My wife and I will be in Provence in late June / early July. We are looking for a home base somewhere in or around the Luberon villages. We will have a car and our list includes Arles for a day trip, in addition to the villages in the area. We'd like to stay in one town or area, rather than hopping around.
I've RS guidebook on this, but would love to hear about your favorite home base for exploring this area. Thanks for any suggestions.
Hi,
Late June... This year? It's getting very late, so I'd search the other way around: search for your preferred type of accommodation (Hotel, Airbnb...) in the Lubéron area (Isle sur la Sorgue, Pernes les Fontaines, Gordes, Menerbes... don't go too far east, it won't be convenient for Arles area day trips) and see what is available and appeals to you in your price range. Likely not that much, so you won't be swamped down with options.
For searching, Booking.com map function is great. Airbnb's map is serviceable at best.
A few years ago we stayed at Le Mas Perreal (http://www.masperreal.com/) and we absolutely loved it. If you're looking for later this month, they are likely booked up but you can always check in case you get lucky and they have a last minute cancellation. It's near the village of Saint Saturnin les Apt and easy driving distance from Gordes, Roussillon, Apt, Sault, and more.
I stayed in Roussillon for a base when touring that area. I found it quite convenient, easy to get in and out of with a car, nice and quiet in the evenings when day trippers were gone. I loved the hotel I stayed at, had a nice private little balcony with views over the valley. Very nice breakfast, available parking, friendly staff.
We were there a year ago.......trained to Avignon, picked up our car and drove to Gordes where we stayed 4 nights and then to St. Remy de Provence for 4 nights. We LOVED these 2 towns......and saw the Sunday Isle de la Sorgue market and the Aix market on Saturday. The Tuesday Gordes market was fun, too. There is a BEAUTIFUL old home that has been refurbished into a hotel and restaurant that is in St. Remy....it is called Le Chateau des Alpilles.....we happened to drive up on it and it was incredible. We did not stay there but did make a lunch reservation and ate outside on its lovely grounds. It was quite a memory. We used our car to drive around to the Provençal markets in Loumarin, Roussillon and Menerbes. We loved having a car to go where we wanted when we wanted!
We were just in the Luberon the last two weeks of May. We were based in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and had a rental car. We found this to be an ideal arrangement. Cities like Avignon, Arles, and Aix were too big and “urban”. Villages like Roussillon or Menerbes were very attractive but had less to offer in the way of restaurants, shopping, etc. Isle was perfect. It was big enough to have what we felt we needed to live there (convenient grocery stores, lots of restaurant choices, etc.) but the old town — the island itself — was sufficiently set apart from the rest of the town that it had a village feel. It also had a central location for driving and very easy access to train and bus travel.
Thanks everyone - these are very helpful comments!
Jane, where did you stay in St. Remy?
Betsy, how long did it take you to walk from Le Mas Perreal to the center of Saint Saturnin les Apt?
Steve, I recommend staying in St. Remy, too. We have been there several times for day visits and love it. We might stay there next year for several nights.
@kmkwoo We actually never walked (we had a car so we just drove in) but it was about a 20 minute walk to the center of town, best I remember. And our hosts provided flashlights in case guests were walking back after dark.
Betsy, We will have a car. Was it easy to find parking in the center of town? I love the place where you stayed. It looks beautiful!
@kmkwoo.......we stayed at Hotel de I’Image, 36 Boulevard Victor Hugo........it was on the circle surrounding the inner city of St. Remy and a great location....but some wedding party came in and had wanted the entire hotel so they moved us to their sister property on a road that was one to take out of town.......we could still walk and this new property was a lot nicer (spa, lovely pool, etc) than there in-town one......gave us the lower in-town hotel price so we said fine.....and it was good.
Jane, thank you! I will check it out.
We stayed in Loumarin. It was very scenic and quiet at night. Peter Mayle had a home there in the past.
