Itinerary Feedback - Provence

I don't think the Gorge is doable via public transportation, at least not without spending a night somewhere like Moustiers.

Are you planning a one-night stay in Cassis? It appears that you intend to travel from Cassis to your Riviera base and see both Monaco and Nice on that day, which I think is really pushing it. In fact, the itinerary as a whole feels very rushed to me.

Where would you be leaving from on Day 12? Ideally, you'd fly into Paris and out of Marseille or Nice to avoid backtracking - even if you need to change planes.

But the main issue with your itinerary is that it's too busy, on three main counts.
1. To me it's Provence OR Alsace. Travelling between the two basically takes a full day, and you can't visit them in two days each. They look/feel different; if you want to visit a region that feels French I would prioritize Provence.
2. Loire Day trip is exhausting. If you're after a château, what about Versailles, or Fontainebleau & Vaux le Vicomte ?
3. One full day in Paris is really short, I would allow at least, very least 2, ideally 3. That basically means allocating the Alsace days to Paris.

Now regarding Provence:
- Without a car Avignon is best, followed by Arles, and Nîmes. Arles has a bit more charm than Avignon in most people's opinion, but Avignon is already pretty good.
- Skip Cassis, head straight to Nice. There isn't much to do in Cassis except admire the admittedly beautiful landscape.
- can't do the Verdon Gorge without a car sadly.

Technically feasible. Not what I would recommend. My advice is to slow down, see more, have a better trip.

Aside from the Gorge it seems feasible but I second the vote that you are trying to do too much in too short of a time.
Keep in mind there is travel time, finding of hotels and the need for food and rest. And to really experience France food should be given more time than you're used to and rural, quaint areas take some time to appreciate.

If you take the advice to drop Cassis and the Gorge you pick up two days. Paris really deserves another day make take two days in Nice and add Antibes or some other Riviera location I think you're closer to realistic. Keep in mind it will take you 6 hours to get from Colmar to Avignon so day 6 is going to be almost entirely swallowed by travel.

Using your itinerary as a starting point:
DAY 1: Paris: Arrive, rest (depending on time of arrival you might wander Luxembourg Gardens or something low key)
DAY 2: Paris: Full day
DAY 3: Paris: Full day
DAY 4: Paris: Day trip to Loire Valley - castle/wine tour
DAY 5: (2.5 hours train) Alsace - travel/stay in Colmar
DAY 6: Alsace- visit Kaysersberg or Eguisheim
DAY 7: [6 hour train trip] Provence - Avignon see city in the afternoon/evening
DAY 8: Provence - Arles (20 minutes back to Avignon on the train), maybe another town or site?
DAY 9: Provence: St Remy, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Nimes - Market/Cooking Class?
DAY 10: [3+ hour train trip] Nice
DAY 11: Nice/Antibes/St Paul Vence/Villefranche-sur-Mer to your taste
(You could leave Provence in the evening of Day 9 and get a full day in Nice on 10 as well.)

Market days in Provence vary in each city by day. Figure out where the best ones are on day 8 and 9 and plan accordingly. St Remy, Arles have good markets and the one on L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is famous. Markets usually run from early morning and start to wrap up after noon so it is a half-day activity.

If you provide a better idea of what your mine interests are - food, wine, ruins, museums, art - more concrete suggestions will probably be forthcoming. Bigger cities or tiny towns? French Riviera has Picasso and many other modern artists while Arles and St Remy are popular with van Gogh fans.

Sounds like you're on the right track, hope that helps,
=Tod

Thank you all so much for your feedback. I should have clarified, we've been to Paris before (although it's been a long time).
Following your advice, I was able to book an extra day to our trip, giving us 3 1/2 days in Provence and 3 days in the French Riviera. I swapped out Alsace for Annecy.
Here's a little more info if that helps provide context for itinerary suggestions.
Ideally in each of those locations we'd like to be in one central location, that has access to either public transportation/car service/tours, and take day trips to avoid hotel hopping. Traveling with my 70 yr old mom. We definitely want to get to know the culture, food, wine region, beautiful sights, markets, and love live music if there are opportunities.
Not a huge fan of history or museums - unless it's really worth it -- there is a Van Gogh exhibit: Carrières de Lumières) that interest me.
Q. Where to stay in Provence? French Riviera?

The one thing I really want to do is go to the market an take a cooking class and do a wine tour. I read some good reviews from cooking classes and tours based in Aix in Provence but it sounds like Arles or Avignon are better base locations?

Thank YOU SO much!

If you have even the slightest interest the Van Gogh exhibit at Carrieres de Lumieres, go! I loved it, one of the highlights of our time in Provence. If you have a car or book a tour, the nearby castle and village of Les Baux de Provence is worth a visit. Incredible scenery and ruins. I could have spent hours between these two locations. Note that the village and castle are a bit of a hike to explore so it would probably be best if your mother is still spry.

