Hi. We are a family of 6 adults who will be staying August 20 - 24th in the south of France.
We are looking for a beautiful city / village to stay that can also be used as a central base to Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, villages near Roussillon, and Marseille and others perhaps you can recommend.
We were thinking of Saint-rémy-de-provence. Yes / No/ Any other suggestion?
FYI We enjoy beautiful scenery, great food, wine. Not really into heavy hiking. We will have a car with us.
Thank you.
Saint-Rémy is indeed a very central base.
In August, I also like L'Isle sur la Sorgue, where you can take a very refreshing dip in the river.
AC is needed in both cases!
You can't go wrong with St Remy de Provence, IMO. But Ile-sur-la-Sorgue is good too.
+1 for Isle sur la Sorgue. We stayed there for two weeks (this was a few years ago) and it was a great town in its own right (lots of good restaurants, shops,and antique markets all in the old town --the actual "Isle") and a great base for road trips to numerous spots in the Luberon and beyond.
Good advice from the other posters. If you have six maybe you can get a place with a pool because it will be hot!
If you decide to stay in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, or visit, consider going to Jouvaud La Maison for delicious pastries, chocolates, and unique gifts.
Keep in mind that market days are held on Thursday & Sunday.
The Sunday market is very popular and therefore very crowded.
My daughter and I were there for the Thursday market but left on Saturday.
I was a bit disappointed to find out that the antique shops were only open on the weekend starting on Friday morning, but this was a few years ago, so it may be different now.
We also enjoyed a couple of good meals at the hotel but I’ll come back with the name.
Wishing you a wonderful trip!
Valbonne is another village worth considering. The food available there is outstanding.
Valbonne isn't in Provence proper, though: it's 2.5 hours to the east of the other places mentioned.
We booked L’Isle and will be there on the weekend so we will able to enjoy the market. We will be there 2.5 days.
Any other good restaurants there?
Also we are planning to visit 1 day to Lacoste, Gordes, and Roussillon
Another for Marseille
Anything else I should not miss?
Lacoste, Gordes and Roussillon is a good combo.
Marseille is... up to you, I'd say. I really like it, but as a day trip it might disappoint: it is more about the ambiance than the actual attractions.
I'm not saying Marseille is bad, but I would personally pick Arles, for example.
Valbonne isn't in Provence proper, though
By golly, you're right! Thank you for the correction. I've been ignorant about this for quite awhile.
