How Many Days Pre-Cruise for the South of France?

[MalibuCA]

We plan to visit the following cities/villages in the South of France prior to boarding the Crystal Serenity in Marseille:

 

Arles

Aix-en-Provence

Avignon

St. Remy

Les Baux

Ansouis

Gordes

Roussillon

Menerbes

Lourmarin

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

Venasque

 

and possibly:

 

Lacoste

Oppede le Vieux

Bonnieux

 

How many days should we plan pre-cruise in order to visit all of these villages and cities? We do not want to rush, but instead, we want to savor the moments and soak up the ambiance. We are retired, and fortunately, we are not restricted by time - we want to spend whatever number of days is necessary to do it right and in a relaxed way. Which cities/villages should we combine on the same day, and which cities/villages demand a full day each? I know that part of the charm of visiting the South of France is to be free of a set-in-stone itinerary, but I need some kind of plan to know how many days to spend pre-cruise. If it helps, we are considering Aix-en-Provence, Avignon and Marseille as our single base hotel. I know that Marseille doesn't offer the charm that Aix and Avignon do, but they do offer larger hotels with excellent concierge service that the smaller boutique hotels in Aix and Avignon may not provide. We are still very ambivalent on which city to use as our base, but for planning our itinerary, it doesn't seem to matter so much since most of the villages and cities that we want to visit are within 1 - 1.5 hours from all hotels that we are considering. How many days???? Looking for your brilliant help!

 

Thanks,

Shelley

[cberge]

We plan to visit the following cities/villages in the South of France prior to boarding the Crystal Serenity in Marseille:

 

Arles

Aix-en-Provence

Avignon

St. Remy

Les Baux

Ansouis

Gordes

Roussillon

Menerbes

Lourmarin

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

Venasque

 

and possibly:

 

Lacoste

Oppede le Vieux

Bonnieux

 

How many days should we plan pre-cruise in order to visit all of these villages and cities? We do not want to rush, but instead, we want to savor the moments and soak up the ambiance. We are retired, and fortunately, we are not restricted by time - we want to spend whatever number of days is necessary to do it right and in a relaxed way. Which cities/villages should we combine on the same day, and which cities/villages demand a full day each? I know that part of the charm of visiting the South of France is to be free of a set-in-stone itinerary, but I need some kind of plan to know how many days to spend pre-cruise. If it helps, we are considering Aix-en-Provence, Avignon and Marseille as our single base hotel. I know that Marseille doesn't offer the charm that Aix and Avignon do, but they do offer larger hotels with excellent concierge service that the smaller boutique hotels in Aix and Avignon may not provide. We are still very ambivalent on which city to use as our base, but for planning our itinerary, it doesn't seem to matter so much since most of the villages and cities that we want to visit are within 1 - 1.5 hours from all hotels that we are considering. How many days???? Looking for your brilliant help!

 

Thanks,

Shelley

 

Truth...at least a week to do it the way you want to and enjoy the moments..I would not do any less.

[buggins0402]

We plan to visit the following cities/villages in the South of France prior to boarding the Crystal Serenity in Marseille:

 

Arles

Aix-en-Provence

Avignon

St. Remy

Les Baux

Ansouis

Gordes

Roussillon

Menerbes

Lourmarin

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

Venasque

 

and possibly:

 

Lacoste

Oppede le Vieux

Bonnieux

 

How many days should we plan pre-cruise in order to visit all of these villages and cities? We do not want to rush, but instead, we want to savor the moments and soak up the ambiance. We are retired, and fortunately, we are not restricted by time - we want to spend whatever number of days is necessary to do it right and in a relaxed way. Which cities/villages should we combine on the same day, and which cities/villages demand a full day each? I know that part of the charm of visiting the South of France is to be free of a set-in-stone itinerary, but I need some kind of plan to know how many days to spend pre-cruise. If it helps, we are considering Aix-en-Provence, Avignon and Marseille as our single base hotel. I know that Marseille doesn't offer the charm that Aix and Avignon do, but they do offer larger hotels with excellent concierge service that the smaller boutique hotels in Aix and Avignon may not provide. We are still very ambivalent on which city to use as our base, but for planning our itinerary, it doesn't seem to matter so much since most of the villages and cities that we want to visit are within 1 - 1.5 hours from all hotels that we are considering. How many days???? Looking for your brilliant help!

