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5 full day Provence itinerary

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Arriving in Paris CDG morning of March 2. Train down to Avignon to pick up rental car. Drive to Isle sur la Sorgue (staying at Maison sur la Sorgue). Lot's of stuff to see and experience in the area but limited time...training back to Paris for 6 nights after this stretch...

March 2 (Thursday): Probable arrival in town in late afternoon. Get bearings. Walk around town. Eat. Sleep.

One of the 5 days, I would like to surprise my wife with a full day wine tour.

Sunday March 5th is a market day so I imagine we will be local for at least part of the day. Any ideas for maybe a half day trip later in the day? Roussillon?

That leave 3 full days to play with. Thinking of doing full day trips on each of those days. We like seeing and doing stuff but don't want to rush. We can always go back. We enjoy architecture, walking around, stopping in lots of cafes. Possible options just based on my preliminary reading and looking at a map include:

1) Avignon
2) Arles / Les Beux / St Remy
3) Pont du Gard / Orange
4) Luberon / Aix en Provence

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Posted by
3594 posts

Either Avignon or the Pont du Gard can be seen in the half day, maybe even both, depending on how long you spend at the market. Orange has an impressive Roman theater, but not much else of interest. You could get your Roman theater "fix" in Arles. Roussillon would be a good choice. Also, check out Vaison la Romaine.

Posted by
7175 posts

Nimes is easily paired with Pont du Gard, and offers the visitor more than Orange (though the theatre is stunning). Avignon, Aix en Provence and Arles are all easy to spend the full day in.
If you were looking to find some more time then maybe forego the wine tour and search out wine focused restaurants for lunch/dinner instead.

1) Avignon
2) Nimes and Pont du Gard
3) Arles
4) Les Baux and St Remy
5) Luberon and Aix en Provence

Roussillon would be a great option for the afternoon of market day.

Posted by
4132 posts

You are on the right track--keep reading and thinking. Only you know what you will like.

I assume you are getting a car down there. You will need it to do this itinerary in 5 days.

Everything on your list is worthwhile, but in my view Avignon and Aix are overrated. Well, Aix has a lot of charm; you could combine it with a Luberon loop.

The Theater in Orange and the Pont du Gard are perhaps the premier antiquities in France, though I would not say no to any of them.

Thing you might want to consider given your proximity:

A walk in the Foret des Cedres in the Luberon

A visit to the Resistance Museum in Fontaine de Vaucluse

Leave a little slack time for serendipity.

Posted by
286 posts

Will be in that area, staying in the same town, a week later. Thanks for the mention of the Resistance Museum - happen to be reading the novel, Lisette's List by Susan Vreeland, which is based during the war in Roussillon. Bookmarked!

Posted by
4132 posts

Fontaine de Vaucluse is a little tourist tacky, but the spring itself and the resistance museum are both worthwhile.

Posted by
119 posts

Does anyone else have input on possible wine tour? I like having a day where I am driven around and don't have to worry about the car.

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