Vineyard in France

[Pearl64]

We are on the Riviera's maiden voyage next April. We are planning on arriving possibly a week early and going into Southern France. Our ship leaves from Barcelona. We are looking at possibly renting a cottage for the week prior to our cruise in either Languedoc but could possibly consider somewhere near Avignon. My question is concerning the port of Marseilles. Is it a port that is often missed due to winds that I am reading seem to appear in this area? Also, can one get to the vineyards on our day in port at Marseilles? We have no particular winery in mind. Or, should we look for a place in Languedoc from which we could make a day trip? We usually do not take ship tours. How is transportation to other cities close to Marseilles or should we stay there for our day in port? I really would like to the Pont du Gard. Having studied Latin it would be neat to see some of the Roman structures. The towns in Languedoc are Quillan or Carcasonne unless someone has a better idea. I keep checking distances via Mapquest so that we are not traveling that far. We will be renting a car due to the lack of transportation in the areas.

 

One more question: Are we permitted to bring wine back from France to Spain to bring onboard the ship or again will Marseilles be the better option? I don't want to buy wine and then have it confiscated!

 

Thanks for everyone's help.

 

Pearl