ciaociao

Bonjour Travelers,

I hope this doesn't sound like a broken record. We were planning to go to Provence next September, 2025. Unfortunately, we just found out we have airline tickets that are expiring in February of 2025 so we need to begin our trip no later than Feb. 20th. Yikes, it has forced us into quick planning. Good news is that it will be low season and we won't have to deal with the crowds. Bad news, it's probably not the best time of year to visit Provence. I've overloaded my brain and hope that all the experienced and savvy travelers out there can lend a helping hand.

We enjoy beautiful towns, soaking up the local culture (art, people, food, shops, wine,etc.) We are not huge history buffs or hikers.

We are thinking of basing ourselves in Aix, Gordes, St. Remy (see below). I have to do more research but we would like to visit Lourmarin, Bonnieux, Gordes, Roussilon, Menerbes, L'Isle sur la sorgne, Uzes, ?

Are we missing any of your favorite towns? Do you think we are allocating enough days to the locations below?

Do you think this is too little time in each of these base locations?
We will rent a car but my husband is not fond of driving in the city, i.e. Paris, etc. One big question I have is, should we fly in and out of Paris, train to St. Remy and rent a car there? Hopefully Hertz. Or, should we fly in and out of Niece or Marseilles, rent a car, drive to Aix followed by the Luberon St. Remy. I would welcome any and all comments, questions or suggestions you have. MERCI!!!

--2 nights in Aix
--3 nights in the Luberon (near Gordes from what Stu and others have said)
--3 nights in St. Remy

TDudette

Hi, ciaociao, DH and I sandwiched a trip in September to Aix from Paris:

Trip Report: A Provence Sandwich

Scroll down to #4 to get to Aix to see how our hotel folks helped us with tours and how much we were able to see via public transportation. For us, A base was best.

ciaociao

Hi TDudette,

Thanks for sharing. I will definitely check out your trip report!

kja

FWIW:
Two nights would not have been enough for me in Aix, particularly when daylight hours are limited.

If you are crossing multiple time zones, renting a car less than a day or two after landing is a terrible idea. Driving with jet lag -- even if you aren't aware of the effects -- is FAR more dangerous to yourselves and to ANYONE else on the road than most people recognize.

Check rome2rio, but I think you can get to Aix from Marseille by public transportation, so one option would be to fly into Marseille, take a bus to Aix, enjoy it for a day or two (or three) and then rent a car for your further experiences.

You might find some useful information in my trip report:
A stellar month in southeastern France

surahalwaqiah9917

Visiting Provence in February can still be a lovely experience with fewer crowds. Flying into Marseille, renting a car, and exploring Aix and the Luberon seems like a good plan to minimize city driving.

mjs

You do not have much time and short days, possibly with rain. Fly to Paris, TGV to Avignon. One night in Avignon then rent a car and move to St Remy. Day trips to the Luberon, Arles, Aix etc. Return car TGV Avignon then train back to Paris and home. I would probably spend the night in Paris before your flight home, possibly at the airport depending on your flight times.

ciaociao

Great trip reports TDudette and kja. I wish I had more time to plan and that it wasn't Feb. I looked at flying in and out of Marseilles which seems like it would be the easiest in terms of proximity and navigating to get a car, etc. However, we are flying from Las Vegas so the options are not the best (3 stops, etc.). I haven't looked at flights in and out of Paris but I'm sure the options will be better. We have been to Paris a few times and have no problem flying and then driving for 3-4 hours. We prefer to get to our first destination as quickly as possible and then settle in.

Based on your comments above, I think I will look at adding a day to each base location (shorter days and weather). mjs, you mentioned flying in to Paris and taking the TGV to Avignon. That's a great idea.

What if we took the TGV to St. Remy instead? Do you see any drawbacks there? Also, has anyone had experience renting a car in St. Remy.

If we did spend a night in Paris only to leave the next morning, any suggestions on hotels, etc.? How is the driving from CDG into say St. Remy if we got a car at the airport. Sorry, I think I'm freaking out because of the short planning cycle.

