Solo travel practicalities--Provence and French Riviera

There are so many great little villages in Provence, but I wouldn't count Ile-Sur-la-Sorgue as one of them. We were only there on Sunday for the market and Mass, but it was pretty crazy. Seemed a lot bigger than most Provence towns to me.....We're not beach people, so I'll leave that to someone else. As for the getting lost thing, don't worry about it. We were there off season, and I am the queen of getting lost, and didn't have a problem. Lots of signs, and your GPS will be enough. We had a map we never needed to use. And in July, you'll be one of thousands on the back roads. Just follow someone if you think you're lost! Don't worry, just go--it's totally worth it.

I found navigation easy enough without built-in GPS. I was using a paper Michelin map specific to Provence, as well as Rick's book specific to the region, and Google Maps (for planning and a few spot checks, but not for turn-by turn directions). Roads in the Luberon area are pretty open and rural, versus the closer you get to Avignon/Arles/Nimes the more suburban traffic and round-abouts you encounter (some of which can be avoided by choosing toll roads).

On a beach day, leave as much as possible at your hotel, such as passport, and also car key, unless you drove to the beach. I also try to estimate and carry minimal cash for that excursion (e.g. for ice cream, lunch, or chair rental). Of course, the closer your hotel to the beach, the easier that is. If you're locking something in the trunk of a car, do so before arrival to your parking spot/

I'd agree that L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue isn't tiny, but I think the huge market makes it feel larger than it actually is. The population was just under 20,000 as of 2015. The town is quite attractive, but it's hard to appreciate that when there are market stalls everywhere. I ended up day-tripping there twice, once for the Sunday market and once on a non-market day. The truly tiny places are mostly those that don't have any bus service, which means I have to skip them.

We spent a week in L'Isle Sur la Sorgue and enjoyed it (taking some day trips by bus), but so many people I respect have recommended Vaison la Romaine, I would go there next time, especially for a one-night stay.

Where on the Riviera? A good bit of it is accessible by cheap trains and buses. A car there would be a nightmare for driving and parking.

Good catch, Chani. The car could be used for Riviera hill-towns then dumped as the trip turns to the coast. The local trains stop all along the coast except at St.-Tropez. A car would be a serious encumbrance there and painfully costly to park.

Thanks for your help!

I’ll be doing the Riviera car-free. I’ll take either bus or train from wherever I end up in Provence. Once in the Riviera, I think I’ll stay in Villefranche-sur-Mer and use public transportation to visit the other locales.

I have a total of 9 nights, and am thinking of spending 5 in Provence and 4 in the Riviera. Does that sound reasonable? Thinking I’ll fly into MRS and out of Nice.

Where do you plan to base for Provence. I've based in St Remy and found it wonderful. Nice size town to come back to at night, close to a lot of other places in the region. In addition to GPS I would get a detailed michelin map and study it before heading out each day. Both Gps and the signs will direct you to the 'shortest' way between two points which may not be the 'best'. Sometimes we found ourselves on tiny back roads that took far more time than had we stuck to a larger road. We found a hotel/guest house in St Remy that was about 10 minutes walk from the center of town but was right next to a round-a-bout on the road that kind of circles St Remy so it was easier to drive in and out of town each day.

On your way down to the coast you could consider Aix as a one-night stay. Again, I found a hotel (used booking.com map feature) that was between the highway exit and the center of town so while I could still walk to town easily, it was also easy to drive to. My most recent trip to the area I was with my daughter who was my navigator for the Provence portion, but she had to return to work so I went solo after that and kept the car for three days. It is more challenging without a navigator but doable.

Consider keeping the car for at least a day or two and visit Vence and some of the towns in the hills behind Nice. I wouldn't drive right on the coast except to get there and drop off the car. The beach towns are very crowded in July. If you want a beach day another option would be to stop in Cassis on the way. It's much closer to Marseille than to Nice but it has a pretty nice beach and it seemed less crowded than the area around Nice. I was in all these places but on different trips so can't really compare crowds as it was different years (Cassis vs the area around Nice). You are right though about the problem of your stuff if you go swimming. I have only gone swimming when I have been staying in a hotel right near the beach and left my stuff in the hotel except for the room key. (Have not done that in France, it works on small Greek islands, not sure it would work on the French Riviera in July).

Here's one of my trip reports which included Provence and Vence and a bit about driving solo.
https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/photo-safari-to-the-south-of-france-the-italian-rivera-and-the-swiss-alps-990300/
Photos are now at:https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/f667172952

A 5/4 split sounds reasonable to me. The truth is that it would be no problem to spend all nine nights--or more--in one of those areas, especially if you're interested in art.

I’m really waffling on where to stay in Provence. I really want to see the lavender fields (that’s why I’m going in July) and I really want to go to Cassis/the Calanques, so I need to be conveniently located at some point to see those two things. I’m currently considering: going directly to Avignon after landing in Marseille and seeing Avignon and Arles/area over a couple of days, then picking up my car either in Avignon or Orange and heading to Roussillon via Vaison la Romaine and Sault. Two nights in Roussillon or nearby, and one night in Aix-en-Provence, where I can dip down to Cassis either the day I head for the Riviera or the day before. I can’t figure out whether I should do that in reverse and end up going to Nice/Villefranche Sur Mer from Avignon, visiting Cassis first. Thoughts on where I should plant myself??

