Hello! I am so grateful to have this website and have relied heavily planning three overseas trips so far based almost solely on information and wisdom gained here.
That being said, I would very much appreciate input on an itinerary we%26#39;ve designed for 5 days in Provence after 5 days in Nice. Our trip is scheduled for July 2010 and we are flying into Nice, will rent a car and plan to savor the sights and smells of Provence as we travel northbound towards Avignon. We are in our early fifties and really enjoy good food and beautiful scenery. So far this is what we have planned:
AIX EN PROVENCE (La Torse) 3 nights
Arrive after driving through hiiside villages of St. Paul, Vence etc. from Nice we plan to stay 2 full days. Besides Aix we plan to either do a day trip to Arles or Cassis.
ISLE SUR LA SORGUE (Les Carmes) 2 nights
From Aix we will drive to Les Baux and stop by St. Remy, then onto Isle Sur La Sorgue for 2 nights. Our only full day will be spent driving east through villages of the Luberon (Roussilon etc.).
After five nights in Provence we plan to take the train from Avignon to Paris where we are renting an apartment for 7 nights (this is etched in stone since we are attending an event in Paris and committed to this apartment with others).
My main question is this: will it be easier to simply stay 5 nights in one location in Provence rather than breaking up into two? This itinerary was devised bearing in mind we will be traveling northbound from Nice and we do enjoy experiencing different B%26amp;B%26#39;s in the countryside.
And if we were to concentrate in one area, which would be better, Aix or Isle Sur La Sorgue (please note we prefer these two towns to St. Remy)?
Thank you so much for reading and would greatly appreciate any advice you have!
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l%26#39;Isle sur la Sorgue is more central than Aix, and the distance between the two of them is relatively small, so you could easily stay in one of them for the whole stay. However I would say that Aix is probably a more interesting place to spend evenings - people-watching on the cours Mirabeau is one of the best things to do there, and you want to do it in the company of some alcohol, which would be difficult if you were driving back to l%26#39;Isle for the night.
I think if I were doing this I would switch to 2 nights in Aix and 3 in l%26#39;Isle, but there are arguments in favour of every course of action here. Like you, I like travelling from one place to another.
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I would agree with CC.
I love Aix and could easily spend weeks there without ever leaving the city; however, as vacation time is valuable and usually limited and there is so much to visit in this region spending 3 nights in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue will better position you for sight seeing.
If you had a location in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue that you absolutely loved and wanted to make it a base for the entire time, there are people who do that as well. The downside here is you miss the animation at night, the restaurant and café selection within easy walking distance, and the variety of shopping and entertainment of just people watching.
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Thank you ChicChantal and Sarastro for your replies! I now have an alternate idea....what about driving through Aix from Nice, stopover for lunch, then onto Les Baux and staying there for one night? I%26#39;m reading about how magical Les Baux is at night and would really like to consider incorporating a night there into our itinerary.
Also from Isle Sur La Sorgue will a day trip to the Cotes Du Rhone area (Rick Steves has a loop outlined in his book for drivers) be easily accesible?
Also the Pont Du Gard....is that a %26#39;must%26#39; that we should consider as well?
If not Les Baux I am definitely leaning now towards staying two nights in Aix and three in Isles Sur La Sorgue as suggested. I%26#39;m thinking we will have plenty of night life in Paris (will be there for 7 nights) so quiet nights in the country sounds wonderful.
My final question now is: St. Remy as a base....much better in terms of scenery than Isle Sur La Sorgue? I know there are many diehard St. Remy fans on this board since St. Remy is so central, but then some reviews I%26#39;ve read say St. Remy is not as picturesque (more industrial) as visitors had hoped. Any further pros and cons on St. Remy as a base?
Thank you in advance for your time and help!
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Nothing you choose can be said to be right or wrong; wherever you choose, you%26#39;ll see and experience lovely sights and people, and enjoy meals, wine etc. What you might be in danger of finding is that there are so many wonderful places you missed out that you%26#39;ll have to return for them, then some more......
Personally, out of places mentioned so far, I%26#39;d maybe stay in Aix for a few nights and take day trips out from there to places that interest you, like St Remy, Les Baux etc. Aix is lovely, so much to enjoy there, and it%26#39;s not like big city life like in Paris; some smaller places can leave you too quiet in the evenings, but Aix is a nice size.
Then move on and take in a B %26amp; B somewhere, as you
mentioned. I see you%26#39;re catching the Paris train from Avignon; are you planning spending time there, or will that go on the %26#39;to do next time%26#39; list? A B %26amp; B near Avignon might be a good plan, maybe across the river at Villeneuve.
I%26#39;m a great fan of the Pont du Gard, visit it often; but it might be better to leave it and Nimes etc till your next trip.
Don%26#39;t be tempted to try to squeeze too much in; enjoy spending time at each place.
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I shouldn%26#39;t be overly anxious to bypass Aix-en-Provence. One of the major draw backs to places such as St. Remy or Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is their lack of restaurant choices within an easy walking distance of hotels.
If you enjoy wine or any form of alcohol while dinning, do not drive. The French police are very particular about those driving after having consumed even small amounts of alcohol. The police can stop drivers at any time, in any place (even the most unlikely), and give them breathalyser tests.
It is for this reason that I prefer staying within walking distance of restaurants. If you drink only water or are not particularly interested in restaurants, then you will certainly approach the hotel decision differently.
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Thank you very much for your input! Our B%26amp;B in Isle Sur La Sorgue (Les Carmes) has a restaurant that gets great reviews so we do have a backup plan if we run out of restaurants in that area or decide to imbibe. I do understand the concern over driving under the influence though....not something I wish to experience during a relaxing vacation!
We have ultimately decided to stay at both Aix and Isle Sur La Sorgue (but flipflop the number of nights) and only stop by St. Remy on our way to Les Baux.
Thank you again for all your tremendous wisdom and advice....we greatly appreciate it!
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