Homebase in Provence.

A town I would suggest Arles. A region I would say south of Avignon, the Alpilles are gorgeous

The Luberon is beautiful. Area outside of St-Remy too.

I went with Arles. Big enough to have some good sights, small enough not to be difficult to get in and out of for day trips.

I think you would have a hard time getting around with a car.

You have 2 full days on the ground and can see some great stuff without a car. Arles makes a good base for that. Some really great Roman antiquities in Arles.

But, you could see more with a car.

Don't miss the Pont du Gard, though you will have to make several connections to visit it. Wine bars in town might be your best bet without a car unless you find a tour (sorry, cannot help you there).

Have a great time!

Thanks

Arles it is. Will be arriving early from Lyon and can see a lot - probably all the roman sites and ricks walking tour that first day. With the other 2 days wil prob do Avignon / pont du gard and Châteauneuf du Pape.

I highly recommend Pont du Gard if you are interested in Roman ruins--and this is not even a ruin. There's a guided tour of the interior of the aqueduct you can take, but you should book it online in advance. It might be tricky to get there from Arles on publish transportation, so you might consider renting a car for the day. If you do, you might consider visiting Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the afternoon. I did this on a day trip with a rental and it was quite memorable.

Adding to the thread - I'm reading that Arles would make a good homebase. But how does that compare to Marseilles for three days without a car?

I liked Arles as a base and we had a car so we were able to see a lot in 7 nights.Pont du Gard is worth a visit and it fed water to Nimes which has great Roman ruins.
Mike