provence

My Husband and I are planning a 5 day trip to Provence. We plan on staying in Avignon, Arles, and possibly Aix-en-Provence. However, I am not sure it is worth staying the night in Aix. Do you have any advice on must experiance places in the region? or other towns that would be a good base to stay?

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Choose a base and travel to the other places, ideally by car, or by train/bus. Regular trains between Avignon and Aix-en-Provence for example.

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We planned on renting a car but we were not not sure if the drive to aix would absorb a lot of the day in driving. I read it was 2hrs from Arles.

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We plan on visiting in Late September. We will be arriving in Avignon by train then we plan to pick up our rental car. Our hotel in Avignon is just outside the city near the mountains. We planned on staying 2 nights in Avignon then maybe 2or3 nights in Arles or spending the last night in Aix. While in Arles we planned on going to St. Remy, le Baux, and the Camarague.

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Hello,

Just did google maps and it says that Arles to Aix is 51mn. And for 77km that sounds very right as you go 90km/h on French roads. So yes, your base in Arles seems just fine, and that way you don%26#39;t have to change hotels. You have all the right names of places to see in that part of Provence! You can add L%26#39;Isle-sur-la-Sorgue which is very charming and has a great market. Search the Provence forum it has been stated a number of times (I just can%26#39;t remember).

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Thank you so much! This has been really helpful.

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The recommended route from Arles to Aix uses the autoroute for much of the way, so it%26#39;s a fast trip with a 130kph speed limit in the dry (110kph in the wet). 4€ toll at Lançon which shouldn%26#39;t slow you down much in September. There doesn%26#39;t seem much reason for changing hotels again when it%26#39;s such a short journey.

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The big Market in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is held every Sunday Morning and it is awesome. In addition to the normal market items (food/clothes/ household goods) it features a major area dedicated to antiques.

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This is probably a stupid question but how is driving at night? Are there street lights? Is it pitch black?

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In the really rural areas there are few, if any streetlights, just like in the countryside here in the USA. You will be fine, as long as you obey the speed limits and remember to turn your headlights on.

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No problem with the driving at night, but it may limit scope for going out for a nice dinner with wine if the driver has to abstain :-( Staying in a town with choice of restaurants can be a good idea!