We stayed in Marseille, so no help there, but would we go back, we would base in Arles. Especially if you have a Van Gogh interest. There is a self-guided tour (more like a scavenger hunt) of places where he would have painted/visited, along with markers featuring his paintings. It was really cool!

Thanks for the recommendations! Can you clarify where the Van Gogh exhibit at Carrieres de Lumieres is-? Is it in Arles or outside? Can we get there without a car? The idea of renting a car in a foreign country scares me - but wondering if it's necessary to see various sights.

It's in Les Baux, near St-Remy de Provence. Check on whether you need tickets in advance--we were there during a holiday and tickets were sold out.

Edited to add that I think it would be hard to get there without a car. If you are experienced drivers, driving in Provence is not difficult, although there are many other places I would not drive in Europe. We are in our late 60s and my husband had no trouble with driving there a few months ago. Just be sure you have the insurance coverage you need.

I would agree with most of the above comments. You're planning way too much over a short time period. If you want to get a flavor of "France" I think Paris, Loire Valley (you really need to spend a full day there, so many beautiful Chateaus, Da Vinci's house, wines...) and Provence (either Avignon and Arles or both). A beautiful Popes Palace in Avignon, and a Roman colosseum in Arles. Not to mention the nearby Chateauneuf du Pape wines (there is not much to see of the building as the Germans blew it up. I would not go to Alsace, at least on this trip. We were there two years ago and it felt more like Germany than France. Good white wines there though.
In Paris a long day would be a combined Versaille and Giverny one day trip (Giverny is Monets house, well worth seeing). Then you need to see Paris, Eifel tower, Champs-Élysées with arc de triomphe, and a boat ride on the Seine river.

Hope this helps

I spent 8 nights in Provence this past April. We hired a fabulous guide for 3 of our days (Emily from Your Private Provence). She was perfect... affordable, flexible and so knowledgable. We were able to pack so much into our days with her. I highly recommend reaching out to her.
We arrived in Marseille (Airport Transfer with Emily)
Airbnb for 4 nights in St. Remy
(Hike, tour and transfer with Emily - Avignon, Gigondas & hike in the Dentelles de Montmirai)
3 nights in Gordes
(Tour and transfer with Emily - Roussillon village and ochre trail, Lourmarin & Aix)
1 night near the airport for a 6 AM flight home

Hire a guide if you want to pack a lot into a short visit. You will enjoy yourself so much more.

The van Gogh exhibit is on display both in Paris in an old foundry and in Les Baux in a huge old limestone quarry. I was lucky enough to see both and it is great in both places and it is pretty special in Les Baux, but I mention it because Les Baux is hard (or impossible) to reach using public transportation outside of July and August.

I saw it between the asylum in St Remy where van Gogh was committed and Arles where he did a bunch of painting so there was something special about it. But Les Baux is essentially a tourist attraction with a giant ruined castle and the Lumieres exhibit. I enjoyed Les Baux but you might be safer seeing it in Paris if you're depending on public transportation to ge to Les Baux rather than miss out.

https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Seconding the suggestion to see the Van Gogh exhibit in Paris if your mother has mobility issues. However, we saw the Lumieres in Les Baux when I was 70+ ... but we had a car in St Remy.

Hi from Wisconsin,
In Provence be prepared for tourists. And cars.
wayne iNWI

We were in Provence this past May for 3 days. You will need a car or car service to get to most of the small villages. Driving to a destination can take longer than you'd think (and longer than the locals will say). It's best to get started early in the day and pick one (1) destination, get there, and plan to spend at least a few hours. You can enjoy the drive and scenery on the way. If you plan on going from one village to the next, you may end up feeling you've spent all day in the car. You may have better luck if you hire a car service with a driver who knows how to get around. Based on your description, Roussillon may be a good fit. It's reachable from Avignon within an hour by car. It has several cafes and restaurants and a good variety of shops (clothing, pottery, art, millinery). Parking is pretty easy in one of the lots a short walk from the center of town. It also offers some great territorial views. We were not impressed with Gordes even though it is close by and often written up in the travel guides. Small shopping area with limited options for food or drink. We were there on a Tuesday - market day - and the market seemed very small. Avignon is worth seeing and might be a good location for your hotel "base." The Centre Ville inside the ancient wall is quite large - many blocks for walking and a wide choice of shops, restaurants, cafes, and hotels. It's also accessible via the TGV. You could spend the whole day here, or the evening after your day-trip into the countryside, and your time would be well-spent. If you want to venture toward wine country, Vaison-La-Romaine is in the Rhone wine region about a 1 hour drive north from Avignon and has a pretty vibrant main town square with several shops and eating spots. It also has the remains of an ancient Roman settlement, worth seeing even if you're not that into museums. But, go there in the day-time; it shuts down at night.