Advice for Provence Part of Our Trip: 6 nights

I enjoy markets, but I think for some travelers one is about enough. An obvious exception is folks who collect something they hope to find at the markets (ceramics, old kitchen gear, war medals, vintage linens, etc.). I made two trips to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue because--although I enjoyed wandering around its exceptionally large Sunday market--the proliferation of sales booths seriously blocked my view of the attractive town architecture, which I really wanted to see. I don't know whether you'd have the same situation on Thursday.

A few people have been disappointed, I think, that they didn't see as many antiques as expected in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue on Thursday. On Sunday there weren't all that many outdoor stands with antiques (nothing like what I saw in Nice, for example), and I wouldn't have missed them if they hadn't been there, but all the indoor antique stores were open. I'm not positive that will be the case on Thursday, so it's something you might try to Google if it matters to you.

Thanks, acraven. I don't collect anything, and I'm not at a point in my life where I want to purchase many objects except a few small gifts.

In Saint-Remy, for me, I enjoyed my visit to the Saint Paul de Mausole Monastery which is where Vincent van Gogh walked and resided from May 1889 to May 1890. Directly across the road from the monastery is Site Archeologique de Glanum (Roman ruins). I chose not to purchase a ticket for a detailed visit but rather checked out a free, smaller part of the ruins nearby. We also stayed in Saint-Remy and the Saturday morning market in this town is wonderful. However, it is very crowded and busy. Our hotel was within walking distance. I will post more on the Luberon later.

Hello There,
We preferred Roussillon over L'Isle Sur la Sorgue
1/2 a day in Arles might be short
Avignon, make sure you see the pope palace
Nimes day, I wouldn't swim at the pont du gard and rather go have a meal in Uzes, which is very pretty.
Chateauneuf indeed is not essential
Moustiers is one of the prettyest village we've seen anywhere
We kayaked in the Verdon, fantastic and drove on top of the gorges. Spectacular
Claude

Are these days too packed? <<

I think so. My husband and I spent 4 nights in St-Remy, 2 nights in Arles this past Sept- we are 63/67.
St-Remy was an excellent base by the way so good choice there.

I will preface this by saying it was extremely hot when we were there so by about 3-4 pm we were ready to return to our AC lodgings and enjoy our shady terrace and refreshing pool.
Here is how we spent our days- we had thought/planned to do more but things took longer than we anticipated.

Day 1 Drove to Pont du Gard- spent about 3 hours there- including museum and a picnic lunch. Then drove to Avignon. We were not overly impressed with Avignon- seemed to lack charm- we spent about 3 hours there and due to the major construction outside the walls- getting there and leaving from there was a nightmare. I wish we had gone to Uzes instead!

Day 2 Wed am market in St-Remy was delightful- then we visited St Paul Monastery, Glanum, Les Baux- all that took the entire afternoon.

Day 3 Luberon drive. We enjoyed this day a lot but only stopped/parked and walked around LaCoste and Rousillion. Had planned to visit L'Isle Sur La Sorgue but the pool was calling us.

Day 4- Drove to Arles to drop off car. We really liked Arles a lot, glad we stayed 2 nights. The Sat market was tons of fun. Alyscamps was a nice quiet retreat after the crowds at market -we were the only people there it was lovely/shady.

I'd say you have at least 1 too many things planned for each day. 2 markets were enough for us. We had come from Sarlat and been to market there as well. After a while everything starts to look the same/same vendors, etc.

Thank you all!
Denise, I will look forward to your post on the Luberon. Claude, how long did you spend in Moustiers-Ste-Marie? And Christine H, thank you for the day-by-day information. Based on all of your feedback and more reading, I might delete Avignon from our plan so we can spend more time at other sights, but that might mean also deleting Orange, which is harder.

Hello Barbara,
I would not delete Avignon. The palais des Papes is a fantastic piece to visit. Orange was the first old ruin I've ever visited in Europe and I was blown away. Couldn't believe it. You can also view it from the top of the little mountain, there's a park and the view is something I'll have in my head for the rest of my life.

As fas as how long in Moustiers, I went to Provence at 3 different occasions. And went to Moustiers/Gorges du Verdon twice.
I'd say you need at least a day and a half to see the village(go up to the church called notre-dame de beauvoir. The view is fantastic), do some kayaking or boating and go on top of the gorges by car to go around.
Of course you can spend more time in that region(I didn't ) as you can do some hiking for instance.
So, 2 nights arriving at noon gives you a full day and a half.
May beginning of june might be too early for the lavander fields(which I think starts around mid-june) but driving from Luberon region or Avignon, going around or thru Valensole on your way to Moustiers when the flowers are at their maximum is quite an experience.
I hope this helps and do not hesitate if you have other questions
Claude

I spent five nights based in St Remy a few years ago and my days were somewhat similar to what you have planned, a little less packed. Things do always take longer than you plan so I always plan what I hope I can do but realize I may not get to the last thing on my list for any given day. Our "Luberon Day" we visited 5 villages. The day we went to Uze and Pont du Gard we didn't do anything else ( so those plus Nimes might be too much, depends how long you want in each). The day we went to Avignon we didn't do anything else either, but then we liked getting back to St Remy by late afternoon. If you are OK with staying out till evening (and evenings are long in June) you could fit in more. I did a trip report you might be interested in, you could get a feel for how long things take. https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/photo-safari-to-the-south-of-france-the-italian-rivera-and-the-swiss-alps-990300/page2/ The Provence part starts at post # 31. The photos are now here: https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p233500526

Claude, thank you for your reply. If we were to add in Orange and Avignon, what do you think we could delete? I worry about having enough time to enjoy our base of St-Remy and nearby Les Baux with the plan I posted.

Isabel, thanks to you too. I read your very helpful trip report, and enjoyed your photos!

You can't skip Les Baux either! 😁.
And the mont ventoux suggestion is also a great one.
Very personally, I could skip isles sur la sorgues, bonnieux lacoste.
I certainly wouldn't skip Arles, it's a major historical site, great town to wander, there's more to it than the amphitheater.
I would skip the cotes du rhones day if I had to choose. And I would add the mont ventoux somewhere.
Again, all suggestions and opinions are fine, this becomes a matter of personal taste.

I keep reminding myself I can't lose, whatever I choose. I've never been disappointed yet with a day traveling in Europe, whether I've been able to go deeper (8 days in Rome or Paris) or just get a quick look and hope to return (Rouen en route from Giverny to D-day beaches). It does help to get a variety of perspectives and try to put them together.