Two weeks in Provence/Riviera

We stayed in Avignon and bought day tours at the Tourist Information center to reach towns in the Luberon.

We also stayed in Nimes and took the bus to Pont do Gard.
I would rather fly into Paris and out of Nice.

If you want to see the area around the Luberon, Avignon, Arles, etc. the closest airport is Marseille. Since you're changing planes in Frankfurt anyway, you can fly to Marseille just as easily as Nice. If you do want to send time in Nice, you can fly "open jaw" into Marseille and out of Nice; if you were only going to Nice because of the airport, you can skip it and spend more time near Avignon.

We were there a year ago......flew into Paris, trained to Avignon and rented our car there......super easy and a nice small rental office there at the train station. Drove all around Provence and used Gordes (LOVE IT....small, quaint, charming and a beautiful garden room to come home to each night....Le Jas de Gordes ) as our first base. Drove to Lourmarin, Roussillon, Menerbes........and loved the Saturday market at Aix. We preferred staying in a smaller town as a base. We moved over to St. Remy as our second base and loved its location and Wednesday market. If you prefer staying in charming local luxury hotels you need to Google Le Chateau des Alpilles.......a beautiful old estate in St Remy that is being used now as a hotel. I happened upon it researching one day and we made a lunch reservation to eat in their gardens one day......what a treat. We also saw Les Baux de Provence and went to the Sunday market at Isle Sur la Sorgue.....it was as good as everyone had said it would be! Whenever we drive, which is usually a lot in France, we download the MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES IN FRANCE map and make it a point to travel through and see theses places.....they have that connotation for a reason.....outstanding charm and quaintness......never have been disappointed at any one of them....and fun to stop and enjoy a pastry in while traveling. They all look like picture postcards that you are walking through......love them. We then traveled back to Avignon, took the car back, caught the train to Paris, stayed 5 nights and flew home. To me Paris is the Atlanta of Europe......everything seems to fly through there and seems to be cheaper if you can pull it off.......and I do love Paris! Never get tired of seeing it!
Hope this helps!

I guess the question is... where do you want to go? The cities or the countryside. If it is the latter, a car gives you the best freedom of movement. Stay in or just outside one of the towns and then use your car to explore. Avignon and Arles can be day trips.

Open jaws can be much better. We often go a step further and do separate tickets. You can transit via Paris, but also consider London and Frankfort and even Amsterdam for good fares. One consideration -- the Nice to Germany one way flights tend to be bit more expensive as a leg than the Paris or London routes.

It's six hours back to Paris from Nice. Fly home from Nice.

I don't have a hotel recommendation, but you should pick your base according to the things you want to see. If that's the Luberon, stay there. If you are interested in the Rhone Valley sights, then stay in the valley. This will minimize your driving.

But I think you should drive. It will greatly extend your reach both in terms of the places you can go and how easily you can get there.

I wouldn't stay in Avignon without a specific reason to spend time there. But that's just me. Aix is not convenient to very much that most people want to see.

Thanks all for very helpful - and varied - advice. So much to see and so much to do! Any thoughts on priorities?

Priorities: Everyone has them, or should.

What are yours?