We plan on using either Avignon, St. Remy or Arles as a base to explore Provence. We are pretty flexible with time and will ultimately work our way up the coast to Nice. Just wondering what people might think is a appropriate amount of time to spend exploring this area. I have seen everything from 3 to 7 days. We are thinking maybe 4. Is that reasonable?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
You can see quite a bit in 4 days, each day day-tripping in a different direction. I would give Arles a full day, whether it's your home base or a day trip. I'd guess that people staying 7 days will use one day for relaxing by the pool, or similar "vacation from your vacation."
Posted by
California 🦋
5294 posts
Clark,
The answer to your question may depend on this question: Do you plan to have a car?
We spent 8 nights in Provence, we didn't have a car, so it took longer to get to places on our list, but even if we'd have had a car, I could have stayed in Provence for a month (or longer), and still not see all the beautiful villages, towns & cities in this amazing region.
Bon Voyage!
Posted by
Truro, NS, Canada
3941 posts
Four nights with a car would be fine.
We've spent 2 nights near Avignon one trip (without a car) and 4 nights in Salon-en-Provence (with a car) on another - it really helped having a car as we didn't have to wait for buses or trains and were able to get to more out of the way spots. And we STILL didn't get to see everything - I'd love to go for a whole week so I could really take my time and see all the little nooks and crannies, but to hit the highlights...3-4 nights...
Posted by
Folsom
2734 posts
A car will simplify your trip. But, once you decide which town will be your base, get a place with parking, or you'll spend hours finding a spot, if you can find one at all. I would base your selection of a base based on what other towns you want to see. You don't want to spend half a day each day driving. We stayed a week in a small town, Lourmarin. We explored a new little town or two each day, visited markets, lounged in cafe's, dined well. I'd like to return and spend a month so if all you have is a week you will enjoy Provence. IMHO, 4 days is just scaratching the surface.