Provence and the Côte d'Azur

Discovering Provence

Melanie Wright & Sheila Colon

October 4 – 13, 2015

Private, guided excursion including

Provence / Côte d’Azur

Presented March 26, 2015

You fly into Paris from the United States, departing October 2 and arriving in Paris on October 3. You stay the night at Relais Hotel du Vieux Paris in the Latin Quarter. 

The hotel will help you arrange for a driver to take you to the Eiffel Tower for a light show and will also arrange for a taxi to Gare Lyon the morning of October 4for your train to Avignon. 

Please work with hotel staff to coordinate both of these cars once you are checked in or at check-in.

Gordes

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Gordes, Luberon (3)

Taking the high speed train, you arrive in Avignon in approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes. Jenean meets you at the train station, rental vehicle ready.

If there’s interest, we can park in Avignon and I can show you around the main square where the Palais du Papes is located as well as the bridge, “Le Pont d’Avignon” that ends in the middle of the river and a little bit of the city center. Or we can head directly to Gordes, to the restful and idyllic La Ferme de la Huppe, where we will stay for the next three nights to explore the Luberon.

Dinner tonight is included in your tour cost and takes place in the dining area of La Ferme de la Huppe. Wine is included. 

Monday, October 5, 2015,

We start the day by going on an excursion very nearby Gordes, to the Village Les Bories. Village Les Bories is an historic monument that features an entire village of stone huts (similar to the beehive huts of Ireland).  For more information, visit http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/luberon/village-des-bories/gb/bories-gordes-luberon.htm.

Continuing on, and since we’re so close by, we then take in the ancient Abbaye de Sénanque (founded by Cistercians in 1148), where monks grow their own crops of lavender to support themselves. We visit the gift shop and a little bit of the grounds.

After these activities, we continue on to Fontaine de Vaucluse for lunch and a look at the source of the River Sorgue.

The River Sorgue at Fontaine de Vaucluse

Dinner tonight is covered and served at La Ferme de la Huppe. 

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Today is market day in Gordes. An excellent way to start the day is to go into Gordes to explore the market as well as the village. Gordes is among one of the many Villages Perché of the Luberon and is quite charming.

Oppède le Vieux

After checking out Gordes and its market, we head over to see the semi-ghost village of Oppède le Vieux http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/vaucluse/oppede/oppede.htm. We can then just take our time in the afternoon exploring other villages and bucolic sites of the Luberon. Mènerbes is definitely another picture-postcard town that we’ll stop in. We’ll get in some wine tasting at a cooperative or make other plans for getting personal provisions.

Dinner is included at La Ferme da la Huppe. 

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

St-Rèmy-de-Provence, Bouche-du-Rhône area (4)

After checking out of La Ferme de la Huppe and leaving Gordes, we have an enjoyable 45-minute drive to our next location with a change of scenery. We settle in for the next four nights in the heart of the Bouche-du-Rhône region of Provence in a hotel/inn with spa accommodations that is located on a quiet street within St. Rèmy, so that it is possible to walk into town at any time. This is a wonderful, central location in a quaint town in Les Alpilles.

Dinner not included tonight

Thursday & Friday, October 8 & 9, 2015

There is much to see and do in this area, and for the next two days we’ll have the possibility for the following, as interests dictate:

·        Visiting the village and ancient fortress of Les-Baux-de-Provence.

·        Explore St. Rémy with its lovely shops and cafes.

·        Visiting the Roman village of Glanum, on the outskirts of St. Rémy

·        Olive Oil tasting and buying

·        A visit to the Pont du Gard. The Pont du Gard is the tallest remaining Roman aqueduct from the Roman Empire. The entire region, in fact, is rich in Roman history.

·        A little road trip to the Camarque region for strolling and shopping through the ancient town of Aigue-Mortes

Dinners not included these two nights

Aigue-Mortes

Glanum

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Today is the day of your cooking class with Pascale at Mas de les Figues. Your course starts in the morning and culminates with lunch at the “mas” with items that you have prepared and wines of the region.

Dinner not included tonight

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Villefranche-sur-Mer (2)

The Hotel Welcome is at top center, orange building

We have an approximate 3-hour drive today to the Côte d’Azur. We stay the next two nights at the Hotel Welcome in Villefranche-sur-Mer which is an historic fishing village on the waterfront, overlooking the Mediterranean. We spend the next day-and-a-half taking in the beautiful scenery of the Côte d’Azur. In this area, we can

·        Make our way up to the village of Èze

·        Explore other towns and villages of the area as interest dictates

Dinner not included tonight

Eze

Monday, October 12, 2015

Today we make a visit to what is known as the “Matisse Chapel” in Vence.

Dinner is included 

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Departure back to United States from Nice International Airport

Jenean drives you to the Nice airport in time for your flight back to the United States. It is a 25-minute drive from Villefranche-sur-Mer.