My wife and I will be traveling by car and spending 3 nights in Vaison-la-Romaine in late September. I would appreciate recommendations for restaurants and day trips out of Vaison-la-Romaine.
Posted by
northern CA
3111 posts
If the weather is good that place that Rick recommends on the other side of the river with the 'composed salads' has wonderful terrace dining.
If it was this one the menus might have changed for the worse though, can't give you latest news!
https://www.le-beffroi.com/fr/page/restaurant-la-fontaine-vaison-la-romaine.12151.html
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
11187 posts
We were looking for a light lunch last week and stumbled on Gilles Peyrerol, a master pâtissier with very good sandwiches and salads on the main shopping street not far from the Roman ruins. Patisseries were the real deal, not the defrosted mass produced ones found in most bakeries.
Edit: day trips in addition to the ones below, Avignon is 45 minutes, Baumes de Venise, Orange, Malaucène is a center for bicycling, Sault, and we found the town square of Nyons charming. Prices for lavender products at Bleu Provence in Nyons were very correct, much less than at markets.
Posted by
Toronto area, Canada
193 posts
My wife and I stayed in Vaison-la-Romaine for the entire month of May, and loved it!
Best restaurants in town: La Bartavelle (5 course dinner); Le Bistroquet (small bistro run by a couple); La Baguette (Asian); Le The a la Menthe (Moroccan); Brasserie Kameleon (bistro). Nearby in the countryside: La Fleur Bleue (farmhouse setting).
Short day-trips: visit medieval villages of Seguret and Crestet (lots of photo ops). Visit La Scourtinerie (fascinating, look it up) and also see an impressive medieval bridge in the town of Nyons. Longer day-trips: drive up to the summit of Mont Ventoux; drive to Chateauneuf de Pape (see castle ruins, do a wine tasting); drive to Aix-en-Provence, and visit the WW2 deportation site in nearby Les Milles; drive to visit Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Roussillon.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1553 posts
Definitely leave a day for Vaison itself and if you're there for market day leave at least half a day for that.
Orange is close and if you haven't seen the Roman Theater there it is worth a trip. I saw the theater coming from the train station and I think that walk does not do Orange justice because it did not make we want to visit the town itself again. But walking away from the theater I did glimpse what looked like a charming old town area with cafes.
There is the wine road drive as well as the agricultural field drive through the hills but you could also do this on the way to Roussillon. The drive itself is probably an hour and a half so you could easily swing wide and see some countryside and a town or two on your way there.
Have a great trip,
=Tod