Provence Base Challenge: Where?

I think you'll find a lot of folks with good info here. I will be in the Loire valley and heading to Provence this March and understand how you feel. Paris to Avignon is very easy by TGV train - zoom! 5 min hop from Avignon TGV to Avignon Centre train station. I find Avignon a good hub for using trains. I enjoyed L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue even on a rainy day. Others have mentioned finding day tours at the tourism office in Avignon as a way to see nearby towns with a handful of others. I think I'll do that this time. I will not rent a car. I'm adding some time in Aix, as well. Keep researching and then maybe just cut loose a little and see what you're drawn to? Enjoy!

I went to Provence during lavender time and used Roussillon as my base. I started with 3 days in Nice, then trained to Avignon for 1 night, picked up the car and then went to Roussillon. I loved where I stayed but it has changed owners and name. I'll see if I can find the new name and put it in my reply. I had a room with a small terrace that overlooked the valley.

EDIT: La Maison des Ocres. Looks like it now has a pool that it didn't have when I stayed there. Good reviews on booking.com and quite reasonably priced.

We decided on St-Remy-de-Provence. It's pretty centrally located. I watched several of the walking style videos and it looked like it had lovely shops and ambience. Our other choice was L'Isle sur la Sorgue, which I'm sure would have also been great.

We flew into Nice and spent 3 nights on the coast in Villefrenche-sur-mer without a car, used the train and uber for day trip along the coast. We took the train and picked up a car in Aix. We drove through several villages in the Luberon Valley in our way to our lodging, Le Ferme de la Huppe, just outside of Gordes. We spent 3 nights there exploring villages/towns in the Luberon Valley. We passed lavender fields everywhere- they were not hard to find. We even did a day trip to Arles and stopped at a huge sunflower field. Any of the towns in the Luberon Valley would work, and you’ll pass by lavender fields as you explore other towns in the area. There are maps maps in google with actual locations, but we passed so many in our own, I never bothered with the map. The car rental in Aix is at the train station, so an easy location to return your car before you head to catch your flight home.