Best itinerary for avignon?

All four are worthwhile villages, although if you’re looking for things that are completely different from San Gimignano, both Gordes and Les Baux may remind you a bit of it. Saint Rémy is delightful, and just down the road (well before you would reach Les Baux) are two other sights. The small asylum where Van Gogh spent time recovering and painting, along with the peaceful garden out back where he sought some solace, was worth a visit. A little farther south is Glanum, the archeological site of an ancient Roman settlement, with ruins and some surviving columns and an impressive arch.

If you were to skip the guided van tour, I’d suggest visiting Arles one day and Saint Rémy the next, with nearby sights, which could either include Les Baux or not.

Ya that's what it seems like. So on day 1 thinking of seeing St Remy (plus/minus les baux) via taxi from avignon. And on Day 2: day trip to Gordes and roussilon via guided tour in a van for 5-6 hrs. Day 3: chill in avignon for few hrs then train to paris at 4 pm. So st remy will be a better experience over arles given my itinerary? i am guessing arles will be similar to avignon so may be redundant. after this, i will have 5 full days and 6 nights in paris. Day trip to colmar possible on one of those days via high speed train that takes 2.5 hrs? I might squeeze in just one of the alsace villages with colmar via taxi ride if possible. It seems colmar can be easily seen in 5-6 hrs. thanks.

When we stayed at Avignon we took one of the half-day van tours of a few villages & stopped briefly at the lavender fields. Another day we took the bus out to Pont du Gard. Another place we went was taking the train over to Nimes to see the Roman arena, Maison Carree, etc.

I did not find Avignon and Arles redundant. Avignon has a well preserved medieval core whereas Arles has impressive Roman ruins right in the center of town, as does Nimes. Arles is only a 20 minute train ride from Avignon. As already mentioned, Pont du Gard is another great day trip from Avignon. I did not make it to St. Remy. When I did a half day (1 pm - 7 pm) small group van tour from Avignon that included Rousillon and Gordes, I had enough time before the tour that day to cover the sights I wanted in Avignon, including the 2 self-guided walking tours in the RS guidebook. You will have a great trip whichever options you choose!

Thanks so much for this info guys. Ya for first day, I am going to taxi/uber it to St Remy and spend 2-3 hrs there and then take taxi to Arles to spend a few hrs in evening there. Then train back to avignon. I don't have any interest in going inside the museums. Just want to get a feel of Arles walking around. Do you think this option is doable with the taxi? With van tours, they only give you 1 hr in each village plus St remy is quite close to avignon so taxi should work. And day 2 I am leaning towards guided tour of gordes and roussilon despite only getting 1 hr at each place as I don't have any other option (taxi too costly since it's far). No interest in pont du gard tbh. gordes and roussilon seem quite similar to san gimignano but I don't have any other place worth seeing especially if I see arles with st remy on day 1. And if Arles is seen, then nimes or uzhes seem less appealing. Just trying to make best use of time.

In case this helps, when I was looking into van tour options for the Luberon villages, I found that the company called ProVans had a two hour stop in Roussillon compared to the 1 hour or less in other tours. This was the only one I found that gave you enough time to walk the ochre trail but only if you didn't stop for lunch. I ended up doing a half day tour with only short stops in the villages -- which was fine for me. If you are there in lavender season, the lavender tours sound like it would be a more distinctly different experience than the Tuscan towns.

When you say you are not interested in museums, does that include walking around outdoor sights like the Roman ruins in Arles? If uyou are interested in the Roman sights, and if you follow your plan for a taxi to Arles, I suggest having the taxi drop you off near the Roman arena which would be a nice spot to walk around and you could also see the nearby Roman theater. You can get some sense of both without going inside if you are not interested in a fuller visit.

I loved Uzes and found it quite different from Arles or Nimes. Uzes is a blend of medieval and Renaissance style withno major tourist sites. It is much more of a town than villages like Gordes but much smaller than small cities like Arles and Nimes.. It has more upscale shops and galleries as well a pretty places to walk around. However, it is further from your other stops. I'm not one for watching lots of travel videos, but I think youtube videos might help you choose what appeals to you most.

