South of France recommendations

Any of Aix, Arles or Avignon would be good bases. We did all by car, but others have suggested Avignon is best for day trips without a car. It might depend on your interests and what days of the week. For example others have said that Aix on Sunday/Monday when many things are closed is not a great choice. And you might consider renting a car, even for one day, to do some exploring. If you choose Aix we especially liked the guide we had there "Ted" a French/American. We booked him through AirBnB experiences. This is one we did: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/1707021 but we also did his market tour and his petanque lesson.

I will be in Provence March 1-30 with a week in Aix, Arles and two weeks in Avignon. The 2 in Avignon is due to the ability to travel outside the city to some fabulous towns. With only 4-5 days I would stay in either Aix or Arles for the 4-5 days and travel out from the one you choose as a homebase. Almost 99% of the time I go to a city/town on their market day. I have an duplicate guidebook for Provence if you would like me to send it to you? (I would need an answer ASAP as I leave for Paris on Monday for a month)

Did you want to be along the coast or further up into Provence? We have done two trips to stay with friends who live in Antibes and have very much enjoyed it. Beautiful, historic, low-key town and very easy train in either direction along the coast, as well as crossing the border into Italy for day trips.

We were in Aix for a month in 2021 and LOVED it!

Beautiful architecture, pedestrian streets, markets every day, lovely restaurants, a terrific art museum, several beautiful churches and old homes to tour. From Aix, it's an easy bus trip to L'Isle sur la Sourgue for a day (Sunday is their vast market) or an easy bus trip to Marseilles or Avignon. We took a tour to the Luberon for a day and visited the charming villages of Lourmarin, Bonnieux, Roussillon and Gordes.

Here is my Trip Report: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/a-month-in-amazing-aix-en-provence

2 and 2 nights does not leave much time in either place. I would much rather spend 4 nights in Aix, which is a lovely place to explore for a day or two and offers many day trip possibilities (Marseille, Cassis, Lourmarin, L'Isle sur la Sorgue, Avignon, La Ciotat...).

With a car, I personally prefer staying somewhere else than Aix. The ring road traffic and the distance into the downtown just adds extra transit time. Arles, St. Remy or directly in the Luberon valley can work very well, with day trips into the bigger cities.