Travel Guide to Provence

A friend of mine is renting a villa near Avignon this summer, and I am tres jaloux. My husband and I spent many a fine summer day near Avignon nearly twenty years ago, and it is one of my favorite places in France. We never rented a villa; we always stayed at the Hotel L'Hermitage in Pernes Les Fontaine, just north of Avignon near Carpentras. Carpentras and and Pernes les Fontaines are charming little Vaucluse towns by themselves, but they don't have the draw of Avignon with the St Benezet Bridge, and the Palais de Papes. There is a bridge, you can't dance on it but you could dance under it.  It's it ruins now, but still makes for a very fine photo, if you're willing to cross the river, find just the right spot in the dirt on the hill on the opposite bank, then wait for the sun to turn the stone buildings all pink in the sunset.  The result was pretty spectacular though. The food in Avignon is great, even the cafes 

along the main avenue aren't too bad, if a little touristy, we had our first real Budweiser, from Budvar, at one, but get off the main drag and the food gets really good. Too bad I don't know if our favorite little creperie that served wonderful Armagnac crepes is still there. It was a tiny hole in the wall that I probably couldn't find, even if it is still open.

We made a lot of wonderful day trips from Avignon.  We took the TGV, the high-speed train, from Paris, then rented a car when we got to Avignon.  From there we explored the breathtaking region, including the Vaucluse, the Luberon, and down to the Riviera. We saw the Pont Du Gard, amazing, the picturesque town of Fontaines de Vaucluse, where the poet Petrarch wrote many of his most famous poems to his beloved Laura, and the source of the Sorgue river. We explored Roman ruins, and expressionist painters in Arles, a little disappointing since a lot was under scaffolding back then, and Aix-de Provence with its wonderful little candies. However, I was really charmed by the little town of St Remy de Provence, where Van Gogh spent most of the last year of his life at the nearby asylum and painted a lot. He painted views from his room, including Starry Night, and the olive and cypress groves nearby, once they let him out, among many others. It's also the site of the Roman town of Glanum, not as impressive as the arena or Amphitheater of Arles or Orange, but interesting if you are into Roman stuff, we were.  In general, the town is lovely, has great food, local wine, and shopping. I would have considered making it my base had we not been so firmly entrenched at L'Hermitage. It is a great place to stop for a meal after exploring another of my favorite spots, Les Baux de Provence, a medieval town and ruined castle perched high on a limestone butte in the Alpilles. The view of the rocky countryside dotted with olive trees below is spectacular, and the town is crowded with tour buses for good reason. One is transported instantly back to the time of the troubadours and courtly love. Be sure to stop at any local vineyards you find along the route. The wines are lovely; mostly whites that are as flinty and dry as the earth that grew the grapes.  A far cry from the luscious reds of Chateauneuf de Pape up north of Avignon. The town may not be much, but the wines from the surrounding area are amazing and you will pay top dollar in the states. They may not be exactly cheap in France, but they will be cheaper than you'll ever see here in the US. Make sure to devote at least a day to the Chateauneuf area if you are a wine lover.

While you are in the area make sure to drive through Gordes but be careful not to drive off the road as you approach the town because this is the view you see as you come around a bend in the twisty road.  Stop in town near the main square and search for a flat surface to enjoy a cold quelque chose, perhaps a Pastis, or Lemonade, and a rest after all that perilous driving.

By far my favorite day trip from Avignon was the seaside town of Cassis. We liked it so much we never went to Marseille on either of our trips to Provence, instead, we went back to Cassis. One of the few towns to rate a second or third trip.  Go to the beach, take a boat trip around the Calanques and watch the naked men sunbathe on the sun-drenched rocks, then head back to town for dinner by the harbor, perhaps the Bouillabaisse and that local white wine.  Here's a tip, that local wine will never taste as good as it does while you're on vacation, but it makes everything taste better while you are. 
It's hard to get a bad meal in Provence, but it can be done, I think the only really bad meal we had was in Orange.  We were tired, we had stopped to see the Roman amphitheater, but we were hungry, and it was getting late.  We never did really see much of or Orange, we never went back.  The guidebooks love it, but all it gave us was heartburn.  Unfortunately, we only made two trips to Provence.  We always meant to go back. We were really looking forward to using the swimming pool that L'Hermitage was putting in, but we never got to. I know we missed a lot the region has to offer. I wanted to go to the Camargue, explore more of the Riviera, get over to Nimes or Montpelier, but the kids came, and we ended up in other places. It's not that we didn't travel, we just went different places. We went to Spain; we visited my mom in Japan. We went all over Europe and even returned to France when we lived in England for a year, going to Paris, and the Atlantic coast near Biarritz and St. Jean de Luz. For as much as I have enjoyed all my travels, I look back with great affection for those trips to Provence, and I often think how much I would love to spend my summer days on the terrace of the Hermitage Hotel, drinking my morning coffee, and planning where I want to explore on the morrow.

Terrace of the Hermitage Hotel

Market day in Carpentras.