Help to plan french riviera and provence itinerary

We are working toward a similar trip for 2018 and would love to follow this thread. Thanks.

You can explore St Paul and Rousillon in 2-3 hrs, longer if you want more time to see the nooks and crannies. You can also visit Vence, which is of course close to St Paul. Of all the places we saw in the south of France, St Paul and Rousillon were my favourites.

A few hours at Pont du Gard usually will suffice. Les Baux is very neat to visit - about an hour by car from Aix. If you wanted to see old Roman amphitheatres, then Arles or Nimes is nice (we liked Arles better, a little more compact).

Our visit to Aix coincided with a major thunder/lightening/rain storm, so we mostly were trying to stay dry, but did enjoy what we saw in between the raindrops. From Nice, you could visit Monaco and Eze is nice as well. I think Rick Steves usually says there isn't much in Cannes other than the promenade. We had a very quick stop in Antibes, but didn't see Cassis or St Tropez (tho when we came home, the lady checking our passport at our home airport raved about St Tropez...lol).

Yes, this is certainly feasible. I would pick a Riviera base (Nice perhaps) and a Rhone Valley or Luberon base and see everything from those 2 hubs.

Everything on your list is worthwhile, but I would prefer Arles or Nimes to Avignon or Aix. If you really are not interested in the Rhone area (which includes many wonderful Roman antiquities) then stick to the hills.

@Adam - What base would you suggest in Luberon or Rhone? Thanks for your suggestions.

From your interests, I would probably base myself around Cavaillon, since you are spending a bit of time in the Luberon. You'd be an hour 15 from Cassis and the same from Uzes.
You can do Gordes and Roussillon the same day, and walk the Path of ocher(in french it's sentier des ocres). If you have time, very closeby is Senanque Abbey, a wonderful abbey from 1000 years ago with it's classic lavander field just in front.
Uzes and pont du gard can easily be done the same day and you might even have time to go to Nimes and see the spectacular coliseum.
If you are into roman architecture, you might also have an interest for the Orange theater, spectacular, and Arles, a great town(I have also a preference for Arles over Aix and Nimes), that also have a great coliseum.
As someone mentionned, les baux de Provence is a great village. Very touristy but the site is spectacular.
In Cassis, make sure to see the creeks between Cassis and Marseilles. Can be done by boat. Also takt the very spectacular road east of Cassis, the D141 with it's breathtaking views above Cassis and the sea.
In Avignon, the palace is a must and maybe spend a bit of time in the old part.
Aix, the famous street , les cours Mirabeau, is nice and the older part as well.
While you are on the Côte d'azur, Èze is also a spectacular little village on top with a breathtaking view of the coast and monaco on your left.

Paisneha, there are many charming smaller towns in the Rhone Valley, also country inns that might be pleasant for you. A town like St Remy has some good restaurants; a city like Arles has a livelier nighttime street scene but is perhaps not quite as easy to slip in and out of (by a hair). I've stayed in both, and recommend both, but there is no need to be limited by my limited experience.

Isle sur la Sorge is popular in this forum. I've never been but have enjoyed other places in the Sorge valley. Any of these are logistically good bases for day trips into the Luberon or Rhone Valley sights.

Alas my own experience with the lovely Luberon has been limited to day trips to some spectacular hill towns. So no recommendations from me for places to stay, but I am sure others here will be able to help you out.

I've just left Nice after 18 days there (took 2 weeks of language classes). I think it's the best Riviera base for travelers depending on public transportation, but I'm not sure it's advisable to drive out of it multiple times for day-trips. Traffic isn't always really heavy, but it can be; my teacher told me that it's unpredictable.

I like cute small towns (a lot), but when they're intensely touristy, it sets my teeth on edge. Thus I was glad to escape St. Paul-de-Vence after 60 to 90 minutes. That's not counting time at the Fondation Maeght, which I loved. I preferred Vence, which seemed more like a real town. But I know I don't have a lot of company on that. Certainly there's more window shopping to be dome per 100 feet in St. Paul.

I will say...the reason I liked St Paul was because I love taking photos of old doors and this place was chock full of them...my poor husband having to stand there while I take door photos :)

It's very pretty, for sure. All credit to you for having the patience to get your photos without a lot of tourists in view.

@acraven...we were there somewhere around the 2nd week of October, so not so many people around then...we did go to Vence, but that is where we put the big scratch on the rental car, so our mood was very somber and, needless to say, we didn't really look around...and to the OP...that is where we learned we should avoid indoor parking garages...unless you have a little compact car. When we rent from now on, we will look for outdoor parking lots if possible. Luckily, Amex covered the damage.