Provence area suggestions? Also driving?

Driving is easy other than the narrow windy roads out in the Luberon which is a lovely area to stay by the way. Be sure to learn the road signs in advance. I didn’t drive in the coastal area/Nice, however, but took the train which runs all along the coast and is, in my opinion, a lot easier than driving and finding parking, etc.

We found driving around Provence easy enough. And parking too. For a special birthday event you might consider e-bike in Luberon. I am not athletic at all or much of a biker but we had a great 1/2 day guided trip last summer from Bonnieux with Sun-E Bikes. https://www.sun-e-bike.com/en/ Or you might consider one of the activities with "Ted" https://tedaixtours.wpcomstaging.com/ With different people last summer we did his market tour, his "treasure hunt" and the palanque lessons. You could not ask for a more knowledgeable or friendly guide.

And if you have any hesitation about driving in France you might consider taking the train from Nice to Aix (you don't need a car in Aix), rent a car just for a day or two or three for seeing the Luberon and then a train from Aix to Avignon (you don't need a car in Avignon at all). We stayed a month near St Remy (between Aix and Avignon) and found it easy to do day trip even to Luberon from there. Google maps worked well, including for finding parking garages.

For driving tips for France you might find this video helpful (Diane has an extensive you tube channel with many episodes about all things in France which is very good). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn8ZncjrZ6Q

Enjoy the planning!

Drove in Provence and had no trouble……you need a car to get from town to town in this wonderful area……we trained from Paris to Avignon, got our car, based in Gordes and St. Remy de Provence……loved it. The markets there were wonderful and we were glad we were based in these areas. Gordes was THE BEST.

LaurieAnne,
What are palanque lessons? Do you mean petanque? I can't find the word palanque in any of my French dictionaries. I am curious.

Thank you.

No, a day trip is not enough for the Luberon. We use that area as our base.

I will be in Provence in a few weeks spending a week in Aix and Arles and 2 in Avignon. S, F, 70+ and traveling by train and bus. I have all my bus schedules since a lot of the towns are smaller while train travel is a little easier. Going to Uze, Nimes, Lourmarin, Manosque, Aubagne, Brignoles, St. Maxim, Pertsis, Ansouis, Saintes Maries, Tarascon, St. Remy, Salon de Provence, L'Isle sur la Sorge, Vaision de Romaine, Orange, Carpentras, Monteaux, Apt, sorgues, Cavillon, Gordes, Memerbes. I will revisit St. Remy as I found it better to take a tour to Pont du Gard and will go to St. Remy on a non-market day.

Yes "petanque". Ted taught us the game and the customs around it in a local park. He had the french music, the pernod, the whole nine yards. Great fun!

You can drive from Nice to the Aix area through Valensole and see the lavender on the way (as well as part of the Verdon gorge). No problem.
The Luberon takes more time to visit, and parts of Aix are difficult to handle with a car.
I would stay in Lourmarin or Ansouis over Aix. It will be quicker to get to Manosque for l'Occitane, and it will let you see more of the Luberon.

Then, I would skip Avignon (less interesting than Aix), and return the car in Aix to visit Aix for a few hours. To do so, I would keep the car, park it in an underground garage (e.g. Rotonde), then drive to the TGV station at the end of my visit to return the car and take the train to your next destination.