Which of these ship's tours from Marseille?

[poss]

I know that it's personal choice finally, and I have for sure read lots about each place. But I'd still be curious to know if there are strong feelings towards one of the choices over the others. Thanks!

 

Here are the choices:

 

Avignon, Pope's Palace & Les Baux (8hrs)

Roussillon & Gordes (8 hrs. upcharge)

Aix & Marseilles (8 hrs)

St Remy & Arles (8 hrs)

 

I do know the difference among the cities/towns. But not having been to Provence in 50 years, I can't remember distinctly enough (I'm sure they've changed a good deal as well). Just curious if there's a more or less consensus about which tour to choose. Actually I think we'd maybe most enjoy Roussillon/Gordes, but the $129 per person upcharge doesn't thrill me.

 

Merci!

[marazul]

I know that it's personal choice finally, and I have for sure read lots about each place. But I'd still be curious to know if there are strong feelings towards one of the choices over the others. Thanks!

 

Here are the choices:

 

Avignon, Pope's Palace & Les Baux (8hrs)

Roussillon & Gordes (8 hrs. upcharge)

Aix & Marseilles (8 hrs)

St Remy & Arles (8 hrs)

 

I do know the difference among the cities/towns. But not having been to Provence in 50 years, I can't remember distinctly enough (I'm sure they've changed a good deal as well). Just curious if there's a more or less consensus about which tour to choose. Actually I think we'd maybe most enjoy Roussillon/Gordes, but the $129 per person upcharge doesn't thrill me.

 

Merci!

 

Have you decided where you are staying at the end of the trip? That could rule out at least one of the ship's tours. My purely personal preference would be either St Remy and Arles or Avignon and les Baux.

[buggins0402]

I can see why you'd have a difficult choice, they'd all be wonderful.

 

Does the second include Abbaye de Sananque at a time when the lavender is in bloom? That would tilt it toward the upcharge Luberon trip for me.

 

Otherwise, I'd pick the Avignon/Les Baux trip. Arles isn't one of my favorites (I'm probably in the minority on that though) but St. Remy is very nice. Aix is wonderful, but Marseille is more Riviera like than Provence.

[cberge]

Avignon and Les Baux:D

[poss]

Thanks for responses. I am tallying votes! :-)

 

marazul: I'm starting to lean towards Paris for post-cruise; would prefer Provence, but logistics are awfully cumbersome, both getting there and finding appropriate tours once we're settled.

 

buggins: Ah, Abbaye de Sananque-- a place I've forever wanted to visit. Alas, the tour doesn't include it.

 

cberge: You've upped the vote to two!

[Fblack]

It's hard to beat Aix. It might matter how they split up the 8 hour tour. One could easily spend for more time at Aix than Marseilles. Plus, where do you eat lunch? When we went, we took a 5+/- hour ships tour ( with lots of private time) to Aix. Than later in the afternoon went on our own to Marseilles. They usually have a for pay shuttle from the ship to Marseilles.

[marazul]

Thanks for responses. I am tallying votes! :-)

 

marazul: I'm starting to lean towards Paris for post-cruise; would prefer Provence, but logistics are awfully cumbersome, both getting there and finding appropriate tours once we're settled.

 

buggins: Ah, Abbaye de Sananque-- a place I've forever wanted to visit. Alas, the tour doesn't include it.

 

cberge: You've upped the vote to two!

 

Actually, to three. I would be hard pressed to choose between either Arles or Avignon. There are things I enjoy at either one. If you are not planning to stay in Avignon after the trip, go for that one.

 

At which time of the year are you going?

[poss]

Hi wonderful marazul,

 

This would be June 22, for 4 or 5 nights. Now the trick will be to find the right hotel, which is going to be difficult since it's high season. We need a quiet room, hopefully in the 6th, with a good bathroom with shower (not tub). We can't do queen size bed, so it'll have to be king or twins put together. And we can't spend more than about 300 euros per night. This will be difficult, I'm learning. Also, I'm finding that some hotels aren't even listing prices or booking that far out; that seems strange to me. People have been recommending various hotels to me, but I've found that each is over budget. (And I haven't gotten any seconds on suggestions-- I know there are a gazillion hotels in Paris.)

 

Ha! We may wind up in Provence after all!

 

Many thanks.

[marazul]

Have you used venere.com for your search? Look at 4 star hotels. The narrow it down by area. There may be several that will suit you. We like the first and second arrondisements. Very convenient to everything.

[poss]

marazul, our only friends who know Paris very well like the 6th best and think we'd enjoy it a lot. Can you in a sentence or two tell me why you like 1&2 best? Thanks!

[buggins0402]

 

 

Ha! We may wind up in Provence after all!

 

 

I've been stewing over how to get you from Monte Carlo to Provence without too much luggage schlepping using public transport options.

