Consider my guidebook's seaside walks in Cap Ferrat, or take the one-hour boat cruise from Nice's port. Spend the afternoon or evening in almost-neighboring Monaco sleep in or near Nice. Day 4: Inland Riviera. Pick up your rental car as early as possible in Nice.
Day 5: Drive to Provence. Day 6: Luberon Hill Towns. From late June to late July, when the lavender blooms, the drive to Vaison-la-Romaine via Sault is a must sleep in or near Vaison-la-Romaine; Monday arrival is ideal because market day is Tuesday. Tour little Crestet and take a walk above Gigondas sleep in or near Vaison-la-Romaine. Continue south and set up in Avignon. In the afternoon, take my self-guided Avignon walks and enjoy dinner on one of the town's many atmospheric squares sleep in Avignon.
If the weather's good, bring your swimsuit and float on your back for views of the 2,year-old aqueduct sleep in Avignon. Day The Camargue.
Take a joyride through the Camargue but if it's summer, when flamingos are scarce and mosquitoes aren't, skip it and visit Les Baux instead. Wind up in Arles sleep in Arles; big Saturday-morning market. Day All Day in and near Arles. Tour Chambord, then settle in Amboise and take my guidebook's self-guided town walk sleep in Amboise. Day 6: Day trip to Chenonceau and Cheverny or Chaumont — or all three if you don't need more time for Amboise sleep in Amboise.
Day 7: Leave early and head south to the Dordogne region, stopping en route at Oradour-sur-Glane. Day 8: If it's market day in Sarlat, start there early , then take a relaxing canoe trip and tour a prehistoric cave. If it's not market day, start with a cave, then canoe and browse Sarlat late sleep in Sarlat or nearby.
Day Make a beeline for the Riviera, and explore your home base in the afternoon sleep in Nice, Antibes, or Villefranche-sur-Mer. Day If the weather is even close to clear, take the mountain lifts up to the Aiguille du Midi and beyond sleep in Chamonix. Day Allow another half-day for the Alps in Chamonix or Annecy , then head to Beaune, in Burgundy, for wine-tasting sleep in Beaune.
Day Spend half of the day in and around Beaune, then move on to Colmar, in the Alsace sleep in Colmar. Day Return to Paris, visiting Verdun or Reims en route — consider dropping your car in Reims and training to Paris collapse in Paris hotel. Book Your Camargue Tour Here.
Arles has a small but perfectly formed old town with plenty to see and do in an afternoon. Be sure to take a walk through the magnificent public gardens — the Jardins de la Fontaine.
One of the first-ever public gardens in Europe, they are a fascinating mix of open green spaces, large water features, intricate sculptures, and ancient ruins. Climb to the top of the gardens for unmatched views of the city!
Stay: Aix-en-Provence. Cassis is a charming portside town tucked in between towering cliffs near Marseille on the Mediterranean coast. If you arrive early enough, you can stroll through the old town, browse the colourful boutiques, take in the historic buildings, and walk the pier — all in a morning. You then have the option of dining quayside, or grabbing lunch to-go and heading to the calanques. The Calanques of Cassis are one of the most impressive natural attractions in Provence.
The first time I laid eyes on these high-rise limestone cliffs I was absolutely blown away by their incredible size and stature as they jut out into the azure blue sea. The last half-day of your one week in Provence itinerary is spent enjoying Aix-en-Provence. Colourful produce and flower markets are held throughout the week filling the streets with the lively atmosphere synonymous with the South of France. The old town is best explored without a plan of attack. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.
Learn how your comment data is processed. Wow Nadine, what a perfect guide! Would it be possible to get few restaurant recommendations fine dining ones as well as popular Many thanks! I love your itinerary but I will be traveling with a group that does not want to "move around". I would love your input on a 5 vs 6 night stay in St Remy. I will be bringing family total of 4 couples to Provence April , Remy for the either 5 or 6 nights.
We will fly back to the US on April 30th. I cannot decide if we should spend 5 nights in St Remy then the last 2 nights at a waterfront hotel on the French Riviera would have to be within 1 hr of the Nice airport OR the other option is to spend 6 nights in St Remy then just the last night close to the Nice airport. Do you think it's worth moving those last two nights?? Would it allow enough time to see a little of the French Riviera??
I am happy that I stumbled across your site. Love your travels. We follow your travels and learned much from you when we did the 3-week family trip to the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and Italy in summer of Family of 4 with two college-age boys Thank you. Scratch last year, ugh…. How do you think things are looking for an August visit to the south of France and Barcelona? Using Aix as a home base while in France. Splitting 2 weeks up between Provence and Barcelona… a little of each thx.
I wish I knew exactly what the situation was going to look like in August—it seems likely that some travel will be open by then both France and Spain have mentioned a desire to open to vaccinated tourists this summer , but as for what that will look like, no clue.
Anecdotally, borders just officially opened between all Spanish regions for Spanish residents and citizens this week, and France is experiencing a notoriously long and expansive list of restrictions. Do you think things are opening up? I wish we knew! Hi Kate, I really enjoyed reading your post. We are planning a trip to southern France flying into Nice in mid-July for our long-awaited honeymoon! We have about 2 weeks. What are your thoughts about 5 days in the French Riviera, 5 days in Provence, and then 3 days in Paris.
Does this seem too rushed? That sounds lovely, and congratulations on your marriage! Hi Kate! I loved discovering your site! Nice is fantastic—we highly recommend visiting Eze and Vence when in the area as well. Both are gorgeous small towns with excellent views.
You are covering a lot of ground in two weeks, especially with Paris too. Just food for thought! Hello, this is simply superb, thank you very much for sharing this. This is exactly the itinerary I plan to follow next month, and I just have one question.
I know you have mentioned Aix-en-Provence and Nice as two potential bases for the itinerary but I understand that may not be enough i. Many thanks in advance.
It really depends on your personal tastes—some people prefer to move around, and others prefer to stay in one base. We personally explored the Luberon from a base of Aix-en-Provence. Thank you. From Lyon, I highly recommend a day trip to Annecy! So helpful!
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