Best three towns to use as a base to Provence in 10 days

We enjoyed staying in the old center of Avignon and taking a quick train ride over to Nimes one day and a quick bus ride over to Pont du Gard another day. Your kids would probably really enjoy canoeing under the Pont du Gard.

Will you be using public transportation, renting a car, or doing some of both?

When we were in Provence last year, we broke up our stays between Isle sur la Sorgue and St.Remy. Both towns were walkable and hassle free. Great antiques market in Isle sur la Sorgue if you happen to be there on the right days.

We just got back and stayed in Antibes. Loved it. We stayed at Mas Djoliba Hotel and I could not recommend it more highly! Much quieter than Nice.

Just returned from 4 days paris 4 days provence. We stayed in Aix-en-Provence, which was convenient to Cassis (touring the Calanques was lovely) and Arles and the Luberon hill towns. Fairly lively college scene there so seems to match your daughter's interests. I don't know about Nice or Antibes or Monte Carlo. But maybe one of your 3 day stints could be in Aix and another in Avignon? Or do Avignon for a western base and one of the hill towns such as Lourmarin (which we loved... not far to get to Aix and Cassis from there for day trips...) for a Luberon base? If you do stay in Lourmarin (or Roussillon) rent bikes and ride over the old Roman bridge Pont Julien. Lots of families doing that and looked fun. Enjoy!

marika

Based on the suggestions i think the three bases will be aix en provence, either rousillon or louvron and either nice or antibes. I will focus my research on those but feel free to keep the suggestions coming. Thanks for the advice.
We will be renting a car for the entire time and don't want to drive for more than 31/2 to 4 hours a day. Can anyone recommend a pretty town near Clermont-Ferrand where we could overnight on our way back to Paris?

You do need at least 2 bases if you want to see both the Cote d'Azure and Rhone valley Provence.

You don't need 2 different bases on the Rhone, but you might like to spend a few nights in the Luberon. (Or not--can be kind of quiet there.)

In any case (and especially of you do stay in the Luberon) you should spend most of your time in the eastern half and you should rent a car (probably not needed on the Cote). I'd suggest some towns such as St Remy or smaller city such as Arles. Avignon and Aix would be at the bottom of my list.

Picking base before itinerary is kind of cart before the horse, since ideally you'd pick a base that is central to the day destinations you are planning. But maybe this will help you to consider your options.

I do agree that you really only need two locations not three. The area is really easy to drive around and day trips from one place in Provence and one on the Cote de Azure will be plenty. Look for free parking at your accommodation.

Ok two bases it is. Going to try find places with parking at Arles and Antibes since they sound smaller and more quaint that Avignon/Aix in the west and Nice in the east. Can anyone recommend one or two quaint villages to overnight in on the way down or back up from provence? Ideally they would be about half way from Paris near either Clermont-Ferrand or Lyon since the roads seem to go by one or the other of those two larger cities? Thanks again.

We want to spread the 9+ hour drive back to Paris from Provence over 3 days with two overnight stops. Just going by the map and based purely on distance the two overnight places could be Mirmande (near Valence) and Chateauneuf (near Pouilly en Auxois). Those are en route but I don't know anything about them. Ever stayed there? Thanks

Just a note about Antibes -- it's actually quite spread out so take care in choosing your accommodation and note your access to the tollway (A8). When people talk about charming they are usually referring to the center/old town, not the more suburban outskirts. Also take care as the coastal road from Antibes to the airport can get super jammed. The corniches entering into Monaco are spectacular but crowded in the summer, and can unnerve some drivers. If you choose public transit to Monaco and Nice, take the train.

I've not stayed in Chateauneuf, but Vezeley is quite nice, and Beaune is an attractive, very compact town. Any reason you are avoiding Lyon (aside from the traffic?). Or Vienne?

Unfortunately Vezelay just doesn't split the distances evenly enough; it is an hour past Chateauneuf. Yes want quiet easy drive in easy drive out towns for some sightseeing and ambience so Lyon is not where we want to overnight.

we stayed https://www.hotel-djoliba.com/index_uk.html in Antibes and walked everywhere from here.

Check out Vienne. I haven't been there, but it sounds promising.