 

On our land trip we ended up taking a bus from Nice to Aix, because the trains were on strike. Since luggage is stored below - there isn't much the rider has to do. If I recall correctly the bus driver actually stored and took out the luggage, but I'm sure another rider would help if he didn't. If you caught taxi's to and from the respective bus stations it might work. From Aix you could probably pick up tours to see the area more fully (or use what little public transportation is available for day trips out of Aix).

 

Another thought - if Marseille is the second to the last stop of your cruise, you could perhaps jump ship early there and take a taxi to Aix. The taxi might be somewhat costly, though.

 

I do know there is a bus from Aix to the Marseille Airport (or there used to be). We had to take that bus to pick up our car for the Provence portion of our trip.

 

It's a shame that one tour doesn't go to the Abbeye - it's so close to Gordes. I seem to recall we stumbled on it almost immediately after leaving Gordes. Alas, we were there in November, when the lavender was dead. But, it was still beautiful.

[poss]

When I've tried to use Venere.com, I find that almost always the reviews are outdated. I did check them for a few Paris hotels I thought looked interesting, but, again, the reviews were several years old. I think that Trip Advisor is a better site for getting recent input; and I like the fact that there are "room tips." I take Trip Advisor with a grain of salt, but I do find it helpful.

Thanks, marazul!

[marazul]

When I've tried to use Venere.com, I find that almost always the reviews are outdated. I did check them for a few Paris hotels I thought looked interesting, but, again, the reviews were several years old. I think that Trip Advisor is a better site for getting recent input; and I like the fact that there are "room tips." I take Trip Advisor with a grain of salt, but I do find it helpful.

Thanks, marazul!

 

I don't use venere for the reviews, I use it for booking the hotels. I like the large selection and prices. It does check numerous search engines for the best deals. It is also easier to select the number of stars, districts, prices, maps, etc. If reviews are important, check them elsewhere and then price the hotels through venere. To double check, I always go to the hotel's own website to see if I can do better than venere. Many times, the hotel will not book directly if it is several months away, but they are generally available through venere.

 

We like the 1st because of its location. Walking distance to the Louvre, Opera, Madeleine, Vendome, Ile de la Cite, etc. The 6th is also very nice, but for convenience I would pick a hotel closer to the river. It depends on how much walking you want to do, whether you'll take taxis everywhere, metro, etc.

[poss]

Thanks marazul and buggins. I am following through on what you said and what others have suggested/advised. (In my next life I intend to be the kind of person who doesn't agonize over these things. We are always fantastically pleased with what I finally manage to book, but I definitely take an unreasonable amount of time to get there. Part of it is that my husband is not a real gung-ho traveler anymore, so I especially want things to be as good and as easy as possible.)

[poss]

We signed up for Avignon and Les Baux-- really excited!

Thanks for help.

[buggins0402]

We signed up for Avignon and Les Baux-- really excited!

Thanks for help.

 

Glad to hear it! I saw you wondering about views in some other European threads - both of these destinations are on hills, with great views. In fact I can't remember a thing about the inside of the Pope's Palace, but I can still remember the view from the park in Avignon. And, will always remember the view in Les Baux!

[marazul]

In fact I can't remember a thing about the inside of the Pope's Palace,

 

My kids (ok, adults, but kids to me) always remember the huge chimney in the kitchen of the Pope's palace. Go figure.

 

poss - have a wonderful trip. Many of us would like to know what your final plans are - hotels, getting to Paris, etc. You represent the somewhat "senior" part of this audience and your comments would be of great interest to many.

 

Bon voyage!

marazul

[Colorado Kat]

I would definitely do Avignon and Les Baux. Just loved Les Baux.

 

Paris - June 21, 22? - Is that by any chance the date of the every 2 year airshow? An extra 200,000 - 300,000 people?

 

I ended up there during the show a few years back. Made everything much more crowded, but fun extras, like guys climbing up the outside of the Eiffel Tower, and rappelling back down.

[sjde]

I haven't been to Les Baux, nor Roussillon and Gordes (but I will be to those two next month!). I'd say St Remy and Arles (though that could change after next month). I am partial to small, quaint picturesque towns though.

[poss]

Colorado Kat: OMG! I've never heard of this show, but I googled. June 15-21. So it's likely that there'll still be hoards of people during the time we're to be there. That gives me a certain amount of concern, as we don't like crowds (not sure anyone does, though I guess some do like "happening" kinds of events). Makes me more nervous about the whole trip. Wish I could alter our dates, but no can do. I hope that the huge numbers of people don't suffocate my aging husband; I think I can withstand it, but not real sanguine about this new finding for his sake.

[poss]

Just learned (hope info is correct) that Air Show in Paris not until 2015.

[buggins0402]

Just learned (hope info is correct) that Air Show in Paris not until 2015.

 

I learned there was an airshow in Dubai during the time we are going to be there (2 weeks from now). Hotel prices were skyrocketing during the last days of our stay, was wondering why, then learned of the airshow. That confirmed the decision to move over to Abu Dhabi for the final few days of our time in the UAE.