South of France Home Base Itinerary Help Please!

If your main interest is in the Luberon and places east (Valensole etc.) then I would stay in the Luberon the whole time. Splitting 4/2 or 3/3 will waste part of the changeover day.

I found Gordes, Roussilon, and Lourmarin to be shallow tourist traps. I would never return to those places. And Curcumin was boring. Those places made famous in books and movies are no longer authentic locations, and not all that picturesque.

St Remy is more of a quaint little town with excellent access to Roman ruins and the outstanding lummierre show in Les Baux plus not too far from Arles, Avignon, the Roman aquaduct, etc. we stayed in a fabulous 200 year old mansion just outside St Remy.

For restaurants I would stick to Avignon, Nimes and Aix en Provence for some excellent restaurants.

Some other interesting places are L’isle Sorgues, Uzes, Bonnieux, maybe Orange and Arles.

If you are heading to Spain consider a stop in the coastal town of Sete south of Montpellier and north of Beziers. Narbonne is a small quaint place and only 45 min from Carcasonne.

I saw some lavender fields outside Oppede. Nice but not like the romantic photos. And they were not really set up for people to prance around - they are agricultural endeavors. Still remember seeing another tourist in their rental car stuck in an irrigation ditch at side of the road.

Thank you for your replys! I defeintely hate tourist traps and am looking for an authentic feel. Do others feel the same? While I appreciate those thoughts im not sure the other recommendations are quite our speed either. Not really looking to see the ruins, I've spent enough time in Italy and ruins there. I also was looking for more quaint and smaller cities.

You might look into the Alpilles area of Provence. We stayed a month in summer 2022. There is St Remy but also other lovely small towns. Even in August not overwhelmed by tourists. We were able to easily visit all over the area in day trips from Arles and Nimes to Avignon, Aix en Provence and the Luberon. We did have a car. But it is an easy drive to/from Marseille airport. Here is link to their tourist information website with more information. https://www.alpillesenprovence.com/en/

We stayed in St-Remy for 6 nights in early June 2019 and loved it. We explored the Luberon, as well as Arles, Avignon, Les Baux, the Cote du Rhone, Orange, Pont du Gard, etc. We then spent a night in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie on our way to Nice.

Gordes and Rousillon were packed, but it was a holiday (that I didn't know about) so many French families had long weekend breaks. We got to Rousillon early enough, but we could not find parking in Gordes--and we really tried. If you were staying there the evenings would be fine and you would have parking with your lodging. We escaped to the less crowded villages of Joucas and Goult--there were very few tourists in both of those villages. Check for holidays here: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/festivals. After the holiday things calmed down and we did not find Lourmarin to be crowded.

Rousillon is popular for a reason--it is spectacular. Perhaps if you go mid-week it won't be too crowded. Definitely plan to get there early. You might want to spend 4 nights in St. Remy or Gordes and 2 in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie if you are interested in spending time in the Gorge du Verdon and perhaps getting on or in the water. Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is very charming, and was not at all crowded in early June. Later in the month that might not be the case.

Sarah,
Just to reassure you about towns and villages in Provence/Luberon area, know that just because a place is popular with tourists, does not make it a tourist trap. Washington D.C. Yosemite Valley, Chicago, Paris...they are popular with people from all over the world, but they are in no way tourist traps. Many of the recommendations here are great ones, and for good reasons (e.g. Rousillon, Les Baux). I just want you to have a terrific visit without prejudging locations. You will be visiting a beautiful part of France. Enjoy it all!

It is rather a long time since I visited Provence and the Camargue in September, 15 years ago. My base was AIX. It was completely charming. We travelled up to Gordes on the advice of some fellow photographers. Once again - it was simply lovely. There is a crumbling and obviously well-loved church near the castle walls. The view out over the valley was astounding. On the way back to AIX we visited l'Abbaye de Senonques where monks grow lavender for sale. It is a silent order and you may visit if you obey the rules.
We travelled to Arles, the Camargue, Les Baux de Provence and Aigues-Mortes.
Nothing was touristy. I would go back in a minute. There are a few photos of Gordes &c here: https://mskatherinemann.myportfolio.com/france

I agree with Judy. Take a look at Goult, not on the usual tourist route. Four or more restaurants, Boulangerie, charcuterie, and a small market. The basics, centrally located in the Luberon.

Personally, we visited St. Remy a few years ago and were turned off by the crowds. That said, it seems to be on a lot of travelers favorites list.

Thank you all so much! That makes me feel much better! Its true places can be both crowded and beautiful. Im hoping if we are based correctly then maybe we can time it right. Appreciate everyone's thoughts! So the place I found was halfway bewteen Gordes and Loumardin. Hoping that is centrally located enough...