We are going to Provence in May. We've never been there, but we are very excited! We want to stay in Gordes, and we will be there about 5 days.
We plan to tour the Luberon area, also Arles and Avignon and perhaps the wine area. My husband thinks we should go to the coast, but I'm worried we are trying to pack too much into a short stay.
Any ideas?
Thanks so much!!
Susan
Our last trip we spent four nights and still missed so much. I'd love to go back for a week.
We stayed in Salon but it was just a base. We spent a day doing Nimes and Arles, a day in Aix (that was when they had the torrential rain last Oct so half of that day was literally a wash). Les Baux was really neat and Rousillon was gorgeous. You will have no problem filling 4 nights/5 days. Pont du Gard is cool as well. We did Avignon in 2012, but you could spend a day there (and the pope's Palace is nice, but inside is pretty empty and we should have saved the euro we spent).
There were so many other spots I wanted to see - St Remy, wish we could have explored Salon and all these other charming little places...
Not sure if you know of or use l'Occitane products (skin creams, etc) but one of our days I booked a tour at their factory in Manosque, so that was neat as well...but you do have to book those in advance...it was about 90 min or so. And we got free lip balm! :)
Where exactly do you mean by the "coast"?
Gordes/Luberon may be a little remote for the entire 5 days, and you would need a car the entire time.
Arles, Avignon, Nimes (for Pont du Gard) offer good transport links, so you may consider splitting your time and only taking a car for 2 days. Les Baux, St Remy, Rousillon are worth seeking out.
http://www.planetware.com/france/provence-region-f-az-fwd.htm
http://www.planetware.com/france/mountains-of-vaucluse-f-az-vau.htm
We were in Provence on a bike tour (my husband rode, but I did not). We were in the Gordes area 3 nights and near Mt. Ventoux for 3 nights. I think the value of Provence is found in taking time to experience the markets, enjoy a leisurely lunch and stroll around a town. There are many small towns and they each seem to have their own personality. I would prefer experiencing that part of Provence to driving to the coast, but it all depends on your preferred style of travel.
You could do a day trip to Cassis. We stayed in Lourmarin and easily did a day trip to Aix en Provence and Cassis. I think if it is a priority, you could easily fit it into your five days. We loved Cassis.
