Tips on Provence

I can only answer one of your questions. Orange, the town, isn't much to see. But the Roman theater, for me, was absolutely fascinating. If that doesn't interest you, skip Orange; if it does, don't miss it. RS has a detailed description of the theater in his Provence book, but he can't capture the thrill of actually seeing that huge, intact theatrical Roman wall.

For a wine tasting, I highly recommend Chateau Mourchon in Seguret. Be sure to see Pont du Gard, market day in a town or village - Friday in Lourmarin is outstanding, the medieval section of Vaison la Romaine.

I agree with Grier's comments. Seguret is a charming village near Gigondas which is a wine town and quite small. Not sure I would spend 3 days in Rousillon but we enjoyed a day trip there and it happened to be market day and, though a small market, it was very nice-free macaroons were given to browsers-yummy! Pont du Gard, Les Baux, the Van Gogh Hospital near San Remy (we based ourselves there) are well worth seeing. We took day trips to towns such as Uzes and Ile-sur-La Sorgue. We loved our week in Provence and only complaint would be the parking challenges( Arles was tough and we turned in the car in Avignon and that will be interesting to find parking). Hope you will be there when the lavender is blooming.

We loved Chateau-Neuf-de-Pape, but I don't think you' go wrong anywhere. We thought the Pope's Palace in Avignon was highly over-rated, but that may be because we had a very boring tour guide and it was very humid that day. Pont du Gard far exceeded our expectations and we wished we'd had more time there.

I agree with Harold on the Roman theater in Orange, not to be missed.

All good advice here. Pont de Gard is not to be missed. Didn't think much of Chateauneuf du Pape (but love the wines).

I also agree with Patty, that the Pope's Palace in Avignon was boring. It should have been interesting, with all the intrigue behind it. But there's nothing physically remaining but stone walls, and the audioguide has reams of data on the weight of the silver serving pieces and the number of plates used at each dinner, but nothing on the people who inhabited the place. One of the worst audioguides I've ever used. OK, end of rant. I forgot to mention, in answer to "must see spots," that I LOVED Nimes. The audioguide for the Roman amphitheater was fascinating, and well worth the price. In addition, I found it a very pleasant town to walk around. I also enjoyed Arles. I didn't have a car, so I didn't see other parts of Provence.

I definitely agree with Harold that Nimes and Arles are worth seeing.