5-Days in Provence - return trip

Excellent picks - I hope you're staying inside the walls, in old Avignon.

Just south of Saint-Remy is Les Baux - well worth a visit if you can get there by public transport (we had a car last summer).

If you can't fit it in this time, on your next visit, consider stops in Gordes and Roussillon. Bon voyage!

Aix market is great. Warning: it's such a café-sitting city that I did not find much in the way of picnic spots; the only suitable bench that I happened upon was at Place Bellegarde (intersection of Blvd. A Briand and Cours St Louis).

Sounds absolutely wonderful, and the perfect time to be doing it. I can almost taste the Provençal food. You'll have a great time. Enjoy.

Chad,
I think you've planned a great trip!

We may run into you as we will also be in Provence in early June.

I'd like to visit some of the town/villages in the Lubéron (Lourmarin &/Ménerbes) & I'm still doing research.

I will be following this thread for more ideas, thanks!

Thank you for the responses. Is Vaison-la-Romaine worth an afternoon of wandering if it is not market day? Is there somewhere better we should consider for the Friday day trip? Thanks

Also, is it worth trying to go to Sault in mid-June for lavender viewing? If so, is there someway to get to Sault using public transit? Thanks again.

Chad, the ancient Roman ruins at Vaison make for a worthwhile visit any time (unless maybe when it's 98 degrees out in the sun), and especially at night, when the ruins are floodlit.

Did you get a car last time? We're planning 3 nights in Arles with day trips (your suggestions above are helpful) and then 3 nights in Nice before we head to Paris and Amsterdam for the last week. We were planning to get a car to explore the countryside and smaller towns but not sure the best place to fly in, pick up and drop off car. Thanks!

Hi erin.z -- you might want to post a separate question under a new link. I will say, though, that a car is a pain in bigger cities like Nice -- have a rental car for Arles and nearby day trips, but turn it in in Nice and use the local buses and trains to visit places like St. Paul de Vence and Antibes.