coustellet is a well reviewed restaurant/caterer/butcher where you can pick up something already prepared for dinner. Oh, and the bakery across the street Au Fournil d'Antan has a delicious loaf of bread called a campaillette au levain.

TravelB, so glad to hear that you are going to get to stay in Goult. It is a beautiful area and the townspeople were very sweet.

Re: Apt in general, I think it is entirely what you are looking for in a vacation to take into account. I think people write it off way too quickly since it is not a hilltop town that closes down when it's not the height of tourist season.

I do think it is entirely possible to have a unique and fulfilling Provence experience basing in Apt. We did it this spring. We'd do it again. We had a wonderful time. We did it in the height of ST style (it's the only way we do France). We stayed in the most gorgeous (and I mean gorgeous!) apartment with the most amazing and kind hosts. And I'll eventually write the trip report to prove it.

In the meantime, it'd be wonderful for our members, new and old, if we tried to keep an open mind about destinations. We all have different views of what we want and need out of a destination/lodging/what have you. Not everyone has the same view of perfection when it comes to vacation.

Although I've never stayed in Apt, I agree with you, Alana. It is bigger than the perched villages, but it's a great location and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to stay there for a gorgeous apartment at the right price. For one thing, it would be great to not have to find a parking place on Saturday morning for the market!

I think I vaguely remember admiring the website for your apartment--could you post it again?
I just checked your blog and I see here you've described it. Would you consider submitting this as a review on our main site? It would be great to have this information in the database for future travelers.

Alana,
After I followed the link to "your apartment in Apt" in the posting from Chris.....you are correct...that is La Madone is the base I was considering in Apt. When I read that it was owned by antique dealers, it was very tempting.
I just got another email from Goult and now she says that she made a mistake and can't rent from Sunday to Sunday (we dont' arrive in France until Sunday).I e-mailed back that we would pay the Sat to Sat and just arrive on Sunday....I am awaiting her reply. So the apartment in Apt may still be a consideration. Do you remember if you needed to climb stairs to reach the other apartments?

Chris -- As soon as work gives me a heartbeat to write a review, I will

TravelB -- The apartments are on the 2nd & 3rd floor American (with a shallow step staircase to both floors). They had one apartment complete and were renovating a second one on the second floor. They may be possibilities but if you cannot do stairs, the 3rd floor would be a bit strenuous.