I will be on the Riviera and in Provence during the height of the lavender fields. It seems a shame not to see them, but I think I have some logistical issues I am hoping you lovely people (I mean it, this forum has been so helpful) can help with. I don't plan to have a car. In the Riviera, I am mostly unscheduled, though do have a list of places I would like to see. My impression is that the fields are a bit far from the Riviera.
-- I have about five days in the Riviera. I see that there is a train to Grasse that is over an hour each way from Nice. Will this kill an entire day? Would I be able to get to the fields without a car from the train station? Is there anything else to do in the vicinity? I want to see the fields, but not really at the expense of killing the whole day. It looks like Grasse is not too far from Cannes, which was on our list. Would it make sense to go from Nice to Grasse, and then Grasse to Cannes? I imagine we wouldn't spend a lot of time at the fields.
-- In Provence, I have only two days, and they are tightly scheduled. We are staying in Avignon, but not spending time there other than at night.
--------- One day, we are going with a tour guide to Nimes, the Pont du Gard, and Uzes. That day is pretty tightly scheduled. Is there any chance there is a field on the way to one of those places?
--------- The next day, we are on our own in Arles, and have to leave in the late afternoon to catch our train to Paris. I really want to see Arles and have gone to a lot of trouble to avoid driving on this trip, but I suppose I could do a one day rental (assuming there are still cars to be had) if need be. The Avignon festival will be happening at this time, and will be a madhouse, and I don't want to drive inside of the city, so I could also take a train to get out of the area and rent a car elsewhere. We already have round trip train tickets Avignon to Arles and back, but those are cheap and if I need to not use them, I will, but we do want to see Arles.
Open to all suggestions!