I checked and ProVans doesn't offer any tour during my dates. I agree most companies do 1 hr which isn't long enough. Uzes looks very nice in the pics but further away. I think I will stick to St Remy and Arles on day 1 via taxi and gordes + roussilon via guided van tour on day 2. It seems arles is more popular and better liked than avignon so I will spend minimal time in avignon and focus on other places. Do u think 3 hours of walking in arles from 5 to 8 pm is enough to get a feel for it? Not going inside any places, just outdoor walking. I will see st remy earlier in the day.

In late June, you will have daylight until 9:39 pm which will be nice for your stop in Arles.. The center of Arles is pretty compact so you should be able to see most it in 3 hours if you are not going inside sights. The trains from Arles to Avignon are less frequent (like less than 1 per hour) in the evening so be sure to check the schedule that day. The RS guidebook has a self guided Arles walk that you could do parts of.

CD in DC we are going to be in Arles for a week starting tomorrow. Is that self guided walk you mentioned in the RS France guidebook? (Which I don’t have)

CD in DC: thanks a million for all the tips. isle france sur la sorgue also comes up during research but I am guessing that arles and the 4 villages we discussed will be more fascinating and jaw dropping to visit than isle france sur la sorgue.

Jaspreet: I did not get to Isle sur la sorgue but I know it is a place you get to by train as a daytrip from Avignon and liked by several people on this forum.

Tammy: I used a RS Provence and the French Riviera book that was a couple years old. The Arles section with walking tour should also be in the full France book (which I see is currently on sale).

We just took an abbreviated version of Rick's Avignon Walk (from the new March 2026 revision of the Provence book) and it was pretty good.

We also drove extensively through the Luberon/Vaucluse region. I'm going to be in the minority here, but I assert that Roussillon and Gordes are a complete waste of time. All the stone walls in Roussillon have been stucco'ed/plastered over, and you may was well be walking through hilly back streets of Paris. Gordes is a Disneyfication of the original town for use as a movie set. Many buildings have huge 3ft x 4ft black and white photos from 100+ years ago that show what the town used to look like. That town would have been an interesting town to visit, but that town is no more. What does it say about the town today that they have to prominently display historical photos to make it interesting?

Your time is much better spent in:
Aix
Les Baux
St Remy
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
Lacoste
Oppede le Vieux (not for the faint of heart)
Arles

Hire a driver for a couple days to take you around, so you can sit back and enjoy the countryside, which as Rick says, is a big part of enjoying the region.

Responding to UncleBoo: You raise some interesting points but I think there is more than one way of looking at it. My understanding is that Gordes was a center of French resistance during WWII and because of that it was heavily bombed by the Germans. After the war, according to our guide, rebuilding was heavily financed by international (foreign) contributions with effort to restore as much as possible and not introduce new architectural forms; All or almost all the windowns had to be replaced. Rather than seeing it as inauthentic as you seem to suggest, I saw it as historically more interesting than I would have suspected. However, as we learned on my tour, it was featured in an episode of "Emily in Paris" which now draws tourists for that reason; No one in my 5 person tour group had seen the episode; We also learned that Gordes was voted most beautiful French town or something like that in, I think, some tourist industry promotion. Although I did not perceive the Disneyfication you note, I can see how that might be developing. For better or worse, for those without a car like the OP and me, commercial tours are a viable way to see a bit of the Luberon and these tours tend to stop in Gordes and Roussillon. I was there in October when there were not crowds of tourists at least. I am often turned off by tours that focus on stopping at movie set locations. I guess I'm glad I didn't know that about Gordes.

My understanding of the use of ochre on buildings in Roussilion is that it developed (maybe in the 1870s?) as a way to preserve buildings from the Provence sun and is now a town mandate that all buildings are one of a number of allowed shades of ochre and other styles are not permitted. Our guide suggested that this was an effort to preserve the history of the town with its historical connection to ochre mining and to avoid the kind of post war devedevelopment seen in Cannes, for example. I'm not sure why this history makes it a waste of time in your view.

