Burgundy/Rhone/Provence Itinerary: almost done, but input requested: update

Hi rizell,

Based only on logistics, I should see the Luberon from Vaison and the Pont du Gard from Arles.

You 2 days by the Rhone are quite ambitious.

Another ambitious day is your day trip to the Fontenay Abbey and Vezeley. Perhaps you could visit the Abbey on the way to Beaune, or spend your first night in Vezeley.

We also stayed 4 nights in Burgundy, but in a small village more centrally located between Beaune and Dijon. We day tripped to Vezelay/Fontenay and villages in between with great enjoyment. We spent a ho-hum day in Dijon although it has charm, for sure. Park your car outside the city and take the train in, if possible. Beaune was good for the hospital tour (excellent) and wandering around. It is cute and very touristy. We stayed only 2 nights in Lyon. Parked our car and walked to all the primary sights. I don't think you can sanely day trip to Annecy. This was a town that we decided to eliminate from our schedule and spend that time in Lyon - which was well worth it. The food in Lyon is very good and I think you could eliminate Valence (not familiar with it). I would spend the last 6 nights in the place that I PM'd you about. From there, we saw Les Baux (only late in the evening) and Carriers de Lumieres (fabulous), St. Remy, Arles, Avignon & Pont du Gard, Cote de Rhone villages, Upper and Lower Luberon villages, and a daytrip to Cassis (3 calanques boat trip) and drive along the Route du Cretes (gorgeous!)--a long day. Rick's guidebook is excellent for Provence. I think that Nimes is too big to include. You could visit Orange and/or Avignon and/or Pont du Gard on your way to Provence from Lyon. We preferred Orange to Avignon, primarily because it is smaller. However, the Palace of the Popes in Avignon is historically significant. We did the self-guided audio tour, walked around that area and saw the St. Benezet Bridge (don't pay for a ticket to walk on it) above from the park by the palace and quickly checked out of town. Avignon has charm, but it is a large city loaded with tourists. Regarding wine tours, we personally have no desire to spend sightseeing time at them. We've visited plenty of wineries in California, Oregon and Washington. No matter where you go, they take a lot of time, have expensive tasting fees, and if you're not buying cases of wine to ship home (very expensive), what is the point? We bought local wine in the grocery store and enjoyed the scenery of vineyards while driving through them. But that is us as we prefer driving through the countryside to experience scenery and historical sights. I totally understand the desire to wine taste at a French vineyard. Everyone has their own personal priorities.

Bonjour Rizell,
If in Uzes, maybe try to time your arrival for either of their markets, Saturday or Wednesday. Fantastic variety, especially on Saturday, the larger one.
Cheers.
I am done. The end.

When you plan 3 nights somewhere, it's only about 2-1/2 days. Now add multiple side-trips and it's not clear to me when you'll have time to see the attractions of the city you're staying in. There is a lot to do in Lyon, and I think you're short on time in Arles as well.

Vienne, just south of Lyon, was a major Roman city. It’s worth going to see the ruins and the Roman museum across the Rhône.