Anyone have a an excursion to recommend from Marseille?

[slidergirl]

On 9/2/2021 at 2:32 PM, Hlitner said:

I am somewhat tour adverse and personally favor DIY unless it is just not reasonable.  But we have many traveling friends who have had nothing but good to say about "Tours by Locals."    What I do like about the concept is that you book with specific guides/experts and it is even possible to do some vetting of the tour guide.  

 

Hank

Hank -

I'm starting to flesh out my July '22 Rhone canal barge trip.  At the end of the trip, I can plan anywhere from 1-4 days in Provence.  My trip puts me back in Marseille, so I can pick up a little rental car and go.  Prime thing I want is to be able to find a scenic lavender field and take a few 100 photos.  Any other things that 1 person could do?  I'm a DIY person, too.  I've driven throughout Italy and Germany, so I have no problem giving it a go in France!

[Hlitner]

8 minutes ago, slidergirl said:

Hank -

I'm starting to flesh out my July '22 Rhone canal barge trip.  At the end of the trip, I can plan anywhere from 1-4 days in Provence.  My trip puts me back in Marseille, so I can pick up a little rental car and go.  Prime thing I want is to be able to find a scenic lavender field and take a few 100 photos.  Any other things that 1 person could do?  I'm a DIY person, too.  I've driven throughout Italy and Germany, so I have no problem giving it a go in France!

My kind of trip.  We really enjoy traveling in France and the Rhone Valley.  And the wines in that region are very much to our taste :).  I think the most difficult decision when heading to Provence is choosing a home base.  So many wonderful villages and some tempting cities.  If you can expand your visit to a full week you will leave wanting more :).

 

Hank

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, slidergirl said:

Hank -

I'm starting to flesh out my July '22 Rhone canal barge trip.  At the end of the trip, I can plan anywhere from 1-4 days in Provence.  My trip puts me back in Marseille, so I can pick up a little rental car and go.  Prime thing I want is to be able to find a scenic lavender field and take a few 100 photos.  Any other things that 1 person could do?  I'm a DIY person, too.  I've driven throughout Italy and Germany, so I have no problem giving it a go in France!

We’ve visited this area a few times and enjoyed basing near Aix en provence.   You might enjoy Les Baux de provence,  St Remy, Arles or smaller villages nearby.  We liked Uzes, a lot as well as the Nearby Languedoc area with its lovely wines and beautiful Carcassonne.  And Montpelier.  

[Hlitner]

25 minutes ago, bennybear said:

We’ve visited this area a few times and enjoyed basing near Aix en provence.   You might enjoy Les Baux de provence,  St Remy, Arles or smaller villages nearby.  We liked Uzes, a lot as well as the Nearby Languedoc area with its lovely wines and beautiful Carcassonne.  And Montpelier.  

Oh lets have some fun and talk about a good base.  I will assume that the folks have a rental car (not having a car in Provence would be a huge problem).  So where to say?  For our two most recent lengthy visits (in the past 10 years) we tried two different bases, St Remy de Provence and Avignon.  We had previously stayed in Avignon for a few days but the St Remy visit was something new.  In both places we rented a flat (apartment)   The place in St Remy was a unit in an old villa located within walking distance to the square (we actually spent 2 weeks here).  It was a fun experience but we found that the our biggest negative were the limited number of decent restaurants in St Remy to where we could walk for dinner (I preferred not to drive so I could drink more wine).   On the other hand, I thought I made it to heaven when the lady owner of the local boulangerie finally gave me a smile (once I had visited her place for a week) and then actually gave me a hug after two weeks :).  Apparently she simply does not recognize anyone who is in town for less then a week (only in France).  

 

So on our next visit we decided to rent a flat inside the walls of old town Avignon (a city we know quite well).  We found a really nice large apartment with our own roof top balcony/sunning area.  The disadvantage of staying in Avignon is parking but the advantage is being within walking distance of numerous excellent restaurants/cafes.   In retrospect we thought staying in St Remy was more charming, but staying in Avignon best suited our desire for eating venues within walking distance.  We are used to dealing with parking hassles in Europe so we did adjust to the Avignon situation and would actually book that same flat again (not even sure that is possible).  

 

One other base we have considered is to stay in Aix en Provence, but we never thought it's location was as good as Avignon or St Remy.   As much as we like Aix we sometimes think it has too much of a big city feel for our taste.

 

Hank

[bennybear]

We usually stay just outside Aix,  and once outside St Remy walking distance to a smaller village.   Or in Remoulins near Pont  du Gard and Uzes.   We like to have a pool available.
But the best was when we stayed in a villa that was hosting a wine tasting,  and then later had a Table d’hôte where one vintner paired the wines.  DH thought he died and was gone to heaven!

 

We too like to enjoy some wine with dinner without driving so we often book locations that serve an evening meal.   One New Years Day we stayed in a beautiful old castle,  and the lady asked if we ate meat,   Well we do,  just was surprised when my DH tried to convince me it was duck,  when it was wild hare,  well cooked but not for me.   Thank goodness for the cheese course.  

Edited September 11, 2021 by bennybear

[slidergirl]

Wow!  Thanks to hank and bennybear for all that good information!!  I wish I could stay there for longer, but I have my grand-niece's wedding to get to.  

