visiting Provence for the first time in mid May and hope to avoid large groups of tourists

Could you specify if you are going to the Riviera (Côte d’Azur) or Provence. They are considered different areas.

We don’t have an itinerary - we just want to visit Southern France. We live on the beach in the U.S. and we’re 70 y/o, so seeing the Riviera isn’t as important to us as it might be to some people. Monaco isn’t a priority either. The Cassis area looks interesting with the fjords. But we primarily want to see countryside, small villages, and pretty scenery without loads of tourists . I hope this helps. Thank you.

Provence will be crowded with tourists in May, Provence is also a fairly large geographic area.

Therefore you need to do more personal research into what exactly you are looking for, where to "hike", small towns, etc. You say 4 days in Paris, but how much time are you devoting to Provence? Not enough info for anyone to be of much help so far...

Thank you, I understand my question is broad and vague. I’m primarily trying to find out what to avoid due to crowds. I visited Bruges, Belgium last spring and it was shoulder to shoulder with bus loads of day tourists. That’s what I’m trying to avoid, Are there any towns in Provence that might be like that? I know Cannes will be crowded in May. Will all of the Riviera coast be crowded as well? Thank you .

If your Riviera dates coincide with the Cannes Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix, I'd not prioritize the area as hotel prices become ridiculous.

There's a lot to do in Provence alone, so you could just focus on that. By Provence, I mean the area west of of a line from Fréjus to the Gorges du Verdon, east of the Rhône river (but it is worthwhile to head as far west as Uzès, Nîmes, and Aigues-Mortes) and south of Valence. I spend up to a month each year in that part of the world (with a base in Sanary-sur-Mer) and I am never bored.

With a car, the Luberon is ideal, and it really fits what you're after. Throw in a couple of days in the Gorges du Verdon, near the Calanques, or possibly around Aix en Provence (Ste Victoire, Ste Baume) for hiking, and you're good to go!

Yes! That gives me some parameters , I needed a starting place. Thank you!

Our 2 favorite towns in the area are Saint-Remy en Provence and Uzes
We were just in both late May/early June and it was not crowded

Both have lots of charm, fantastic markets, beautiful architecture

Thank you!

Uzès Will be crowded on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, market days, every week of the year. Saturday market is huge, Wednesday is very big. Otherwise it is a unique, fascinating, preserved town.

If you have a car, St. Remy de Provence would be a nice base.

We will have a car, thank you! We will definitely plan on St Remy

Thank you for information re: Uzes, that’s definitely what I need to know, I will plan around that

OP 2summerz,
We can suggest a nice rental with a great location in Uzes: 'Maison Theodorit.'
The valley just below town (with the original water source for Roman Pont du Grad) is a hikers paradise, albeit not a particularly challenging one. The swans, the valley, the aforementioned markets and the overall vibe make Uzes an excellent choice for what you are apparently seeking. That town hits the sweet spot indeed!

Good luck.
I am done. the peaceful place

It was some years ago, but my visit was also in May. Les Baux was absolutely the busiest place I visited. Arles was busy on its market day, but even then visiting the amphitheater was easy and the Roman Museum was pretty empty. Avignon was pretty busy and is imo a bummer of a place in general anyway.

The star of my trip was Vaison-la-Romaine in the Dentelles de Montmirail. I was by myself in their extensive Roman ruins, and found the town easily enjoyable and quiet. My impression remains that the majority of tourists don’t get this far north. Even on this forum, the focus is mostly on the Luberon and south towards the coast.

I’d highly, highly recommend staying there during a market day (confirm you’re parked legally). A good market is kind of required reading in Provence, and I think theirs is less oppressive and more people friendly. It’s spread out through the streets of the new town, so it’s often shady and the crowd is generally dispersed. And if you’re staying in town you can just retreat or take a hike nearby until late afternoon. The towns surrounding the Dentelles are lovely and are world famous wine producers. The nearby Roman Theater at Orange is not to be missed.

Very helpful - ALL of these responses have been great. I have learned I enjoy the “smaller” sights with few people than the “must see” sights that are overcrowded. Of course there are exceptions, but I’m wanting Provence to be relaxing and I hope to experience the general soul of the Region. .

Keep in mind that May has four holidays with long weekends: May 1st, 8th, 14th, 25th. The 14th is a 4-day weekend, the others 3-day weekends. People will be out enjoying the days off.

A town like Cassis will be full those weekends with bumper-to-bumper traffic. It will be busy other times in May, but it is also a very good place for hiking the Calanques, Cap Canaille, and more. It's easier to stay there and hike out rather than stay elsewhere and get bogged in traffic trying to get there in order to hike out to the Calanques or Cap Canaille.

Further east of Cassis, after Bandol and its lovely wine, is Saint Maximin la Sainte Baume that balso mentioned, a fairly untouristed place with incredible hiking on La Sainte Baume mountain. Their market is Friday mornings, but otherwise, you will have plenty of peace and quiet.

Anne mentioned Vaison-la-Romaine and I agree that it's a gem with a lot of nearby hiking. We've spent several vacations nearby at the foot of Mt. Ventoux in Malaucène, a haven for bicyclists challenging themselves up the mountain. Even when we were there in July last summer, it didn't seem overrun, nor did Vaison. These are in the Avignon/Orange/ Carpentras area of Provence with a lot of unmentioned villages to visit.

So you have some good leads for non-Bruges-crowd places: Vaison, Uzès, Saint Maximin la Sainte Baume. Your busiest place will be Saint Rémy but it won't approach Bruges' density. Les Baux-en-Provence could approach Bruges' density on a holiday weekend.
May is a glorious time to hike in Provence because the wild flowers are blooming on the mountains and the heat is bearable. .

We visited Provence for 5 full days May 30 to June 4, 2019. So pre-pandemic, but what I think we learned probably still applies. We had a car and stayed in St-Rémy de Provence. Weekends were very busy (especially since we hit a holiday weekend), but weekdays weren't bad at all. If you want to go to some of the most popular villages (such as Gordes, Les Baux de Provence, Roussillon) head to one of them early in the morning (avoiding weekends if possible) and then go to some of the less well-known villages. If it's the weekend, take a picnic or eat lunch early--it was impossible to find a table in a restaurant in Rousillon on a holiday Friday. Rick's guidebook includes a drive that we did with stops in Goult and Joucas, where there were very few tourists and parking was easy, on the same day that Roussillon and Gordes were overrun. We never did manage to find parking in Gordes, and we tried for almost an hour. We had no problem visiting the Pont du Gard on the holiday Sunday--but we got there early and left by noon.

We drove from Provence to Nice via the Gorge du Verdon (mentioned by a previous poster), with a 1-night stop in Moustiers Ste-Marie. I loved it there, and wished we had a second night. In 2019, the drive along the gorge on a weekday morning was fine--we had no problems with tour buses or other traffic.

Despite the crowds on the weekend, we had a great time, and I'm sure you will too with a little planning.

Edited to add that we also visited Uzes after the Pont du Gard and didn't have any problem parking or with crowds. Later that same day, Avignon was crowded.

Thank you! I love the specifics. Parking can be a real buzzkill and I appreciate those tips