 

Thanks,

Shelley

 

My gut feel, ideal would be 7 days for leisurely touring...perhaps split between Avignon and a base in the Luberon or Aix.

[marazul]

You seem to be interested in many villages in the Luberon. Access would be easiest from Avignon. Why not do 3-4 nights there and then move to Marseille for the rest of the week? You can get to Aix, Arles and Nimes easily from Marseille.

Yes, you need a week, but don't include your air travel day in the week. Ideally, 4 days at each place.

Edited February 14, 2015 by marazul

[Langoustine]

I've been in that area many times over the last 40 years, and I would say at least a week, preferably 10 days.

[Twickenham]

With that list, if you want tour in a leisurely fashion, I'd say more like a month and a half...

[Hlitner]

We would say a month would give you a decent taste of the region and the places you want to see. Two weeks would also work although things would become a bit more frantic. And keep in mind that L'Isle Sur La Sorgue is a place to visit on Sunday mornings. And you need a Sunday with relatively decent weather (i.e. no rain).

 

We have found, that for us, the best way to enjoy the south of France is to rent apartments for at least a week and preferable 2 weeks and then use that as a base for day trips (in our rental car). We have done apartment rentals in both St Remy and more recently Avignon which are both good bases. Avignon does have the advantage of being a larger city with many restaurants whereas spending a few weeks in St Remy becomes a challenge when trying to find new and interesting eating venues without having to drive more then a few minutes.

 

Hank

[buggins0402]

Lol! The above shows how my view of time needed is so warped by still being a working stiff. We did all the towns except a few on the first list, with the addition of Pont du Gard and a few more towns above L'isle sur la sorgue in five days. We hit at least two of the three towns in the in the second list and Aix on the way to a Marseille airport hotel. OP did say they were retired, so their version of leisurely is probably a lot different then mine. I just added a few days to our five in the general area of the towns mentioned...:). We also spent some extra days even further west.

 

OP might want to consider adding Chateauneuf de Pape if they like wine...it's just a stone's throw from Avignon.

[LondonTowner]

We rented an apartment in St Remy and really loved it. We were there for a week, but could easily have stayed longer as there is lots to see. I would spend one week in one destination and another week somewhere else. Gites de France is a good place to start looking for accommodation.

[Hlitner]

Sometimes I love to tell tales of our personal experience (which many folks simply skip) so here goes. A few years ago we rented an apartment (for 2 weeks) at St Remy about a 5 min walk outside of the center. Every morning I would walk in towards town and stop at a local Boulangerie and buy some croissants and/or pastries. The shop was run by an elderly lady and every morning I would go in with a big smile and "Bonjour Madame" only to be greeted by a scowl. The 8th morning I entered the shop as usual with my friendly "Bonjour Madame" and was this time greeted by a big smile and some friendly conversation (in French and English). When I left the shop I started walking with a local lady (who had also purchased some croissants) and she remarked that we must have been in St Remy for more then a week since "Madame" acknowledged our presence. It turned out that this local bakery owner just did not acknowledge anyone until they had been in town at least a week. Kind of makes you love the French :)

 

Hank

[MalibuCA]

Great story, Hank, and thanks for sharing. Thank you all for your help. Now we need to balance all of the wonderful suggestions and purchase our flights. We're planning on 10 full days of sightseeing prior to our cruise. Anything we miss . . . we'll just have to return again. To buggins2402 - Thank you for the Chateauneuf de Pape recommendation, but we were actually there previously on a river cruise last year. That's when we discovered that we love the south of France, but need to see it up close and personal - not just on a river boat. Thanks again for all of your help!

 

Shelley