Just returned from 3 weeks driving round Provence, visiting aix, Avignon, Gorges du Verdon, Draguinan, Nice, Monaco and over to Cinque Terre in Italy. If anyone wants any tips let us know...mostly stayed in B%26amp;B%26#39;s
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Thank you for the offer! My wife and I are traveling in Provence for 12 days in May. I would love to have some references from you of nice places to stay (not too small but the flavor of Provence), good restuarants/cafes, and suggested sights to see. I am looking to enjoy the sense of the hill towns and life in Provence. Also, looking to explore Cassis and Nice. Thanks again!
Dart75
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OK, as everyone will say, it depends on your exact interests. We wanted to stay in B%26amp;B%26#39;s just out of towns, not right in towns .g. just 10 mins from Aix and Avignon, as we wanted to be accessible to various places om several directions. Aix is a good place for the south areas or south of the Luberon. From Avignon we visited most of the Luberon area which is the prettiest in Provence as regards hill top villages...Gordes, Bonnieux,Ansouis, Venasque,Les Baux de Provence, Fontaine du Vaucluse, Rouillisson, L%26#39;Ile de Sorgue, Lourmarin, St Remy. These are stunning villages and all quite close as you drive around..well sign posted . L%26#39;isle has a massive Sunday am market that takes over the whole town and is a must to visit if you are there on a Sunday.
The web site www.beyond.fr has many good descriptions.
On the West of Avignon, visiting Pont du Gare area which is fabulous also.
The Gorges du Verdon is a stunning scenery area in the middle of Provence...towards the North..Moustiers de Sainte Marie is an incredible village hanging in massive rock and the drive around the gorges is breathtaking...spend a few days there to see this area and the beautiful lakes..we stayed at Greoux just before the Gorges, as many places are closed in November, but you could stay right in Moustiers
Make sure you visit Eze, between Nice and Monaco and on the way see St Paul du Vence, another beautiful villages. Eze has breathtaking views to the coast and has a magnificent old village to wandr around and is less busy than Nice to stay in. We took busses and trains along the Cote d%26#39;azur rather than drove thru as parking is a night mare and the public transport is very reliable and so cheap.
Out side of Avignon we stayed at Les Gendalis du Soleiade and outside of Aix stayed at Aux Terres Rouges. In Eze La Bastide aux Camelias is a fab B%26amp;B and accessible to the area.
We found staying at Aix then Avignon was great as the areas ar more accessible that way...if you base yourself in one or the other, you%26#39;ll have an hrs drive home each day fom sight seeing
I can give you direct contacts on these places if that%26#39;s the kind of thing you want.
Regarding restaurants and cafes, we have no recommendations...we were just looking for small cheaper places as we found the food to be very expenseive (coming from Oz!!) and there are plenty but you have to scout around...we also often picked up food to heat in microwaves at night in the B%26amp;B rather than drove out at night.
Hope these ideas are helpful and if we can provide more let us know
Regards
Rod
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Thanks Rod for your generous and helpful reply. I will do some research on those B%26amp;Bs you suggested. Glad to get the hill town recommendations with so many to choose from. I may be back with a few questions.
Dart75
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Hi, just had a couple of questions:
1. how much time did you spend in Provence? How much time did you spend in each of the cities/towns there?
2. How did you find driving there? I%26#39;m from Australia too and am trying to decide whether I should brave the roads there.
3. Would you still recommend those B%26amp;Bs that you stayed at if you didn%26#39;t have your own car given that they%26#39;re out of town?
Thanks very much!
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Dear Jlim
We spent 3 days at Aix, 3 days at Avignon, 2 days in Greoux, near the gorges, 3 days at Eze, 3 days at Cinque Terre in Italy, 2 days near Draguinan, then 3 days at Paris
The driving for me was easy...but then we went in a quieter time...when are you travelling? I am comfortable with getting in a car and going even on the opposite side of the road!...however one of the reasons we chose to stay out of the cities was so as we didn%26#39;t drive ointo the cities and just bus around...Aix and Avignon were easy to drive into though. I wouldn%26#39;t have driven around Nice...staying at Eze meant we could get easy trains and buses and cheaply to Nice and Monaco. If you are a confident driver I%26#39;m sure you will be fine. The auto routes are absolutely fantastic..shorter routes cost around 2 euros (about $3.60), while longer routes across Provence cost around 20euros, about $36. They are so safe and the trucks all have to stay in the slow lane...no weaving around them like in OZ!
Alternatively there are many major highways...they all go through the middle of the little vilages which is quite odd as that slows up traffic immensely...then again you get to see more of the villages that way.
The village roads are extremely narrow...often I had to stop to let another car pass the other way, and that gets a bit hairy at times, but take it wasy and it%26#39;s all fine
We wanted to experience B%26amp;B hospitality so also chose to stay out of town a bit...we did enjoy the people and the B%26amp;B%26#39;s. Breakfasts we found were pretty basic...cold croissant and cold bread..sometimes yoghurt, sometimes some fruit...that was all over France. However all the B%26amp;b people were very accommodating and flexible and offered microwaves to heat up food. Also they do not usually offer tea %26amp; coffee except at b%26#39;fast. We just asked for it everywhere and they obliged with a thermos of hot water and the tea %26amp; coffee or a microwave to heat up the cup of water!
We also wanted internet access as we were running our B%26amp;B business from over there and chose certain B%26amp;B%26#39;s that offered free wifi access
The only place I wouldn%26#39;t stay at again was at Figaniere near Draguinan...that was too basic for us!
We hired the car at Marseille and returned it to Marseille then took the TGV to Paris
Hope that covers your questions, but more than happy to answer more
Cheers Rid
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Dear JLim
Just read again you might not have your own car....please try it...you will be so disappointed not to have a car...the hilltop villages are so easy to drive around and you can%26#39;t see them without a car. You would only get to see the major towns and maybe get a few tours in, but the flexibility of your own car around Provence is a must
Rod
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Actually, you CAN see the hilltop villages without a car--but that means dealing with local buses and having to worry about fixed times. Having a car makes things a whole lot easier.
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Rousillon, one of the most beautiful hilltop villages, is not accessible by bus. If you haven%26#39;t a car you have to take a taxi at a cost of many many Euros, from Apt. Alternatively you can do what I did and get the bus from Apt to Pont Julien (about 5 miles) and then walk up the road to Roussillon and back, three miles each way. I did this with the Mistral whistling in my ears and came home determined to learn to drive. On the positive side I got a fleeting glance of a group of sangliers, mum and three half-grown babies, I think. So it was worthwhile. And a beautiful walk through vineyards and arable land.
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FYI, St-Paul-de-Vence is west of Nice to Monaco, not between that city and Monaco.
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Hi RodBarry, thanks very much for your advice. I will be going in Sept 08, which I understand is still peak season. I am a bit wary of driving over there. Also I%26#39;ll need an auto which I understand are usually more expensive to hire.
Could you also let me know which B%26amp;B%26#39;s you%26#39;d recommend? I%26#39;m happy to spend 100euros/night if it%26#39;s a nice place.
Cheers
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