Bonjour! My husband and I (late 50s/Coloradoans) will be spending 2 weeks in Provence at the end of Aug/first week of Sept, with a home base at an Airbnb in St-Remy just minutes from town center. We spent 5 nights in St Remy this past January - totally off season- and LOVED it (even though a lot was closed, including the Van Gogh hospital). During that time, we visited in addition to St-Remy, Arles, Isle sur la Sorgue, Gordes, Rousillion, Les Baux. We also spent two nights in St-Jean Cap Ferrat (with a trip to a perfumerie in Grasse) and loved the Cote-d"Azur as well. We would like to explore more of Provence, including Aix, as well as re-visit Rousillion and Gordes, and some other villages and will have a car the entire time. We would like to include some active days - hikes and/or cycling - as well as wine tasting, museums (I understand there is a big Cezanne exhibit in Aix we would like to do), as well as some chill days in St Remy to experience what it would be like to live there part-time during retirement. Recommendations for 1) any must-do events during those two weeks, 3) recommended villages, and 2) great can't miss restaurants, and input whether a day trip back down to the Cote d'Azur would be worth it and whether a day trip to the Verdon Gorge is too far for one day (I think the answer is yes?). Merci!!
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Long Beach, Ca, usa
2241 posts
If you wished to head to the coast, Bandol is a lovely town with a small sand beach, a wonderful ambience, wineries nearby for excellent rose, a typical market (food, housewares etc.) on Tuesdays. Sanary-sur-Mer nearby is another lovely town on the coast. They aren't the Riviera, but worth a couple of peaceful yet joyful days and not a long drive from Aix.