Where to go for 4 nights to spare

Hi there, we%26#39;re thinking of flying to Nice, and from there making our way upwards towards Paris. We have 4 nights to spare and would like to explore Provence more. Should we spend 2 days in Nice, and 2 days around Provence? Or have a day tour of Nice and 4 days based around Provence or Lyon? We%26#39;re thinking of renting a car and driving around Provence, ending our trip in Lyon, where we will take a train to Paris for a further 5nights.

Please let me know if this is too vague and I%26#39;ll elaborate further.

Thanks!

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Provence is a large and extreemly varied region so with the time you have youe will only scratch the surface:-)

If you are flying into Nice it would seem sensible to spend a day exploring the city.

I would then hire a car and head towards Avignon - personally I have spent too much time sitting in traffic jams on the coastal roads so I would take the Autoroute as its faster and you are still driving through the region.

Base yourself in or arounf Avignon or Arles. From either city there are is a wide variety of things to see and do no forgetting the cities themselves.

Personally I would visit the Luberon on one of the available days and the Cotes du Rhone wine villages on another as both will give you tours around the area rather than concentrating on one particular sight.

I am sure pthers will have their own favorites to suggest.

Have a nice trip.

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Since you only have 4 nights to spend in the South of France I would suggest that you pick up a car immediately upon arrival at the Nice Airport and head straight to the West on A-8. This is the toll-road that traverses Provence and, while it is somewhat pricey, it will be a major time-saver for your trip Westward.

I hope that you will consider establishing a base for the duration of your stay. This is a good way of exploring since the the region is realtively compact and you can make a series of daytrips using different roads to approach and return from each day%26#39;s destination. While everyone who loves the region will have a different point of view regarding what is the perfect place to use as a base, I would suggest that you consider either St. Remy or someplace like Maussane-les-Alpilles or perhaps Les Baux. St. Remy is a lovely smaller sity/town with fabulous Roman ruins on its%26#39; outskirts. Maussane and Les Beaux are about a 15-20 minute drive from St. Remy and are situated amidst olive groves (producers of what many consider to be one of the best Olive oils in the world) and vinyards - they are surrounded by gorgeoud craggy white limestone hills and exude a perfectly wonderful ambiance. All three places are also wonderfully situated for making daytrips to visit the region%26#39;s important historic and scenic sites such as Avignon, Nimes, Arles, the Camargue etc.