Many thanks to those of you who provided advice when I asked about traveling to Provence and the Luberon area, and to others who posted about their travels in France. We didn’t take the vacation I had originally envisioned, but the one we did take turned out to be just right for us.
We flew into and out of Nice via JFK, so just one plane change for us. Usually we spend only two nights in our flight destination city, but Nice looked so interesting we stayed 4 nights. We chose a small boutique hotel just half a block off Rue Massena, very convenient for restaurants and walking everywhere. We visited the marvelous Chagal museum, but the Matisse museum was closed during our stay.
VIew of Nice from Colline du Chateau. We took the old elevator up and down.
We picked up our rental car at the train station on our last day in Nice and drove to Aix-en-Provence where we had rented an apartment for 9 nights (parking space included!). We chose Aix for its proximity to Marseilles which we had always wanted to visit, but because of the situation in Israel/Gaza that started the day we arrived in Aix and Dept. of State warnings, we reluctantly decided not to visit Marseilles. Since our main interest was hiking/walking, we took numerous day trips to nearby small towns. We also had a lovely day in Cassis, where we walked above the nearest Calanque accessible from the main part of town, then took a boat trip to see the Calanques from the water. We enjoyed the variety of restaurants in Aix. The apartment kitchen was only for breakfast and some lunches!
Hiking near Puyloubier, beneath the Saint Antoine Massif
Cassis - View from Senier du Petit Prince Calanque Port Miou
Then on to St Remy de Provence for another 9 nights in an apartment. We chose St Remy because of a comment from one Slow Europe traveler who said they planned to stay there on a future trip. It was a perfect central location for our day trips to Arles, Avignon, Pont-du-Gard, Roussillon (finally the Luberon) and the Carmargue National Park. In the Camargue we spent time at the Parc Ornithologique of Pont de Gau where hundreds of flamingoes hang out. Rousillon and Pont-du-Gard provided very good hiking opportunities. We also did some hiking closer to St. Remy. Another highlight was the Carrieres de Lumieres in Le-Baux-de-Provence. St. Remy is a small town, but we had some of our best dinners in the local restaurants.
Pont du Gard
Rousillon hiking
Camargue - Parc Ornithologique of Pont de Gau
Carrieres de Lumieres in Le-Baux-de-Provence
We finished up with 2 nights in Antibes, chosen because it was easy driving distance to the Nice airport. While there, we walked through a pretty fancy residential neighborhood along the Mediterranean and enjoyed looking at the mega-yachts in the huge harbor.
All in all, a successful trip. Marvelous food and wine, friendly people, good hiking and walking. We lucked out with the weather with almost no rain, but a bit warmer than we had wanted. We used the AllTrails app to find hiking trails, referenced Rick Steves for practical information, and used Google Translate extensively.
Already planning next year’s slow travel!
We flew into and out of Nice via JFK, so just one plane change for us. Usually we spend only two nights in our flight destination city, but Nice looked so interesting we stayed 4 nights. We chose a small boutique hotel just half a block off Rue Massena, very convenient for restaurants and walking everywhere. We visited the marvelous Chagal museum, but the Matisse museum was closed during our stay.
VIew of Nice from Colline du Chateau. We took the old elevator up and down.
We picked up our rental car at the train station on our last day in Nice and drove to Aix-en-Provence where we had rented an apartment for 9 nights (parking space included!). We chose Aix for its proximity to Marseilles which we had always wanted to visit, but because of the situation in Israel/Gaza that started the day we arrived in Aix and Dept. of State warnings, we reluctantly decided not to visit Marseilles. Since our main interest was hiking/walking, we took numerous day trips to nearby small towns. We also had a lovely day in Cassis, where we walked above the nearest Calanque accessible from the main part of town, then took a boat trip to see the Calanques from the water. We enjoyed the variety of restaurants in Aix. The apartment kitchen was only for breakfast and some lunches!
Hiking near Puyloubier, beneath the Saint Antoine Massif
Cassis - View from Senier du Petit Prince Calanque Port Miou
Then on to St Remy de Provence for another 9 nights in an apartment. We chose St Remy because of a comment from one Slow Europe traveler who said they planned to stay there on a future trip. It was a perfect central location for our day trips to Arles, Avignon, Pont-du-Gard, Roussillon (finally the Luberon) and the Carmargue National Park. In the Camargue we spent time at the Parc Ornithologique of Pont de Gau where hundreds of flamingoes hang out. Rousillon and Pont-du-Gard provided very good hiking opportunities. We also did some hiking closer to St. Remy. Another highlight was the Carrieres de Lumieres in Le-Baux-de-Provence. St. Remy is a small town, but we had some of our best dinners in the local restaurants.
Pont du Gard
Rousillon hiking
Camargue - Parc Ornithologique of Pont de Gau
Carrieres de Lumieres in Le-Baux-de-Provence
We finished up with 2 nights in Antibes, chosen because it was easy driving distance to the Nice airport. While there, we walked through a pretty fancy residential neighborhood along the Mediterranean and enjoyed looking at the mega-yachts in the huge harbor.
All in all, a successful trip. Marvelous food and wine, friendly people, good hiking and walking. We lucked out with the weather with almost no rain, but a bit warmer than we had wanted. We used the AllTrails app to find hiking trails, referenced Rick Steves for practical information, and used Google Translate extensively.
Already planning next year’s slow travel!
