Help with Luberon itinerary

Posted by jnewmast on 06/01/23 05:35 AM

My partner and I will be in the South of France for almost 3 weeks in September. The itinerary for our first 3 nights in Nice and 4th night in Moustiers has already been refined with help from this wonderful travel forum and now I'm working on the next 8 nights in Gordes and St Remy. I have already booked our accommodation in these villages since it will be so busy (although I can change them) and now I'd appreciate feedback on my itinerary.

DAYS 5 TO 9 - 10th September to 14th September
• Late morning of 10th drive to Rouisson, walk the shorter Ochre Trail, wander through the Place de la Mairie, have lunch, walk to the top of the village to view the Luberon
• Drive to Gordes

STAY Gordes ** 4 nights
at Le Jas de Gordes
• Dinner each night in Gordes
• Spend afternoon and evening of 10th exploring Gordes, visit the Chateau, Les Caves du Palais, Eglise St Firmin
• Dinner 10th at La Trinquette??
• On morning of 11th drive to Bonnieux, visit Pont Julien, La Louve garden, Chateau La Canorgue for wine tasting
• Drive to Lourmarin for lunch, visit Chateau de Lourmarin and Silvacane Abbey (south of Lourmarin) in afternoon
• Dinner 11th at La Bastide de Pierre BOOKED
• On morning of 12th wander through Gordes market (operates Tuesday 8am-1pm), have lunch, in afternoon drive to Abbey Notre-Dame de Senanque
• Dinner 12th at Le Teston??
• Drive to Aix early on 13th, walk up the hill to Cezanne studio and tour his paintings and garden, try a rosé tasting and visit Caumont Centre d'Art for latest exhibition
• Dinner 13th at L'Outsider??

DAYS 9 TO 13 - 14th September to 18th September
• Early morning of 14th drive to St Remy

STAY St Remy ** 4 nights
at Maison de Line
• Dinner each night in St Remy
• Spend morning of 14th exploring St Remy, visit the fountain dedicated to the life of Nostridamus, walk 800m to Saint Paul Asylum COULD DO THIS AFTER LUNCH
• Drive to Le Chateau des Alpilles for lunch by the pool 12:30pm BOOKED
• Dinner 14th at L’Aile ou la Cuisse BOOKED
• Drive to Les Baux early morning of 15th, visit Carrieres des Lumieres and Le Chateau
• Drive to Arles for lunch and spend afternoon wandering around, visit the Amphitheatre, Roman theatre, Fondation Van Gogh, Thermes de Constantin and Cryproporticus
• Dinner 15th at La Cuisine des Anges??
• Early morning of 16th wander through St Remy market (operates Saturday 8am-1pm)
• Drive to Nimes for lunch on the Place du Marche, in afternoon visit the Amphitheatre, La Maison Carree, Le Musee des Beaux Arts, walk through Les Jardins de la Fontaine
• Drive to Pont du Gard on way back to St Remy
• Dinner 16th at Maison Marshall??

• Drive to Avignon early on 17th for most of day, tour Papal Palace, visit Le Pont d'Avignon, lunch on La Place de l' Horloge, visit Basilique St Pierre, Chateauneuf du Pape
• Dinner 17th at La Table d'Yvan BOOKED

NB RETURN CAR TO AVIGNON TGV, CATCH TRAIN TO LYON

Posted by balso

Paris

06/01/23 07:10 AM

6918 posts

Hi,
I would not worry about 10-15 September being too busy. It will be busy, but below summer peak.

I like your Luberon plan overall, but once on the ground, you might realize that the Luberon villages are small and that most of them can be visited in 1-2 hours, maybe 3-4 hours for Roussillon and Gordes.
Of course you might still want to take your time, but if you find yourself short of things to visit, I wrote a report of some visits to Luberon villages a year ago: here.

Some possible tweaks on the Luberon section come to mind:

I would not prioritize Bonnieux, where the through road is a nuisance. There are great views from Bonnieux but to me this is mostly a place where to have lunch or dinner. Instead, I would recommend the visit of nearby Lacoste (skipping the castle visit).
The drive to Aix passes by Lourmarin. Instead of visiting Lourmarin on the 12th, you could stop there for coffee on your way to Aix. This would imply skipping the castle - having never visited, I do not know if it is a big loss. What I do know is that you can skip Silvacane: pretty, but a very brief visit. Sénanque will be more practical.

On the Saint Rémy section,

You can see almost all of Arles theater from outside the gated area. So if you feel out of time, this is the one to skip.
Châteauneuf du Pape is not a particularly pretty village, and the wine is expensive. I would skip. If you feel done early with Avignon, cross the river to Villeneuve lès Avignon. Oh, and don't pay to visit the Pont d'Avignon: you can see it from the park on the hill right above it.