We're a mid-sixties couple, reasonably fit, enjoy countryside, villages, markets, small cities. We'll be staying in a house in a small village 15k SW of Nimes for 2 weeks in late May and will have a car. We welcome any suggestions of to-do's and must see's. I'm an enthusiastic but amateur wine buff and my wife and I both love to cook. Info on bullfights in Nimes is also welcome.
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
One day trip would be up to the Pont du Gard and then to a great medieval town, Uzes.
Certainly you'd want to visit Chateneuf des Papes and nearby is Orange.
Les Baux and then St. Remy just north.
Go east of Avignon to Isle sur la Sorgue and then to Fontaine de Vaucluse.
Posted by
North Vancouver
15 posts
There is so much to see and do in Provence that you
can barely scratch the surface in two weeks - but
you'll have a great time exploring the area.
Check out beyond the french riviera.com for all the
info on every village/town in Provence - it's a gold
mine of info.
Les Baux (try to be there b/f the busses!); Vaison-la-Romaine for ruins; Gigondas, Beames de Venise
and other villages are great wine places (we find
them more accommodating than Chateauneuf d-P). A
drive along the Gorges de l'Ardèche is lovely as
is the trip up Mont Ventoux - in clear weather.
You might want to wander down to the Carmargue to
see the wildlife. The flamingos are amazing!
Your choices are almost limitless in this wonderful
region and May is the perfect time to be there.
Posted by
oregon
131 posts
After six weeks all over France by far the food shop I loved the best was in the RS Provence/French Riviera book in Isle sur la Sorgue. All of the suggestions you have received are wonderful- but you should definitely go there, and combine it with the market day Thursday or Sunday. I used his book almost exclusively for planning that part of my trip. The directions to the food store are in the book, but it is just past where all the little rivers come together at the main basin, as you get ready to walk along the river. I'm sure people can tell you- they have many samples of their pestos and then oodles of jars, from sample sizes on up, of everything. The fleur de sel (spelling??) from Carmargue is amazing. I went to a "bullfight" in Arles at the arena and was sort of disappointed. Maybe in Nimes it is different. It was very expensive (maybe 12-15 euro?)and the bulls seemed bored! The "matadors" jump around and leap out of the ring. I found myself sort of rooting for the bulls!