Hey everyone! My boyfriend and I are thinking of going to Provence for 7-10 days in June and since I'll be 6 months pregnant by then, we want to rent an apartment in a quiet area, so a small town or outskirts of a city near the beach would be nice. It would be really cheap for us to fly to Nice or Marseille, so one of these will be our starting point. We want to have a good 'homebase' close to the sea and to restaurants and grocery shops from where we can do day trips.. we are interested in seeing some beautiful nature but also a bit of culture and one or two days spent in the bigger cities like Marseille or Nice. What do you recommend as our 'homebase' for this time and is it better to fly to Marseille or Nice? Or would it be best to split the time and spend several nights at two different places to see the most and then fly back from a different place? If necessary, we will take a rental car for our time there. Thanks in advance!
Any place between both cities are fine for your planning. Staying at the coast, even in two different villages, is fine but gives you absolutely no idea about what the Provence is. For this a car would be the best to discover this big region.
I agree with regards. If you are going to visit Provence the best way is to rent a car and find a place to sleep there not in the French Riviera. There are so many places to choose: Arles, Avignon, Aix en Provance or the lovely villages like Gordes or Isle sur la Sorgue.
I suggest choosing somewhere around Avignon as a base! You have everything within a really short distance (Arles, The Pont du Gard, the Luberon villages, Uzes (and the phenomenal markets-actually I'd personally like to stay in Uzes as its small and charming over Avignon as it's more crowded/major city), Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, etc
I have stayed in Avignon for a couple of months and found SO much charm there that went beyond the touristy crowded areas, but also have spent a few nights in Uzes and I would love to go back and spend a summer there just visiting the picturesque surrounding areas, shopping out the outdoor markets for meats, spices and produce to cook at home, etc.
As a base, if you want a smaller quieter village you should choose something NOT in the Luberon or French riviera but you could find a place somewhere like Uzes, Arles or Chateauneuf du Pape. But if you want a city with more going on I'd choose Avignon-it's still got the small city feel due to the historic walled center and cobbled roads. Aix doesn't have this kind of charm though it's a wonderful city and my French friends from Provence love it precisely because of its modernity. Their whole lives have been spent in cobblestone paths and tiny historic centers so they like the bright lights of the big city as a change.
Look up the Luberon villages, the Abbey de Senanque, the Pont du Gard, Arles, Uzes market and Avignon online and try to get an idea of what sounds good to you. There are SO many different ways you can go in Provence. If you want to be by the sea-you'll be farther away from most of the things I'd want to see in Provence so perhaps better just to spend a few nights somewhere picturesque like St Remy on the way to the heart of Provence...
car is essential. Airbnb preferable over hotels (though there are French sites with amazing villas as well) because a huge part of the joy of Provence is what you can shop for, cook and eat
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