Burgundy & Provence pre and post touring - yes, no??

Looking guidance on pre and post touring from a Uniworld/Burgundy Provence cruise that leaves from Avignon and ends in Lyon. We would like to come in a couple of days to Marseilles and stay a couple post in Lyon if worth it.

My questions are, is it worth it? If so, what would you do, where would you stay? Looking for suggestions.

Thanks! :D

When are you traveling? We are going on the same cruise except on Uniworld and leaving from Lyon. Our cruise is July 9th. We are flying into Paris and staying 2 night and coming back Avignon to Paris on TGI and staying one more night before the flight home. My sister is staying the night in Marseilles before flying home.

I cannot comment on Lyon, but we recently returned from a week in Provence and I would highly recommend a pre-cruise stay. I would probably not stay in Marseilles. We stayed in Aix, Gordes and Avignon. If you are willing to rent a car, I would recommend a few days in Gordes in the Luberon area of Provence. Although we enjoyed all three places we stayed.

If you stay in Aix, it is any easy bus ride to Marseille for day trips, too. Lots to see around Aix if you have a car...

I would highly recommend staying in Lyon for 1 or 2 days. It is a lovely city and is actually the gastronomic center of French cuisine. Lots of fabulous restaurants. Even if you don't go to the Michelin starred ones, there are still lots of other very good ones. We stayed 2 nights and every place we ate had the most fabulous French Fries I have ever eaten. I know they twice cook them, but there has to be another secret. I have tried and they are still the BEST!

I agree that I would not stay in Marseille. It is a busy port city (ok for a day visit) and not really my favorite place in southern France. Aix, Avignon, Gordes would all be much better. I also love Arles and St Remy if you have a car. A friend of mine just recently stayed in Cassis (in an Air B and B) which is very close to Marseille and loved it.

There are lots of options!

Half a day in Marseille is sufficient [take the HOHO bus and get off at the church on top of the hill], then rent a car and drive to Aix. Is your cruise going to Arles? -- if not, a definite pre-cruise stop. If you have enough time, I would also drive over to Pont du Gard -- it's worth more time than the ship excursions offer.

Post-cruise: another vote for more time in Lyons. In addition to the culinary aspect, it is also a Silk center [check out Rick Steves for several ateliers and shops] and has Roman ruins and a nice museum. It is also compact, and has a very good public transportation system [trams and subway]. Don't worry about duplicating the included tour on your cruise, because that is likely to be a cursory introduction -- buy the Rick Steves France book and give Lyons all the time it deserves!

Finally, don't fly home from Lyon -- take the TGV to Paris and spend some time there.

[Click the blog link in my signature or go to jazzbeauxfranceblog.wordpress.com

for details of our cruise on this itinerary plus all the extras I have mentioned]

We have done this itinerary twice and it is my favorite so far. Both trips we spent 2 extra days in Lyon. It is a lovely city with great food and a charming center. We prefer Lyon to Paris.

We stayed near the train station and walked into the center or took the tram.

Next trip we will try somewhere new in Provence.