Suggestions on my schedule

Hi TAers!

We have hacked out a schedule with places booked already. My wife opted for a different town each day, as well as we are originating in Grenoble.

Tu, July 21st

arrive in Grenoble (hoping to get a morning train from Paris).

have lunch, see the fort, pick up the rental car and drive to Chambery to stay there.

Wed, July 22nd

see the chateau and drive to Aix Les bains to use the spa and look at the lake area

drive to Mormoiron via Sault (30 minutes by car SW of Sault), of course stop and see the Sault area

Thu, July 23rd

Visit a piano festival in La Roque d%26#39;Anthéron, just SW of here, across the river outside of Luberon

Stay in Lourmarin

fri, July 24th

Explore Lourmarin, visit Gordes and Rousillon

stay in Saignon dinner reserved for 7:30pm

Sat, July 25th

visit the Apt market during the day

stay in Cavaillon

Sun July 26th

visit the L%26#39;isle Sur la Sorgue market, drive to Avignon. Perhaps explore Avignon again a little (we stayed there 4 nights 3 years ago), catch a train back to Paris

Any suggestions on additional things to do would be greatly apopreciated!

Happy traveling,

GA

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Wow, I am going to hope everyone is too busy on vacation and hasn%26#39;t seen this yet. Any suggestions would still be greatly appreciated.

Thanx in advance,

GA

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That%26#39;s a lot of packing up and moving on. Most of the Luberon places (and beyond) can be seen from one location. We just came back from a trip that included 7 nights in Lourmarin, and from that base we drove to: the Senanque Abbey, Gordes, Bonnieux, Roussillon, Gault, Avignon, St. Remy, Les Baux, Pont du Gard, Cassis, Orange, Aix, Mont Ventaux (could have also very easily gotten to Apt and Saignon, just ran out of time)....in other words, we were able to see everything we wanted to see, leisurely, from one base (some might like two bases). Every time you pack up and move on you take time away from the touring, wandering, and just hanging out at cafes, etc.

Personally, having driven through Cavaillon at least half a dozen times, it would not be my first choice of someplace to stay.

Also, are you committed to taking the train into Grenoble? Because you are then going north, only to head south again. We recently took the TGV from Annecy (a beautiful town on the lake) back to Paris and it stopped in both Chambrey and Aix-les-Bains. You might consider heading directly there, picking up your car, and then working your way south.

We drove from Nice to Annecy through Grenoble and the scenery was quite beautiful!

Hope this helps!

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Sorry, I meant Mont Ventoux of course!

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Too much packing up and moving around.

If I were you I would settle on one place to stay - not Cavallion - use it as a base and spend the time saved in seeing more of the region.

La Roque is just down the road from us but when we booked our firct concert during the festival we ended up somewhere in the Camargue to hear it so watch where it is being held when booking.

Two markets on sucessive days - think carefully as many of the stalls will be exactly the same. Personally I would avoid the Isle sur la Sorgues market on that sunday as the whole of northern europe will have headed south for the annual holidays and it will be packed.

We now go to the smaller market down the road at Coustallet (though thats getting busy too).

You will have a lovelky time but do bear in mind it is the peak holiday season at the time you arrive so if you have not secured your bookings you may have already left it too late.

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Siouxxie,

Yes, we are already commited to coming into Grenoble, the rental car is already booked (we needed an automatic, I%26#39;m afraid I haven%26#39;t touched a clutch in many years). Annecy%26#39;s traffic is supposed to be pretty horrific in the summer, I thought it would be better to avoid it. We will see some of the same route as you, but unfortunately we don%26#39;t have that much time to drive all the way to Nice. As to backtracking, I am well aware of that. We decided to hit Aix Les Bains instead of Dignes Le Bains, and hence the slight change in direction for that part of the trip.

Since we haven%26#39;t stayed in the Luberon before (only briefly visited), it%26#39;s a good opportunity to sample several places at once and see what we do or don%26#39;t like. I think most of the driving will be fairly short distances once we are in the Luberon, so I%26#39;m not that worried.

As to packing, it won%26#39;t be that much, one large suitcase and a couple of smaller ones as our trip is only for one week this time around. I%26#39;m not worried about the lounging time, that will come naturally here and there. The days are long in th summer, so we can count on plenty of daylight, and the air con in the car will keep us from being baked.

BouchboyII,

As to the places we booked, it%26#39;s busy season and the cheaper nicer places are harder to come by at this late date(we travel a lot, so a budget is essential).

So yes, we%26#39;ve already booked all but one, and I plan to confirm at one of two places for that night.

As to your thought on the markets being back to back, we may then decide to head into Avignon earlier then or see something else if you think the two markets carry very similar items. I have been to neither, so I don%26#39;t really know anything about them. I wanted a place to stay in L%26#39;isle Sur la Sorgue itself, but what seemed to be left was very dear.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts,

GA