It is peak season for the Luberon and lavender fields. You should keep in mind the blooms move to higher in elevations as the season progresses (peak viewing). You didn't mention budget, but there are a number of famous and less famous towns. . But, they are really not that far apart and five days can easily get burned up. You can settle on fewer bases and simply drive to your next destination, so you don't end up with a bunch of time in transit, with luggage in a car.

The advice to ditch the car is a good one. In fact, in some peak periods in the summer I've been told they close off the center of Villefranche to car traffic and the Corniche is much more crowded. Just keep in mind the train station is to the east of town, and closer to the water.(but a bit elevated).. In the summer certain buses can get very full and the train becomes a better option.

We stayed in Manosque at an airbnb - nice leaping off point for the lavender trail (also, l'Occitane factory is there, if you like the brand and want to do a tour). I just want to recommend a stop in Moustiers Sainte Marie - lovely little village. From Manosque we visited Greoux, Forcalquier (huge market there - and I mean huge!), Sault and a few other places.

I was sorry not to get to the Gorge du Verdon near Moustiers-Ste-Marie. The latter town is know for ceramics and has a ceramics museum.

I've done both by myself (in September). A GPS on your smart phone will work - even if you don't buy a SIM card. Use a GPS app where you download France maps before your trip. I use CoPilot and like it but it's far from the only choice. From experience I've learned the app gets behind when you are in an area with poor reception - BUT ONLY if you have your data turned on. Turn your data off and it works fine navigating from satellite and the pre-installed maps. I can't stand using live Google maps (without preloaded apps)

French Riviera is impossible driving so do all your driving before then, turn in your car when you arrive, and use the local train that follows the coast.

For swimming, there are small waterproof bags for cell phones and other small items. You can either get something sturdy like that or just put things in a ziplock bag (two bags, one inside the other, is better).

For Isle Sur la Sorgue, check out reviews about bugs. I didn't visit but recall looking at it and seeing something about lots of flying insects. I imagine July would be a big month for bugs.

I stayed in an Airbnb on Place du Forum in Arles and loved it. Parking was easy along the river, a few blocks from my apartment. Only problem was market day, my GPS kept taking me back to the big ring road. It's closed when they have the market.

I apologize for hijacking this thread but hopefully my question will help the OP as well. We will be in Provence and the French Riviera in late April/early May. We have 5 nights in Provence and 5 nights in Nice. We will return our car in Nice and rely on public transportation. We plan on visiting St. Jean Cap Ferrat and the villas (Ephrussi de Rothschild and Grecque Kerylos), Menton and perhaps Villefranche Sur Mer. Are we better off taking the train or buses? Does the train go to all the places I mention? I keep hearing the buses can fill up quickly, so I wonder if the train is a better option.

To the OP, we have been to Isle Sur la Sorgue twice, once in May and the second time was during warm weather, but I don't remember what month. We never had a problem with bugs. We visited the Sunday market and the Thursday market. I recommend the Thursday market. It is smaller, less crowded, and easier to find parking. On Sunday we drove around in circles looking for a parking spot. Very frustrating. And because the market is smaller on Thursday, you get a better idea of what the village looks like. I think it is very pretty with the river and wagon wheels and attractive shops.

Regarding where to stay in Provence, we have visited St. Remy several times for day trips and we love it there. We will be spending 5 nights in April in St. Remy. Another nice village to visit is Eygalieres. It is not crowded at all; we never heard any English spoken there. It's primarily French visitors. They have a wonderful Friday morning market. It's near St. Remy.

For lavender, we really like Sault and the immediate area. We were there this past July during lavender season, and surprisingly Sault was not crowded at all.

@kmkwoo: The bus is easiest to Villa Ephrussi. Bus 15 (the number has changed from what is posted in older responses and in the books) from Nice stops at the base of the driveway -- Passable is the stop name. You can then take the same bus to Kerylos (return direction you will actually pass by it on the way there) From there you can take the bus back or hop the train. Menton is better with the train (some like the route of the lower bus, but don't do it on the return!).. Villefrance-sur-Mer I take the train.. It can be combined with another journey as it is quite small.

Gooster, thank you! This is very helpful. What place would you combine with Villefranche Sur Mer? Perhaps Eze?

@kmkwoo -- you are welcome. I believe you are still allowed to get off the train in a certain direction as long as you are on a regional train ticket and go in the same direction. Thus, you can stop in Villefrance-sur-mer on the way to/from Menton or Monaco. Eze is possible from Villefranche-sur-mer by catching the 82 bus -- it's on the middle road (Moyenne Corniche) so you have to walk uphill to catch it on that road. That bus originates in Nice. It's a bit more difficult due to the climbing as the main village is close to the sea/port.