Is any one place or places better IYO for a mature solo woman to visit?  Just based on the "vibes" you got around Provence.  

[bennybear]

Aix en provence is lovely during the day but last time in the evenings it had become more of a young people’s drinking hang out.  Was quite a change from a few years earlier.  There are some nice hotels just outside of Aix,  we’ve had good luck at the Novotel as well.  
 

I am wondering if it might not be fun to find a villa that serves dinner in the evenings and then you will meet other travellers.  We stayed near Fontvielle.   St Remy has the advantage of being nearly equidistant from Arles, Aix and Avignon.   Or perhaps stay in a smaller village? 
 

L’isle de Sorgue is a pretty village and Carpentras would also be interesting.  So you have a wealth of choice available.    Happy planning!  
 

We also enjoyed Montpelier,  and then there’s always Nice,  the beautiful old town or out by the port where there will be a myriad of dining choices.  
 

Edited September 11, 2021 by bennybear

[slidergirl]

I knew I could count on you folks to give me good ideas to explore!  Good thing I have a few months to digest all of this.   
I had been thinking of Aix as a base just because I knew of it.  I do like the idea of small towns, too.  I'm not flush with money, so I have to watch where I go and what I do.  

[sailing canary]

14 hours ago, slidergirl said:

I knew I could count on you folks to give me good ideas to explore!  Good thing I have a few months to digest all of this.   
I had been thinking of Aix as a base just because I knew of it.  I do like the idea of small towns, too.  I'm not flush with money, so I have to watch where I go and what I do.  

Have you considered 'chambres d'hotes' (what we call 'bed and breakfast')? Many of them do evening meals and you have ready-made dining companions. Friends of ours spent 6 weeks in France using them as accommodation. And you have said you'll be renting a car, so it wouldn't be an issue if they were slightly off the beaten track.

Link to Provence chambres d'hotes below. There is a link on the page to translate into English.

 

https://www.chambres-hotes.fr/table-hotes_provence-alpes-cote-d-azur_r21_en.html

[slidergirl]

12 hours ago, sailing canary said:

Have you considered 'chambres d'hotes' (what we call 'bed and breakfast')? Many of them do evening meals and you have ready-made dining companions. Friends of ours spent 6 weeks in France using them as accommodation. And you have said you'll be renting a car, so it wouldn't be an issue if they were slightly off the beaten track.

Link to Provence chambres d'hotes below. There is a link on the page to translate into English.

 

https://www.chambres-hotes.fr/table-hotes_provence-alpes-cote-d-azur_r21_en.html

Wow.  Thank you for this tip!  My head is going to explode with all the good information I've received lately.  

[Hlitner]

Bennybear mentiond L'isle sur la Sorgue which has long been a favorite place of ours.  But we think the key to that village is to visit on Sundays when they have their huge outdoor flea/food market.  It is the 2nd largest such market in France (the largest is in Paris) and it is worth a few hours on a nice day.  The key is to get there by around 9am since much of the market starts to shut down around 12:30-1.  

 

 

Hank  

[slidergirl]

8 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Bennybear mentiond L'isle sur la Sorgue which has long been a favorite place of ours.  But we think the key to that village is to visit on Sundays when they have their huge outdoor flea/food market.  It is the 2nd largest such market in France (the largest is in Paris) and it is worth a few hours on a nice day.  The key is to get there by around 9am since much of the market starts to shut down around 12:30-1.  

 

 

Hank  

I would be there on Sunday, since my barge trip ends on Saturday!!   

You all are wonderful with all this info.  

[sailing canary]

On 9/14/2021 at 4:11 PM, slidergirl said:

I would be there on Sunday, since my barge trip ends on Saturday!!   

You all are wonderful with all this info.  

 

Anything here catch your eye???

 

https://www.chambres-hotes.fr/chambres-hotes_l-isle-sur-la-sorgue_36328.html

[slidergirl]

4 hours ago, sailing canary said:

 

Anything here catch your eye???

 

https://www.chambres-hotes.fr/chambres-hotes_l-isle-sur-la-sorgue_36328.html

Hmm.  La Prévôté jumped out.  The creek flows right through it.  Has a restaurant, too.  Middle of town.   Price is reasonable. 

[Korimako]

On 9/13/2021 at 3:31 AM, slidergirl said:

I knew I could count on you folks to give me good ideas to explore!  Good thing I have a few months to digest all of this.   
I had been thinking of Aix as a base just because I knew of it.  I do like the idea of small towns, too.  I'm not flush with money, so I have to watch where I go and what I do.  

Here's another suggestion

https://www.logishotels.com/en/

 

These are an association - not a corporate chain - of small family run hotels throughout France and each one is different. We have been using them in our extensive French travels for over 40 years (we didn't always live in New Zealand) and I can recommend them without hesitation. Our most recent stay was in December 2019.

It's not unusual to find Maman ( or even Mamie!) on the desk and Papa in the kitchen. They are usually in small towns and villages with parking available. 

Hope this helps

[slidergirl]

Thank you Korimako!  I'll keep this pointer in my ever-expanding file of what i'm going try to do next July!