Nīmes Travel Forum

Hello, as part of our honeymoon in late Jul / early Aug my fiancee and I are going to Provence for about 9 days. Here is our rough itinerary.

The plan is to TGV from Paris to Nimes, then go to:
* Nimes (stay overnight)
* Arles (stay overnight)
* Les Baux
* Avignon (stay 2 nights)
* Chateauneuf-du-Pape
* Orange
* Cotes du Rhone winery area, e.g. Le Crestet / Suzette (stay overnight)
* Vaison la Romaine
* Carpentras
* L'Isle sur la Sorgue
* Gordes (stay overnight)
* Roussillon
* Aix en Provence (stay 2 nights)
* Cassis / Les Calanques
* Marseille (stay 2 nights)

Back to Paris on the TGV.

Any thoughts on where to see, where to go, where to avoid, where to stay? Thanks for your help. I'm going to put this on some of the other Provence city boards.

Thanks,
Ben

bookmark - my daughter and her bf are going in late May.

Great place, really interesting part of France ... but late July is a terrible time to go! The weather gets too warm, and since the too-warm weather only lasts a couple of months, most places do not have air-conditioning. Assuming that you have no choice about the date (otherwise you wouldn't go in the peak tourist season ... would you?), consider changing your travel plans completely and going to Scotland or a Scandinavian country instead.

I'm so jealous--you've picked my favorite place to be and my favorite time of year to be there. Good for you for picking L'Isle sur la Sorgue and Cassis--they are two places that often get left off Provence itineraries and are really worth seeing--I think you can make Cassis a half-day trip if necessary. There's a wonderful museum there (the name of which escapes me right now--I'll get it for you) with the most incredible curator who will take you on a private tour if you are lucky enough to catch him while he's in. Great place to buy espadrilles, too!

L'Isle sur la Sorgue is incredible--especially if you're into antiques. They have a really funny boat race that is held around that time of year that is really worth catching if you can time it right. Also, great restaurant there called Bistro de l'Industrie or something to that effect. Right on the water. Again, I'll get details when I have the time.

Personally, I always find Arles disappointing--I always go back hoping I'll like it more, but I never do. Maybe other VT'ers can offer more positive advice on this one. Defintely worth seeing, though, so I would keep it in--as much as I don't like the town, it's pretty incredible to see the real inspiration for all those Van Goghs.

When in Avignon, be sure to check out the hatmaker, Mouret if for no other reason than to see his window--it doesn't get more French than this place.

Good call on staying in Aix for two nights--in my opinion, this is the best city in the south, but I'm sure some would disagree. Great night life in the summer.

These are just random thoughts--I'll look at some of my old notes and try to come up with more organized ideas.

Bookmark. I think your plan is very good, although perhaps a bit rushed. I've been to most of these places, and concur that Aix and seaside Cassis are two of my favorites. I love the bouillabaise in Marseilles, and the Roman ruins of many of the other towns, such as Nimes, Arles, and Avignon. You will have a great time, however, your dates are in the very busy and hot season. (Personally, I want to watch the responses here to see if I can update myself, too, as it's been 15-or-so years since I've traveled/studied in this area, and would like to go back soon). Wishing you well in your planning!

I have to agree about the rushed thing--you are definitely packing in a lot of stops in very little time. And I definitely agree about the heat thing--personally, I love heat, but as there is no air conditioned place to really escape, it can get really, really oppressive after a while.

I presume you will also include a visit to the Pont du Gard from Avignon.

Make sure to visit the Village des Bories and Abbaye de Sénanque just outside Gordes. It may be hot in August but you should be just right for the lavender fields.

From L'Isle Sur La Sorgue head for Gordes via Fontaine de Vaucluse and take the walk up to the source. Continue through the village on Rte 100A for a drive across the hills towards Gordes.

Being french but uk resident and having lived years in the region you are going to i can only be very jealous ! I must admit that if you are not used to real HEAT you might be surprised ! Nevertheless you are going to one of the pretiest parts of France but to me wanting to do all you have listed is a waste because you wont have time to appreciate anything !
Staying just overnight in Nimes just wander around the Arenes in the evening and apreciate with your wife a good cool evening on one of the terasses you will find.If you want to eat something different order a GARDIANE its like a stew but made of bull meat cooked in blood. I always have one when i go back there.( By the way i will be there in a couple of weeks..thank you ryanair !)Fo the rest , its all interesting but you will have to come back. This time when in Marseilles and Cassis you MUST go and see the Calanques. A unique scenery fantastic to visit on one of the little boats that will show you around.Who knows after this first visit this region could be a good direction for your coming anniversaries !!!

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. It's great information. I know our itinerary seems rushed, especially for a honeymoon, but we're aggressive travelers. We will probably cut a few places out.

A couple follow up questions.

- Is L'Isle de la Sorgue worth it if we don't go on Sunday? I hear it's booming on Sundays for their antique market but we're probably heading there around midday Thursday. Also, has anyone canoed down the Sorgue river? I guess they do trips between Fontaine de Vaucluse and L'isle.

- Is Arles worth it if we don't go on Saturday? I hear they have a big market that day but it's pretty sleepy otherwise, and we are probably going Sunday.

- For a half-day trip coupled with the Calanques, would you recommend checking out Cassis or the beaches at La Ciotat?

- Has anyone been to the Cotes du Rhone area, around Vaison la Romaine and the wineries near the Dentelles de Montmirail? Just wondering if that's worth it because it's a little out of the way.

- How hard is it driving around Marseille?

Thanks again everybody.

Personally, I think that L'Isle sur la Sorgue is worth seeing anytime, although you are right in that it can have a totally different vibe on Sunday--this town is really serious about antiques and the people watching on market days is incredible. The town is up and lively and fun. If it were my trip, I would try to re-work my itinerary to be there on Sunday, but then I love antiques. You know there's an annual (might be bi-annual--I can't remember) antiques festival at that time of year, too.

Arles on the other hand, unless you are just a huge Van Gogh fan, or feel the need to see a bullfight, can be a little on the dull side--if you ask me this is true no matter what day of the week you go. I've always found the weekend market there over-rated anyway. This is just my opinion, but to me Arles can be pretty dreary and just doesn't offer as much as other places. If I were going to cut one thing out of my trip it would be Arles, but I know people who absolutely love it, mostly, I think because of the Van Gogh connection.

As for driving in Marseille--I've always found it to me a total nightmare--the only place that I think has more traffic is the route into St. Tropez. I've been stuck in huge traffic jams in Marseille and especially since the car you rent will probably be a stick, this makes it even more annoying. I hate driving in Marseille.