I am not going to make a detailed trip report, because most of the
essential points have been covered by others, but just want to point
out a few tips and observations.
1. Through a mixup with Europcar at Avignon TGV station (we hadarrived earlier than we had told them), we ended up with a car with a navigation device -a real blessing and well worth the extra 10 euros day (I think it was). Even though we had a good Michelin map and our phones, there were many places where we could not receive service, and with the map, it was confusing on the very small roads between towns. Husband was driver and I was navigator and we took a few wrong turns, mostly at times when I disagreed with the nav device from looking at the map 😝. So long as we heeded the advice of the "Goddess of the Dashboard," all was well. I can't recommend this enough.
2. To state the obvious, and as has been said many times: BEST NOT TO GO TO PROVENCE IN JULY/AUGUST. There was an opportunity for us go so we took it, and I am not sorry, but I certainLy would not do it again.
Just sayin. Although it was hot, it was the crowds that were most stressful. Of course as it turns out, this year it was even hotter in
June at times, so who knows what the future will be? AC in car and hotel helped immensely.
3. Interesting to me that by far the majority of tourists were French. I enjoyed that, as my French is serviceable enough that we could have some conversations with them. I really appreciated both their tolerance of my stumbling speech and their eagerness to help me learn and we had good, friendly exchanges about many things, including the economics and politics of both countries.
4. We loved St Remy as a base. We stayed at the hotel du soleil and liked it very much. Lovely pool and hosts with good advice. The pool in the late afternoon with a glass of rose and un plat de fromage avec pain made a nice entree into the evening. That said, I might prefer a gite, or air BNB next time, in order to have a closer relationship with the hosts, as some on this forum have spoken of, and also to be able to make my own breakfast, or bring home a roast chicken for lunch or dinner, etc. But I couldn't find one for this trip with the all important AC and pool, so. Maybe next time.
5. Easy to get to all the places we wanted to go from St Remy. Nice day trip to the Luberon, beautiful. We did the loop that included Gordes, Bonnieux, the Senaquie abbey ( the lavender was still there but faded), Rouissillon - gorgeous but a mob scene so we didn't spend as long as would have liked. Got to Menerbes in the late afternoon and that was our favorite of them all. For some reason it was less crowded, maybe time of day. But also a beautiful town and easy place to just hang with a cup of tea. The surrounding area is gorgeous as well, I can see why Peter Mayles fell in love with it.
6. Spent a lovely day in Arles. Great Saturday market, ooh la la. Did not get to Avignon or Aix, but we didn't mind. Liked Arles but happier to stay in St Remy, for us. That said, you have to have a car if you stay in St Remy and want to do day trips.
7. Great shops and restaurants in St Remy, also nice galleries. Fave restaurants: L'Estaingol (we ate there twice, wonderful oysters) and L'Aile ou la Cuisse.
8. We stopped at Lourmarin on our way to visit friends in the Var. Another lovely town. Visited the cemetery where Albert Camus was buried and paid our respects. I loved the way people had planted pens in the ground around his grave. They respect writers in France.
9. If you ever want to venture farther east than most tourists do, there are many lovely lakes and forests in the Var, and a spectacular gorge. If you want to know more details, just ask me.
Thanks to all the previous posters who advised me along the way...All in all, we loved Provence, the people, the towns, the Van Gogh
remembrances and the countryside. If we go again, we will try for May or October. Enjoy!