My wife and I (and our small son) are going to spend the first week of September in Nice and the second in Lourmarin. We are going to rent a car to drive to Lourmarin from Nice and have the car the rest of the time to do some exploring. Since the kid is with us we have limited ourselves to those two home bases and will have to do exploring from there. We would love suggestions (both for us adults and/or the kid) for excursions from both home bases. We are not high maintenance and are satisfied with simply strolling the streets of a lovely village. We would also love some guidance with finding events in the region during our stay - we see the Rice Festival in Arles looks like it might be entertaining. I have also read that there are grape harvest festivals going on at the time - but am unable to figure out if any will be in the vicinity of the Luberon....any help or suggestions are appreciated!
Posted by
Lake Oswego, Oregon
1315 posts
Luke - The Friday market in Lourmarin is one of the best I've seen. I'd get Rick's Provence book or another book which shows when market days are for each town. Other towns worth visiting in that area are Gordes, Isle sur la Sorgue, Carpentras, Les Baux. Cassis is a nice town on the coast. You could also visit Aix en Provence or Arles if you want a larger town.
Posted by
Sacramento, California, United States
253 posts
Luke - With a car, you won't have any problem driving to closeby towns and visiting markets. The Luberon itself it a great drive and the towns are all worth seeing. Be prepared for the " mistral", however, while in Provence. That wind can be a bear to deal with while driving OR walking.