My daughter and I enjoyed our time in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue before spending a few nights in Avignon.
We were on L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue for their Thursday market but they also have a popular market on Sundays which includes many antiques.
I like looking at antiques so visited some of the shops which were only open Friday-Sunday when we were there years ago.

If you do end up going there make sure you go to La Maison Jouvaud for delicious pastries, chocolates & other yummy treats!

Edited to add…
I forgot to mention this.
While in Avignon, we visited St. Remy and Les Baux. Unfortunately, we were underwhelmed by Les Baux, however, YMMV.

A comment on a daytrip to Colmar: last week we took a three-day trip to Alsace. The train to Strasbourg from Paris was delayed four hours for a reason I'd rather not state on line. It wasn't SNCF's fault, but when this happens, all traffic on the line is delayed and when it can resume, traffic is sent onto the old slow rails. We were already seated in the train at the Gare de l'Est when this happened somewhere between Paris and Strasbourg. This is the second time we've had this particular type of incident while in a train. The trains always have to stop and they are always rerouted onto the old tracks used by local trains and freight.

Leaving Strasbourg, our train was delayed due to people sighted near or on the tracks near Metz. When this happens, the engineers call an alert that stops all trains. We arrived home in Occitanie two hours late.

All this is to say that I don't agree with the people who suggest day trips that are "only" two-hours by train. I take French trains a lot and find 80% of the time there is some sort of incident that delays us from 20-minutes to 4-hours. If you want to see Alsace, you should go for a couple of nights or more. A day trip shouldn't be more than an hour by train and there should be numerous trains per day, every hour or every half-hour.

Elizabeth makes an excellent point.

Hi,
I'm wondering if you know the prices of taxis from Avignon to St Remy or if anyone has a recommendation of a driver/taxi service to use for a trip like this one. I'd like to set up something similar prior to arrival (or at least know if it's feasible). I'm traveling in mid-May. Thanks!

To aipsen,

Another option is to take the bus. They run every 30-60 minutes (many fewer on Sunday).

Responding to CD in DC, I believe some of what you were told is whitewashed, so to speak.

There is no question Gordes has interesting history. And to clarify, I'm not asserting that architecture form was altered. However, the changes were not limited to window replacement. All the stonework was replaced, and is now completely uniform. This is readily evident when you compare the photographs to the current walls. This may have been well-meaning, and sure, the buildings have their original shapes and sizes, but IMO the buildings now have a banal uniformity that obliterates their character and personality. I've never seen a beautiful, historic town that found it necessary to so prominently display huge photos of what the town used to look like, as opposed to letting the current appearance stand on its own. As to being voted the most beautiful town, well, I'd be curious to know who did the voting. In any case, as I said, I know I'm in the minority on this, and I'd be interested to debate my position with any tour guide.

As to Roussillon, why is it necessary to stucco/plaster every building to preserve it from the Provencal sun, when no other historic town in Provence finds it necessary to do this? It's understandable that the color palette is limited - by law - to shades of ochre, but how does that limit modern development? If that's all it takes, what's to stop some new development from using the same color palette? The obvious answer is that modern development is prevented - by law - just as non-ochre palette is prevented by law.

Your claim that it is my view that that these laws make the town a waste of time is of course not what I said, but rather a disingenuous fabrication on your part. I completely agree with the goal of preserving the history of the town, and it is my position plastering over the original stonework throughout the town has had the opposite result. It is precisely because the the history and character of the town has not been successfully preserved that i consider it a waste of time.

You seem to have taken personal offense that I have a differing, minority position on these towns. I acknowledged up front that mine is a minority position, and I have made no attempt to force others to agree, not that I could, even if I wanted to (which I don't). I have simply offered my perspective. It's for others to decide to what degree (if at all) to consider that perspective in forming their itinerary.

UncleBoo I do appreciate your informative response and clarification.

