Aix en Provence, L isle sur la Sourge, Sault, Gordes, etc.. ??? Where to go???

If you prefer a small town feeling I would rule out Aix. It is a bigger city with lots of traffic and little parking. It does not at all have the feeling of small village Provence. It is a college town with lots of shopping and restaurants. I have been to this area many times and love to stay in St. Remy. It is a beautiful smaller town, great locations with a wonderful market (Sat. & Wed, I think) The antique market on Sunday you want to go to is amazing. It will be busy, but worth it. You can visit the hospital where VanGogh spent some (within walking distance of St. Remy)... also visit the Chateau de Estioban (sp?) for lunch or olive oil tasting. Abbey de Senague has wonderful lavender fields in front of it and is near Gordes. You will find plenty of wineries all over... I don't remember one in particular, but all we visited were lovely. You do not need to drive far to find one incredible place after another.
When are you going? Just make sure lavender is in bloom... although it is beautiful even when green.

mhf, with five nights I'd be inclined to identify one town and stay there, instead of picking up and moving part way through. Isle is lovely and there are certainly lots of treasures to be found there, though traffic can be heavy, perhaps especially at the weekend.

I was warned away from Aix and we skipped it, some like it, others not so much. If Cezanne's Studio is a key to the whole thing you may want to base there, since Isle, Gordes, etc are all an easy drive. Saint-Remy or Arles may be worth looking at, too. You don't say when you are traveling, but there are lavender fields all over the place; and wine/wineries won't be hard to find, either.

Is the driver bothered by jet lag? There is likely alternate transport available from the airport, though you'd need to be sure the car rental location is open when you need it, a nice feature of airport car rental.

We also liked staying in St Remy for the size of it, restaurants, location, etc. Did not get to Isle sur la Sourge for market day but there are some great antique shops there and we spent most of a day browsing. There is a lavender museum place that is, IMO, totally skippable--more of a shop really. We were there in early June and lavender was just beginning to bloom so we missed the peak season.

You could skip Aix. I've enjoyed it, but in the bigger picture, if # of days is a factor, and given your other choices in the area, when prioritizing, it would probably not be at the top of most travelers' lists.

We have stayed many times in L'Isle sur la Sorgue...the Sunday market is wonderful with lots of antiques. There are many little alleyways and paths around town with lots of antiques...some high end ....some not. The Sunday market has antiques and we have purchased neat signs , bottles , postcards , ceramics, and other things . . Town is crowded on Sunday...many of the antique dealers have shops in other parts of France and come to Isle Friday thru Sunday. Lots of neat shops and restaurants along the water. We use Isle as a base because...other than Sunday it is easy to drive in and out of. We have driven all over the area from there. Lots of back roads .

Thank you all SO very much! What wonderful help and so quickly. My husband and i really appreciate these notes and are taking note of them all! It is so nice to be able to find out where to go and where not to go from people who have been!!