My husband and I are traveling all throughout France and Italy from end of May to into June.
Our itinerary is:
Paris —> Loire Valley (Tours and Amboise) —> Lyon —> Provence —> Nice—> into Italy
Where would y’all stop in the Provence region considering to see true Provence. Village or Marseille? What village? Of Marseille isn’t Provenc-y enough, is it still worth choosing?
We only have one day and night to stop on way between Lyon and Nice so it must be fairly reachable between the two.
Thanks!
Are you driving or taking the train.
The train
Since you are taking the train go to Avignon or Aix en Provence; there are direct trains to both from Lyon.
In Avignon or Aix you can buy a 4 hour car tour of the other hard reach villages (marketed as the Most beautiful villages in France)
http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/en
like Gordes, Les Baux, Rousillion, St Remy etc.
But that might be too much.
I would not stop for a single night, but would either spend more time or continue on to Nice.
However, Arles has a lot to see and do in a compact space.
I think a single night in Avignon would be perfect for that plan. The palais du papes is great and Rick’s walking tours of Avignon -in the book- are excellent. Easy transport from Lyon and to nice. Not a “village” but a great city and convenient for your route. Wait are you driving ?
I spent just one night in Avignon, with a half day on either side of it, and it was enough for me to see what I needed to and it was enjoyable. It's only a little over an hour from Lyon to Avignon so, depending on when you leave Lyon, you should have plenty of time in Avignon.
Avignon is a very good choice and then Arles,both cities have Roman ruins if that is of interest to you.
Mike
