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Base for two nights in Provence

I will be staying in the south of France for 9 nights. Four nights in Nice, then two nights in Moustiers St Marie. The plan is to rent a car when I leave Nice, visit St Paul du Vence, maybe Grasse, and then Moustiers. Next day, visit Verdon du Gorges and stay night in Moustiers.

Next day leave Moustiers and travel thru some of the towns of the Luberon and Provence, right now I am thinking of a route that goes thru Lourmarin. After the two days/nights I will be staying in Lisle sur la Sorgue so that I can go to the Sunday market, then I will head down to Nimes, return car, take train to Barcelona.

So wondering if I should base for those two nights, stay in one place and do day trips or plan the drive and book two different hotels. If a base is the best plan, what would be a good base that would allow me to go north towards the Gordes area, or go south towards Camargue, the thinking being if I have a base I can more flexible as to where I am going depending on the weather and my mood. Arles does not seem good because of the car/parking issue. Avignon, too big.
The groups thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.

Posted by
7300 posts

L'Isle sur la Sorgue is a good choice, it is both charming and convenient, with good roads in all directions.

Posted by
262 posts

St-Rémy-de-Provence is charming, midway between Arles and Avignon, and striking distance of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorge, Gordes, and Pont du Gard. It has a great market, van Gogh sites, Roman ruins, Les Baux, and the Carrières des Lumieres.

Posted by
108 posts

St Remy de Provence is a great central location. We loved our stay there and we were able to visit numerous surrounding towns and markets very easily. We stayed at Mas de Tourterelles (https://www.masdestourterelles.com/en) which is a RS recommendation. We enjoyed our stay there very much.

Posted by
62 posts

Thank you for your replies. I was unable to find availability on the suggestions offered, St Remy seemed pretty limited on my dates in October. I ended up booking in Ansouis at un patio en luberon. Looked like the kind of place that I am interested in and not to concerned that the town is pretty quiet as I will be traveling during the day. Anyone stayed at this place or in Ansouis?

Posted by
7300 posts

Ansouis is a lovely village, really! Very pretty. It is close enough to Aix en Provence and to the rest of the Luberon. Nearby Lourmarin is definitely worth a visit.