Aix-en-Provence

Penny, Aix is charming, but it is nowhere near the top of my list of places to stay. Of course everyone's tastes are different. I am drawn to the Roman antiquities, the Luberon hill towns, and the sights and customs of the Rhone valley. Aix is poorly situated to be a base from which to visit those places. (It would be a good base from which to explore Marseilles, I think.) If you can stay a regular week, weekend-to-weekend, I think you might find apartments for rent in Aix at reasonable rates.

Aix-en-Provence is a nice city. It's not very touristy, which can be really nice. Have you checked out Rick Steve's Guide to Provence? When I had a one night stay in Aix I stayed in a place he recommended and it was affordable. I'm sorry I can't remember the name, but it was in the city center and the owner was so helpful getting me to the hotel. I was driving and kept going in circles. (There is a road that goes in a circle and can be really confusing so plan for it!) A friend of mine spent a year in Aix studying in Aix and still talks about how much she loves this city. BTW there was a good English bookstore there about 6 years ago. Hope it's still there for you now. Pam

Since Aix is so south, we are starting to think we should stay somewhere in the Loire Valley where the beautiful chateaux are. I'm working on that now.

It is a beautiful city with plenty to do...rent a car and wander the villages for a day, but be sure to get the GPS option. I'd probably still be there without it! The Hotel Cezanne is wonderful. Not sure of your budget, but you won't go wrong if you stay there.

You've made a big jump somehow. Surely you can't mean you're going to stay in the Loire Valley and tour Provence - - Blois and Aix are some four hundred miles apart ? Aix is a neat city and has a lot going for it. It has two problems as a base: 1 - It's huge and getting in and out is a real bear. 2 - Most casual visitors are only interested in the old quarter and it's encircled by that darn one-way, counter-clockwise ring road that Pamela mentoned. It has a thousand names that will drive you nuts until you get the hang of it. If you settle on Aix, take a look at the Hotel Cardinal. It's been around for seven evers and is a real bargain. If you want small towns that are central to the Luberon, maybe consider Gordes, Carpentras, L'Isle sur la Sorgue, or Apt, probably in that order. If you want a larger place, cheat a little to the west and look at Nimes. It's pretty much of hub for a lot of the major places due to the freeways and has a lot to offer at the end of the day. Many people favor Arles for the same reason, I just don't care for it. In the same area, little Saint Remey is about as good as it gets, but it's a bit out in the sticks. Now for the mean part. At the risk of screwing with somebody else's vacation, I'd take Provence over the Loire in a heartbeat. Provence has more variety from the coast into the hills, the scenery changes all the time, the sights range from Phonecian and Roman to medieval to modern. The Loire is essentially a homogeneous valley. Once you've seen a couple or three of the chateaux, they start fuzzing together in your mind and you start tapping your toes wondering what to do next just to toss in some variety.

I tend to agree with those that say while Aix is beautiful, it is definitely a big city and driving and parking was difficult (and I am used to it). I prefer the smaller villages so St. Remy is a favorite. I love the drive into the town, as well as the great markets . A walk in the morning to the hospital where Van Gogh stayed is amazing. There are an endless array of beautiful places to visit for day trips.

We are just back from a trip mainly spent in France. We spent 3 days in Provence staying at La Cordiere in Lourmarin which is in Rick's book. Frankly Aix was the low point of Provence. Too big and too busy. The Cours Mirabeau no doubt was beautiful once but the traffic and noise ruined it for us, pus it has all the same shops you can find in any upscale mall in the states. We were 15 years late getting there. Francoise at La Cordiere where we stayed smiled and very politely said, "I told you not to go there." The hill towns were really nice. This year the weather was unseasonably warm and clear in September, I wish you the same next year.

We havealready changed our plans. We will start out in England in the Cotswolds then either fly or cross the channel to France. We want to visit the WWII history in the Normandy area, then go to the Loire Valley to see the chateaux. We only have a week in Fance, so I think goining to these 2 areas will be all we can get to do in a week.

"X" is great for a day trip but day trips would be a long haul to the main sites in Provence. I wouldn't stay there. We have stayed a number of times in St-Remy-de-Provence in southern/central Provence. Wonderfull small town and an ideal location for day trips to Arles, Pont de Gard, Luberon, Nimes, Les Baux, Marseille, etc.... Enjoy your trip!

Hi Penny - I was in Provence just 3 weeks ago. Made Marseille my base, but to be honest, the place to be is Avignon. Marseille can be done in one day. Aix wasn't anything special and again it can be done in a day. Avignon is also a day long experience but it is closer to a lot of the nicer wine regions (Cote du Rhone and Les Baux). Just my two cents. Also, Gordes and the famous Chateaunef region is close to Avignon.

We are currently in Aix. Having been warned about car difficulties we rented an apartment and found out where the closest parking station was. The Pasteur parking costs are 15 euro per 24 hours. Cheap! We arrived at the parking station without travelling through the city (thanks to a GPS)and then walked 150 metres to our accommodation and knew where to walk thanks to Google Earth. This is an easy city to navigate with a GPS. We have been on an extended stay in Aix and doing day trips by car. The stressful things are more the size of vehicle and driving on the other side of the road to us Aussies. We also caught the SNCF into Marseilles today. It is a city not to be missed.

We are traveling first to the Cotswolds for a week, then back to Paris for another week. We will have a car, so instead of driving all the way to Aix we decided to scrap that part of the vacation and go to the Loire Valley instead and see the Chateaux. After that, on to Bayeux for the D-Day tour then back to Paris. We're following, roughly, a Rick Steves tour that he offers.

Interesting that Aix is so difficult by car. I took the train, it was a little confusing getting from the TGV station to the main (regional) train station in town via bus but we figured it out. Staying in the old part of the city without a car is fantastic. Getting to nearby Marsielle via regional train is then very easy. (Not that this matters since the OP changed their plans but I figured I'd let people know who were considering visiting in the future). I really liked Aix. Admittedly I haven't yet been to the hill towns or Avignon but at least staying in the old part of the city it didn't seem too big or noisy to me at all.

For me, the train would have been great, but I'm. Traveling with 3 others woman & they want to get a car & drive. So, I have to go with majority.