Travel in France

Darlene, I would highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Rick's Provence book-it will answer all these questions and more, it has a ton of info. With a week in the area, you need a guidebook, imho.
Have a great trip!

Is the town your rental is located in L'Isle sur Sorgue? If so, I can give you lots of recommendations. We're staying about 5 minutes from there right now.

To answer you phone question, people will need to know the following:

1. What is your current phone model and who is your US carrier?
2. What do you want the phone for in France? Calls or texts to the US, calls to French numbers, calls or texts between members of your traveling party? Will you want or need data, and how much (just a little for quick web searches, or enough to send photos and the like)?

And it's SIM, for Subscriber Identity Module (the "brain" of a GSM phone).

Rick has a great introduction to the subject here (read the grey box on the right side first): http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/phones-tech/cell-phone-europe

And yes, if you're going to spend more than a few days in the region, get Rick Steves Provence And The French Riviera. It has MUCH more information on this area than his general France book.

I have an Iphone and I got a SIM card from le french mobile. You can buy a card for something like 20 euro and then you get 15 euro credit. i have ordered and received my SIM card, put it in my phone to make sure it works, but haven't travelled yet. I would recommend them. They have been easy to deal with.

I found the tour of the Palace architecturally and historically interesting, but some people are disappointed by the lack of furnishings inside the building. There's no need to book in advance - it works by audioguide rather than a group tour.