I took the bus from Avignon PEM station (very close to Avignon Centre train station) to St Remy for one day the week of May 11. Cost RT is less than 5 euros. It was easy, relaxing, and I recommend it. Take the 9 am and return on the 5:15 pm. Get the printed bus schedules from the tourist office.
We walked up from the St Remy bus stop to the tourist office for a map, then to the Antiquities ( a mausoleum and an arch du triomphe). We spent quite a while at Glanum, which was fabulous (we got the audioguide), and had lunch at the little cafe at Glanum. Then on to the Asylum and the Van Gogh walk back into town. It was a quiet and pleasant day.
The bus to Les Baux is possible but runs only one round trip per day, leaving Avignon at 9 am and then leaving Les Baux at 4 pm. You only need 3.5 hours in Les Baux. I went there on a separate day from my visit to St Remy. I ended up walking from Les Baux back to St Remy, a 2-hour walk along a 2-lane road; winds through pines and with views of the Alpilles and vineyards. There is a substantial shoulder, probably for bicycles, but it was fine for me. I visited Arles, Nimes, St Remy, and Les Baux. I would skip Les Baux, if I was making the choice again. But the scenery of stone and pines on the walk was beautiful, and I photographed a guy on a red tractor working in a vineyard, with a foreground of grasses and red poppies blowing in the breeze! You never know what might be the highlight of a day.

Wow, what a diversity of opinions! I’ll just throw in a few more.

I don’t think San Gimignano in any way resembles Gordes or Les Baux. In fact, I can’t think of any place in Provence that does remind me of it. And I’m among those who dislike Avignon and would much rather spend time in Arles or Aix or pretty much anywhere else in this beautiful region. But it does offer good transportation and a multitude of group day trips, which seem like a good option for you.

I think your plan is probably a good one. Don’t know about your time limits, but I think Les Baux is the most skippable. Maybe substitute a different town, perhaps Uzes if you can find a van trip there. Or, yes, visit Arles, which has tons to offer.

Gordes and Roussillon are kind of tourist central, but that’s because they’re fun to explore (and Gordes has that killer view as you approach). San Rémy is also very touristy, but it is pretty. Whatever you decide, I bet you’ll enjoy it.

Experience from a trip a couple of years ago and 20 years ago. I love Arles and Les Baux. I haven't been to the other villages. Driving can be slower than you think, so take that into consideration. What I do recommend is Pont du Gard. I thought we'd be there for a couple of hours and we were there for 4. Then got stuck in a freeway closure mess and had to skip Carcasonne. Avignon didn't really grab me, yet very easy to pick up a rental car at the train station.

Thank you so much everyone for sharing your experiences and thoughts. Yeah based on my research I think I'm going to stick with my original plan... I will limit my time in avignon and only use it as a base to get to other places nearby. They'll take a taxi from avignon to st Remy and then from there will take another taxi to arles , spend a few hours over there and then train back to avignon. Next day will do gordes and roussillon. I would love to do uzes or nimes But I don't think I will have the time. I think gordes and roussillon experience will be more memorable most likely. And few hours in arles and avignon will give me some flavor of what to expect in uzes or nimes.

This is in response to UncleBoo's comments on stonework and stucco. First, most of France was stuccoed in the 20th century. As wealthy people bought up the old stone houses for second homes, they were the ones first removing the stucco. The local peasants didn't care if they had stucco or stone. If you go to non-touristy villages in the flatter areas of Provence, you'll see stuccoed main streets with tern colors. Even Saint Remy isn't so quaint when you get outside that tourist zone. The same is true for all the brightly painted houses in some villages, mainly where the tourists go. So there's your disney-effect.

Second, you can't replace stonework because these buildings are stone, not fronting with insulation underneath. If there's a regularity of the stonework, it's probably because the buildings had been ruble before. I haven't been to Gordes in decades, but are these the buidlings with the photos showing the reconstitution? The first time I walked through these villages was fifty years ago and there were many houses reduced to ruble. Then the wealthy from Paris and northern Europe started buying up the property for second homes.