Lodging help - PROVENCE 3 nights in May

Kristi - My wife and I had a wonderful experience last summer staying at the Hotel Regence in Arles and using that as a base. We flew in to Marseille, picked up our car and made the short drive to Arles. The Regence is on the Rhone by the city gates on the north side, which made it easy to get out of town. It was easy to visit Avignon, the Pont du Gard, Les Baux, etc. Wish we had gotten to Orange as well but ran out of time.

One home base for three days is a good plan. With a car, I would pick one based on charm and convenience to the places you hope to visit.

Many of the justly popular sights are near the Rhone. I'm thinking of Arles, Nimes, Avignon, Les Baux, the Pont du Gard, and various places along the Sorge. However, if your idea of Provence is different--Luberon hill towns, for instance--you should stay there instead.

Arles is a good choice (and I have fond memories of the Regence too, though that was years and years ago), but especially with a car you have other options. If you do pick a city like Arles, be sure to scope out in advance where you will park.

Provence in mid-May should be wonderful.

Arles is always my base. Hotel Regence is very nice but if cost is to high ck the french chain hotel Etap(sim to Motel 6).

Aix makes an excellent base for trips to Arles, Orange, Avignon, Nimes, and Pont du Gard. If you really hustle you can make all of these in a one-day loop. If you do the loop counter-clockwise and are running late, you can skip Arles (as great as it is) since it's essentialy more of what you've already seen. I'd weight Nimes and Pont du Gard heavier than the other places.

The Cardinal Hotel in Aix, on the street by the same name, is relatively inexpensive, good value for money, and close to the center of the old part of town. I stay in ETAPs a lot, but they tend to be on the fringes.

If you have a choice of days to spend actually in Aix, make it Saturday -- the market that day is one on the very best in the south of France.

Gotta disagree about Aix as a base from which to visit the Rhone area. Feasible, but it entails too much driving. But Aix is a charming town.

Another option and more of a village/small town than Aix or Arles is Carpentras. We stayed at the family owned Best Western and were very satisfied. I'ts about halfway between the hill towns of the Luberon and Vaison la Romaine/Cote du Rhone wine villages. Pont du Gard, Orange, and Isle sur la Sorgue are not far by car. Be sure to visit at least one market day. Some outstanding markets are Vaison on Tuesday, Carpentras on Friday, Lourmarin on Friday, Isle sur la Sorgue on Sunday, Arles on Wednesday and Saturday.

Some favorite towns/sights are the old section of Vaison, Roussillon, Gordes, Lourmarin, Isle sur al Sorgue, Pont du Gard, Uzes, St Remy, Les Baux.

Enjoy your trip!

Kristi,

My suggestion would also be Arles. It's a convenient location for visiting other spots in the area, and also has an interesting history.

You might have a look at www.lecalendal.com/us/index.htm for one Hotel suggestion. The rooms are comfortable, the staff great and it's easy walking distance to all the main sites (including the Roman Amphitheatre that was used for some of the scenes in the movie "Ronin").

If you have access to a copy of the France Guidebook, check out the description of all the towns and see which one appeals to you the most. There are also lots of suggestions in the book regarding inexpensive Hotels and good restaurants.

Good luck and happy travels!

Kristi - I heartily recommend an absolutely first-class B&B in Castillon du Gard called Bastide Sainte Anne (website: http://labastidesainteanne.com/). We stayed there for five nights in September and used it as a base for visiting Nimes, Uzes, Avignon, Arles, St. Remy, Roussillon, and Les Baux. It is technically in the Languedoc region, bordering Provence. This place is something special - fantastic owners, indoor pool, quiet location, upscale rooms, etc. It overlooks the Pont du Gard, which you can see from the terrace where Amanda serves an amazing breakfast every morning. Check out their website - I think you'd love it there.

Thank you all so much. Your help is invaluable!