Tuesdays With Tracy: A Six Day Itinerary of Provence

Hello friends! Kelly’s mom here to share my September Tuesdays with Tracy.

I had a fun summer celebrating my 70th birthday. Most of our family took a big trip to London and Paris and it was so much fun. At the end of our fun family time Larry and I took a train from Paris to the south of France to spend six days in Provence.  We met up with some good friends for a leisurely time of seeing this beautiful part of France.

If you missed my last Tuesday’s With Tracy you can see it HERE and I shared a bit about our London and Paris trip.

A Six Day Itinerary Of Provence

We chose the town of St. Remy as a home base and did day trips from there. St. Remy is what I would call a medium sized town.  It is large enough to have shops and restaurants, but small enough to walk everywhere. 

This was the four suite hotel we chose…La Maison du Village. A former home from the 1700’s that has been refurbished into a four suite hotel.

Our suite had three rooms – sitting area, bedroom, and bathroom.

I can’t say enough about the beauty and attention to detail of this hotel. Below is the courtyard of the hotel where breakfast is served.

Below you can see details of our daily breakfast. The fresh baked bread & croissants, oh my! Not to mention fresh fruit, juice, coffee…. Look at the sugar cubes in the shape of a teapot!

St. Remy has a wonderful street market every Wednesday during the warm months.

I have always wanted to go to the town markets in Provence and St. Remy has one of the best.  We went to markets in three different towns and each was enjoyable.

ITINERARY FOR 6 DAYS IN PROVENCE

• Day 1.  St. Remy & Les Baux
• Day 2.  Gordes & Lavender Fields
• Day 3.  Eygalieres 
• Day 4.  Wine Tour of Sorgues, Gigondas, & Chateauneuf du Pape
• Day 5.  L’Isle sur La Sorgue
• Day 6.  Menerbes, Lacoste, Rousillon

DAY 1

St. Remy & Les Baux

After a wonderful breakfast in the courtyard of our hotel we walked down the street to the main square of St. Remy for the weekly market. The food was eye catching but there was also clothing, Provençal soaps, baskets, and linens. 

In the afternoon of day 1 we went to the nearby town of Les Baux.  We first went to Carrieres-Lumieres which I highly recommend. It’s hard to describe but we so enjoyed this. Two experiences were featured – Egyptian Pharoahs and The Orientalists. It’s a digital, immersive experience of moving art and music in caves that have been carved out of the hillside. https://www.carrieres-lumieres.com/en

We then strolled through the fortified hilltop town of Les Baux. For dinner we went to a hilltop restaurant, La Reine Jeanne that had excellent food and gorgeous views.

DAY 2 

Gordes

This morning it was lightly raining so we wandered through Gordes enjoying the stone buildings, the cobbled streets, and the views of the surrounding countryside.  We then ducked into the  only restaurant that was open for lunch.  La Bastide de Pierres turned out to be a good option as they had wonderful pizza and an incredible dessert. We shared a huge dessert calzone that was shaped like a croissant and boy was it yummy.

We had heard that a good place to view the lavender fields was at the Abby de Notre Dame de Sennanque in Gordes. It had stopped raining and the lavender was just beginning to bloom. 

DAY 3 

Eygalieres 

We went to a market in the nearby town of Eygalieres.  It did not disappoint. This is wear I purchased a beautiful purse for my sister. They had a wonderful variety of items.

All the local restaurants were full until late lunch so we drove around the area to check it out. We stopped at a nearby winery.

This is a typical road in this area near St. Remy and Eygalieres.

We returned to Eygalieres for a late lunch at the restaurant  Chez Paulette.  The restaurant was on both sides of the street.  It was highly recommended and so yummy. It was one of our favorite meals. Their farm fresh tomato & burrata salad was divine!

In the evening the town of St. Remy celebrated the summer solstice by closing the streets for pedestrians, and having live music on nearly every corner. The restaurants put tables in the streets and there was even dancing at some places.

DAY 4 

Wine Tour of Sorgues, Gigondas, & Chateauneuf-du-Pape

We were picked up at our hotel to go on a wine tasting tour. It ended up being a full day but what saved us was that our guide explained that we should spit out the wine and not swallow.  We found our guide through a Rick Steves book and he was an expat from America who still lives next to the vineyard he purchased years ago. Tours du Rhone is his tour name.

DAY 5  

L’Isle sur la Sorgue

On our fifth day in Provence we went to another morning market.  This one was in the pretty town of L’Isle sur la Sorgue. I wish I had taken more photos but, I was a little absorbed in shopping. My friend, Pam and I found some great French fabric here. The market was along a river that ran through the town. The town is also full of antique stores.

Day 6

Menerbes, Lacoste, Rousillon

This was our last day to just wander around looking at lavender fields and towns.  On our way to Menerbes, in an area called Maubec, we saw lavender so we just stopped in a safe spot on the roadside and took photos.  Uh yes please!

Menerbes was another pretty hilltop town with narrow cobbled streets and beautiful views.

I loved the blue shutters and doors on some of the buildings.

Between Menerbes and Lacoste there were more lavender fields in the area of Goult.

Lacoste was a pretty hilltop art school community with lovely views.

Our final stop of the day was in the hilltop town of Roussillon.  We walked around, shopped,  and had some yummy galettes(savory crepes) and sweet crepes too.

Provence is a truly magical place to visit. We were there towards the end of June and the weather was comfortable. The food is freshly sourced and the people are friendly. 

A Six Day Itinerary Of Provence

In reflection, we were very happy that we stayed in St. Remy, then focused on visiting the nearby towns and villages.

I am very grateful to have experienced my 70th summer with family, friends, and travel.

Have you been to France? What was your favorite place?

Thank you for journeying with me!

Tracy