Southern France Itinerary - Review and Suggestions

Are we to assume you'll have a car? Because some of those busy days won't be possible by public transport.

We didn't visit St Remy, but over two trips we have visited Les Baux, Nimes and Avignon. We spent a good 3 hrs at Les Baux last Oct. (If really interested and have a car, Glanum, on the way to Les Baux, is a nice little spot to explore for about 45 min - Roman ruins) Avignon was just OK. We did Nimes and Arles in one day. Kind of enjoyed Arles a little more - a little more compact, some interesting little streets, but they are pretty comparable. We spent maybe 3-4 hours each in Arles and Nimes (did them in a day). Enjoyed the arena in Arles more - maybe because we saw that one first and the audio guide for the one in Nimes was a bit...long-winded.

Not sure you'll be able to do all those things on 10/6. Not having been to St Remy (but hearing many nice things about it) if I had to cut something I'd leave out Avignon - left us a bit cold. If you get started early enough, you could prob do all 4. In Avignon, we visited the Pont d'Avignon and the Pope's Palace - for us, Pope's was a wash and a bit of a bore. Mostly empty and kinda expensive to get into for what was there. Disappointed.

Oh - when in the Nice area (most likely when heading for Isle), if you have time, we really enjoyed St Paul de Vence - lovely little town, lots of cool shops, interesting alleyways...

Except for Nice , we just took a similar trip at the end of August and the first week September. We started in Paris and took the high speed train to Avignon. Even though there is not a lot to see in Avignon, we used it as a base because of the greater number of hotel choices and it's central location as we drove to the other locales you mention. If your are going to Nimes , I would definitely throw in Le Pont Du Gard. Les Baux has fantastic views . If you are a fan of Van Gogh, both Arles and St. Remy have interesting places to visit. There is also a town called Vaison d'Romaine which we went to on Tuesday because they have a great market. All in all , Provence was a real treat. Have a great time!

It seems like you are trying to cram in too much on several days, notable 10/5 and 10/6. You need to take into account the time it takes to drive between different towns (for example Avignon to Nimes is nearly 1 hour in itself) .

I think both of your Provence days are too busy, so I support your plan to add another day there. I don't think you will regret it.

I would also say, Arles is better than Avignon or St. Remy. If you like the Roman antiquities, do not miss the Pont du Gard. The theater in Orange is pretty great too.

I do not know how to suggest dividing your time. You've got a day and a half or so of Luberon hills, which means two trips up and back from your base in Isle Sur la Sorge, while visiting some of the Rhone Valley sights on day 2.

In your place I would develop that idea as Plan A, but also create a plan B where you pare back the Luberon to a day and have 2 days in the valley. Spend a day in the hills and a day in the valley and only decide where to spend your third day.

The good news about a jam-packed trip is that it is very difficult to go very wrong. You definitely will not be sitting around in some city or town thinking, Oh, I was done here yesterday, what am I dong here today?

You might, at the end your your trip, say, I wish I had done this and not that, but those are commonplace regrets. You are not going to run out of stuff to do that is great.

I will have a car and honestly I prefer to drive. So where I can get away with public transport I don't mind doing so but to get from one location to the other, Id like to be in control of it.

Regarding my packed trip. I do plan to do away with Nimes. Since it seems to be farther out west. Avignon on the other hand, will probably be, if anything only half a day since we will be heading to Paris on 10/7. I would probably take an afternoon train. I don't plan to see a whole lot in Avignon but it seems like based on what I have read from others, it's ok.

So based on that, if I get rid of Nimes/Avignon, I can cut down on 10/6 day. I was even thinking on the way to Isle Sur Le Sorgue, I can stop along Gordes/Rousillon which would take away time on 10/5. Make it part of the drive.

Would this overall help the plan? Any other suggestions or other locations that I should substitute or do away with...

Thanks for everyone that responded

One approach would be to pencil in 'possibilities' for each day, but be prepared to have to rush through them, and have something drop off at the end of the day. Spend the morning in Avignon before heading to Paris later in the day. Nimes does seem a stretch however.
1/10. Arrive Nice. To Villefranche sur Mer.
2/10. Eze. Monte Carlo.
3/10. Antibes. Nice.
4/10. Drive via Aix en Provence to L'isle sur La Sorgue.
5/10. Gordes. Rousillon. Lourmarin.
6/10. St Remy. Les Baux. Arles.
7/10. Avignon. To Paris.

Sounds like a great trip. On 10/5 keep in mind that from Roussillon, in order to get over to Lourmarin you must get up and over the mountain range. The Pont Julien bridge is just south of Roussillon and is an easy stop as you cross over the D99. Lacoste and Menerbes are also pretty hill towns on the way back to Isle sur la Sorgue. Lourmarin is absolutely beautiful and a worthy destination; in July we linked that town with Les Baux and St. Remy/ Glanum because its on the same side of the mountains and we used St. Remy as our home base. I agree with the others that Avignon is a little cold and might be best left for that day you leave for Paris. We also preferred Arles over Nimes.
Bon Voyage !

How hard is it to get over the mountain range? Is it that troublesome? Just want to know what to expect? I know when we were in Ireland and had to cross mountain passes, it was an exciting, adventurous, but much more lengthy trip. There wasn't really any easy way to get around it, otherwise, we would have to add hours to getting from point a to point b.

I'm thinking this is similar?

Any suggestions in the order of what village or towns we should do, in what order?

Also, our trip from Nice to Sur Le Surgue, is it better to travel inland or travel around the coast and go up through Aix-En-Provence?

You may want to play around with the trip planner on ViaMichelin.com. It will give time and cost estimates for planned itineraries.

I am doing that already but i'm looking for more real life experiences and suggestions that people learned and would do something different otherwise?

For example, as one had suggested with regards to the mountain ranges, I wasn't expecting that and the person made a good point on keeping the towns on the same side of the mountain be visited first before going over the range. Little tid bits like that.

As I have stated, there are multiple ways to get to Provence, the coast or Inland. So which of the two is what I'm on the fence with...

Several years ago when we were traveling from Villefranche-sur-Mer to L'Isle-sur-Le Sorgue we went via the Gorge du Verdon and spent a couple of nights in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie where we enjoyed the natural beauty, the hiking, the faience pottery, the accommodations, the food. For a small town it has a lot to offer.

Do you recall how long the drive was? This is what we will be doing.

Do you recall how long the drive was? This is what we will be doing.

I know you want to see as much as you can but I suggest that at least on the days you're traveling through Provence, you slow down as you're driving through, smell the herbs in the air, and enjoy the incredible beauty of the villages. Check out which one is having a market on the days you'll be going through and stop and buy things for a sumptuous picnic. Rousillon is very different from the other villages in Provence with its ochre cliffs in all shades of purples, reds, and yellows, and it's also a beautiful town so you don't want to miss that one.
I agree that Avignon isn't as interesting as Arles.
I just returned from Paris and I had a grand schedule of things to show my daughter. The troops rebelled and all of us had a much better time once I relaxed and we just enjoyed ourselves. And remember, you'll return!

Sorry, just saw that you're already there! Hope you're having a stupendous time!!

So yes I'm currently in Isle sur la sorgue. Drove from Nice and you're right as much as I wanted to drive on through. We had to stop and see what interested us. It wasn't easy to keep on going. We did go to Gordes for a market and from there Roussillon and then drove to Senaqueque where the infamous church with the lavender fields that you see in the pictures. Honestly we were looking for other things to do. Not that we were going fast but we did enjoy and explore the places we went.

Tomorrow is Arles and Les Baux...with possibility of St Remy. I can tell you that driving was such a pleasure. We ate loving it.