We prefer to go with the major rental agencies like Hertz. Do you know what is available in St. Remy and how readily automatic cars are available? I know I have more questions but look forward to you input. Thank you all.

kja

That you've been OK in the past with flying across multiple time zones and then driving does not make it safe. It is NOT safe, for you or anyone else.

I don't believe there is a train station in St. Remy.

For car rentals in Europe, I always work with gemut.com. They work with Hertz, Europcar, and other major companies. If you need an automatic, you would be best renting in a city with an international airport or at least a large city.

Michael

The Apt Saturday market is probably better than the markets in towns such as Roussillon and Bonnieux because it is a regional market and caters less to the tourists/ The same would apply to the Arles market.

ciaociao

Thanks again kja. argh. That probably why you recommended going into Avignon. It looks like Avignon is about a 30 min drive to St. Remy. I have to give this more thought. It seems like it might be easier to fly into Paris, spend the night, train into Avignon the next day, rent a car and drive to St. Remy for 3 nights, then perhaps Gordes 3 nights and Aix 3 nights. We would then have to drive back to Avignon, drop the car off and train into Paris. Does that sound like a decent plan or no?

I know i'm bouncing off the wall now. what if we flew to Paris, stayed a night and then took a train to Aix. Stayed 3 nights and rented a car. Do you think our options for car rental and train into to Aix would be better? OR would it be easier if we just focused on the cote towns instead of provence. I wasn't sure about the roads and weather that time of year.

kja

Actually, it was mjs who made that suggestion.
Whether that plan works depends on whether you can reserve an automatic in Avignon -- you need to check on that.

tomboy

gemut.com is my go-to for car rentals in Europe
great rates
as an incidental, they were also helpful navigating the intricacies of damage claim from a local person damaging our rental $5,000 worth.
put the charge on the CC, gemut helped with claim, got the credit for the 5K to offset the initial charge, and got 5000 miles in the process.

tomboy

I meant to add: they're not a "name" brand, and they're based in Oregon, so a neophyte naturally assumes "better known is better".
Wrong. They are MORE qualified, and go out of their way to exceed expectations. than "name" competitors I've hired.

kerouac

Anyone who goes to Provence and who does not visit Marseille is missing the whole point of Provence. Just going to those little villages which are basically all interchangeable is a waste of time. Two of the little places is more than enough.

ciaociao

Thanks tomboy and kja for the car rental info. I’m not familiar with them so that is a good tip! Glad to hear your experiences were GOOD.

Hi Kerouac! Well, you had to throw that in there 😉. JK. Everything is so up in the air. I’m leaning toward flying in and out of Nice. Spending a few days there and then moving to Aix for a few days and then to St. Remy and the environs. We like a mix of small towns and a few larger towns/cities, hence Aix, St. Remy, and now Nice. Our Son recently spent some time in Marseille and loved it. He brought some beautiful soaps home for me. Because Nice is easier to fly in and out of and due to limited time, I’m not sure if we will have enough time to do everything. I will have to look it up but I think Marseille is a few hrs car drive from Nice but I could be wrong.

kja

NO, you won't have time for everything!!! You'll only scratch the surface.! But IMO, Nice + Aix + one other stop, maybe St. Remy, would work well given your interests and constraints. And I say that as someone who loved Marseille.

FTOttawa

Nice and Aix would make a great combination for art lovers, as well as offering your best chance of decent weather, and plenty to do indoors if the weather is indecent. Very easy to move between them by train.

Arles, not a huge town, and served by train, would get my vote over St Remy.

shelemm

I'd spend most of my time in villages and get out of cities. That's what Provence is all about. If you had more time, then I think the boat ride out to Chateau d'If from Marseille is a great idea.

kja

I'm sure that is what Provence is about for some people. For me, it was art and history and food and wine. I enjoyed spending a bit of time (not much) in villages; I much preferred my time in the cities. To each his / her own!

FTOttawa

Which villages will not be dead in February? Sincere question, never having visited in winter.