BostonFlyer1624

Hi friends!

I will be flying into MRS airport in mid-August for four nights.

I need some suggestions on what city/town to use as my base.

Things I am interested in/would like to do:
- Vineyard tours and wine tastings
- Hiking/biking around gorgeous landscapes
- Eating delicious food
- Relaxing

Right now, I have a rental car booked and a hotel in Avignon. I am thinking of visiting Chateauneuf du Pape to explore the vineyards. However, if you all have better suggestions for places with interesting shops, markets, restaurants, and pleanty of vineyards, I am all ears!!!

Thanks a ton!

UAPremExecflyer

Have you read any of these threads on this topic?
If you search "Provence" and/or "southern France"
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/franc...outhern+france
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/franc...outhern+france
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/franc...outhern+france
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/franc...outhern+france
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/franc...light=provence
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/franc...light=provence
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/franc...light=provence

Yahillwe

How about those:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

Mind you all those places will be full of tourists. Anywhere you go in the south will be.

Emmanuels75

I'll go with Yahillwe,
Set up in Avignon and rent a car, the beautiful Luberon has all you need: historical landmark (pont du gard), wine tasting, fabulous landscape...

stevens397

We head there a week from today. Start with three nights in Cannes and five nights in Aix en Provence. The latter was an easy decision. Had a hotel room booked for cash in the area and then Marriott opened a Renaissance in Aix which meant the $2200 went back to my pocket and I could use Marriott points for the five nights. If you have the points, the new hotel has some excellent ratings on Tripadvisor. Bon Voyage!

Mike Jacoubowsky

Biking? Avignon is surrounded by awesome areas to ride, but Avignon itself is not of much interest for cycling. If you're into climbs, Ventoux is not to be missed. For most it will be, by far, the toughest climb of their life. But there are very nice rides in the rolling hills of the area, on lightly-trafficked roads.

In Avignon, the Papal Palace is worth a visit, and you should definitely spend an evening or two strolling downtown in the old city. No problem finding delicious food in all price levels.

Because parking within or near the old city is so difficult, you won't have much use of a car for exploring the city. It might make sense to book a hotel outside the city walls and not have to pay a lot for parking, and take a bus into town.

ecmaster

N�mes is a city with seasonal activities, pretty nice. And whatever the city you are, you can visit the towns around. Sometimes there is local events, and if you enjoy walks, there is wonderful landscapes in Southern France. There is in the same region some vineyards.

biggestbopper

From bitter experience--leave nothing in your car any time you park in Avignon, Aix etc. Best to leave EVERYTHING in your hotel and carry your camera, etc. with you at all times.

Plus, you don't really need or even want a car in these towns. Parking is effectively impossible and the traffic sucks. Walking however is great.

Consider a visit to L'Isle sur l'Sourge, a walled city with canals and a very famous flea market on Sundays. Both the town and the market are well worth the short drive or ride.

Mike Jacoubowsky

Ouch! Thankfully my experiences in France have been quite different, but it's never a good idea to leave anything of value in a car, anywhere.

I agree that French towns are made for walking, not driving. Many have shuttles & buses that can get you around (including Avignon). One of the joys of getting out of the US is realizing that your life doesn't revolve around where you can drive.

My upcoming trip in July has my son and I staying in Lourdes, Bergerac & Paris. We'll be hauling two suitcases each (one with our folding bikes enclosed). And no cars. We'll be staying at hotels near train stations, so we won't even have to use a taxi. For getting around "locally" we use the regional trains. Works great in France. Could never pull that off in the US.

stevens397

Just got back from our trip to South France. Couple of observations:

1. Car rental - if you are landing in Nice and renting from Hertz, think again. The line at the rental counter was 90-120 minutes long - a total disaster. We were lucky to be Platinum with Hertz and were able to bypass the line. No other rental counter had lines anything like this.

2. Tolls - thought I was smart enough to get cards with chips but the toll booth did not accept American cards - period! Make sure you have a bunch of 1 and 2 Euro coins - makes life much easier. Some toll booths accepted bills but as I recall, only up to 10 Euro - a 20 Euro note was rejected! Massive PITA!

3. Hotel - we stayed at the new Renaissance in Aix en Provence and loved it. Parking in the garage so very safe. Obviously, did not leave anything in the cars when we drove city to city every day. Truly the only hassle driving was the toll issue above but once we figured it out, no problem. If you have Marriott points, this is most definitely the way to go - you can read my review on Tripadvisor for more details.

4. Winery - had lovely experience at Chateau d'Estoublon in area around Arles - nice tasting of wonderful miles and lovely lunch outdoors.

4. If you go to Aix, make sure to have a meal at Cote Cours - one of our best meals on the entire trip. That said, hard to get a bad meal or a bad bottle of wine!

Again, bon boyage!