we will be arriving in Avignon around 4:30pm on 3/31 from Paris on the TGV. We are staying two nights in Avignon. I thought we%26#39;d have dinner in Avignon and tour Avignon on 4/1 and possibly also see Pont d Gard in the afternoon. On 4/2 we are departing towards the Nice area by car. We love to drive and get lost in hillside villages and the Luberon seemed like the perfect place to do it. Can we make it to Nice by evening and tour the Luberon countryside or should we stop for the night along the way. If so any suggestions would be welcome.
The plan is to then stay in Nice or perhaps VillaFrance until we take a flight back to Paris on the afternoon of 4/7. We want to go to Monaco, St Paul de Vence, drive the Grand Corniche and see the hillside villages but since this is our first trip to this area we thought staying by the water (hotel welcome?)seemed to make sense. We will be there for Palm Sunday and would enjoy a traditional Catholic Palm Sunday mass if there is such a thing??
I am amazed by the responses to this site and I would be so grateful for any advice and recommendations. Merci.
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We stayed at Menton, a little less expensive than Villefranche and very pretty, rather Italian if feel with the coloured houses. A lovely cathedral up the top of town so no problem with Palm Sunday mass I expect. All along the waterfront, down at beach level, are restaurants and private beach lettings. We ate dinner with our toes almost in the water and the roof open to the stars. We stayed at the Hotel Napoleon which was quite nice.A few pictures
www.nickbooth.id.au/France08/Menton.html
Be warned, the travel along the Cote d%26#39;Azur is at some times a railway on one side and a row of parked cars on the other. The beach is out of sight below the sidewalk. Not terribly attractive.Some pictures on my blog
…blogspot.com/2008/08/encore-provence.html
However, you should make Nice comfortably.
When visiting St Paul du Vence make sure you see Fondation Maeght, a wonderful art collection just near the town. Well worth the entry fee.
www.nickbooth.id.au/NickWeb/Pages/StPaul.htm
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The Luberon is a large national park and a quick visit on the way to Nice is not really going to do it justice:-)
I suggest you spend the whole day exploring the area moving from west to east that way you will get a feel for the region.Get a guide book to the region and decide which villages interest you so you can plan your route.
I would aim to be near to Aix en Provence by late afternoon. Either stay here the night - a good contrast with Avignon or pick up the autoroute and blast down to Nice from there - about a two hour drive.
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There will be RC Palm Sunday masses wherever you happen to be on the day. There will also be a couple of Anglican masses and various protestant denomination services for palm sunday along the coast.
There will be people selling elaborate creations - crosses etc made of palm leaves outside the Notre Dame cathedral in Nice as well as in the old town and in other places around the area.
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Hi BusterBrewsky,
Since you will not arrive in Avignon until late afternoon and will still have to check into your hotel, I hope that you will consider giving Western Provence at least one more day (or ideally two) by delaying your trip to Nice until April 3rd or even 4th. Western Provence has so much to offer, including some of the best preserved Roman ruins and since you love to %26quot;drive and get lost in hillside village,%26quot; it really is a place that deserves more of your attention. Of course Nice is nice, but I am sure that you will love the areas to the West in the Bouches-du-Rhone and even heading North into the Vaucluse as much, if not more since they seem like your kind of places.
AlpillesGal
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Thank you everyone and especially AlpillesGal. I have read many of your very insightful posts. We will consider staying one extra day and visiting to the west.
We do like quaint and we want to enjoy the French countryside but my thought is since this is the first time to the French Riviera, we should stay near the Mediterranean when in the cote d azur. VilleFranche seems like it would suit our tastes and allow us to stay on the water and also easily get by car to the perched villages of Eze and St. Paul de Vence and drive the Corniche%26#39;s. Any thoughts? We plan to visit Nice, Monaco Cannes etc while in the area. We aren%26#39;t ones to sit around.
Any thoughts on typical weather during the first week of April. Warm is not a priority for us coming from Miami. A little coolness will be fine just hopefully no rain.
Thank you again.
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Thank you to everyone who replied and posted on these forums. Your collective advice was well received and permitted us to have a wonderful vacation.
We enjoyed Avignon and the Luberon but we really enjoyed our afternoon in Western Provence. We went to Pont d Gard and proceeded from there to Nimes. Wow. The Collisieum and the Roman Temple were breathtaking. AlpillesGal is right on. This area deserves more attention. We will definitely spend more time the next time we come.
Avignon is quaint and deserves about a half day of touring but is a nice home base with good restaurants. The Luberon villages were quaint and we enjoyed visiting the various markets in Isle de la Sorgue,Bonnieux, Lourmarin. Loved our late afternoon, evening and morning in Bonnieux. Nice location. Don%26#39;t overlook it.
Thanks to everyone who helped us make our trip of a lifetime so wonderful.
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