Provence Day trips

I recommend the Pont du Gard. Not only is it pretty neat to look at, but you can go swimming there, too. I saw people in kayaks (though I'm not sure where they rented them from), people lounging on the river bank, and idly floating by on inner tubes. It looked like a blast, but I had no swimsuit so I could not partake.

1) Sorgue, St. Remy, Les Baux & Arles would be a very full day. So split them up 2) If you are in the Sorgue valley, you might consider adding Fontaine de Vaucluse, if that appeals to you. 3) Any of these small towns--with the possible exception of Les Baux--would make a better base, in my opinion, than Avignon, if you have a car. So to stretch your 3 days, base in Arles or St. Remy or Isle sur la, see Avignon as a day trip. 4) If it interests you, the Luberon hill towns are charming, might be combined with one destination in the Sorgue valley. 5) The Roman theater in Orange is an impressive Roman antiquity (as well as those in Nimes and Arles and the Pont du Gard). Late May should be brilliant in Provence--have a wonderful time! Correction: Due to brain freeze, I misremembered the name of Fontaine de Vaucluse (now fixed).

It takes more time to travel between those cities than you imagine and the cities you list aren't near each other! You can go to Google Maps to plot the distances. In addition, you need to factor in time to find parking, etc. In my opinion, each one is a day trip in itself. You could combine Les Baux with another destination if it looks doable. We spent 2 weeks in Provence last May and visited each one as a separate day trip. The market at Isle-sur-le-Sorgue is great but smaller markets in other cities are nice as well. We found that having a GPS extremely helpful in Provence. The end of May is a great time to visit! Lots of fresh berries and veggies in the markets plus the poppies and yellow broom are in full bloom!

I think we combined Les Baux with Isle-sur-le-Sorgue. I believe the Arles Market is on Saturday. It's the one I prefer. The food! Isle-sur-le-Sorgue's is more focused on antiques. Pont du Gard, absolutely! We brought our suits and had a splash beneath the aqueduct.

We are going to be doing a similar trip. Arriving Avangon from Paris via train. From Avignon planning on driving to Nice with stops along the way. After that train to Italy and continue our vacation. Melinda, hope you post how your trip was when you return with any suggestions.
Adam, thanks for your help even though not directed at us.

Between Nice and Avignon, you could stop in Cassis. It's a few kilometers off the autoroute but worth the detour as they say in the Michelin guide. If you don't want to wander from the autoroute, there's Saint Maximum la Sainte. Baum with its cathedral that contain Mary Magdalena's skull. (Another Mary Magdelena skull is in Vezelay, also, though most people have only one head.) The cave where legend says she lived out her days is above the town on the Sainte Baum mountain.