Provence, France

I can suggest an itinerary based on the places we visited. This route is do-able with only 5 days, but I highly recommend taking much longer if you can. And of course, please look into locations I haven't mentioned here, as we would have done much more if we'd had more time!

We used Isle-sur-la-Sorgue as our base. It is a quaint town full of antiques shops and cafes, split by the Sorgue River. There are many "gites" (bed and breakfast inns)in the area, and it is located within a few hours' driving distance of almost any Provencal destination.

There is a great drive in the area which takes you to the top of Mont Ventoux. The scenery is stunning, and the climate change between the base and summit, at 6,263 feet, is extreme.
Next we followed the famous drive along the Gorges du Verdon, a steep forested canyon.

I honestly don't remember the order in which we visited the list below, so I have described them in order of distance from l'Isle. We returned to our gites nightly, but you may choose to stay in each town if you want to spend more time there (recommended).

Avignon, location of Palais des Papes (Papal Palace)

Saint-Remy-de-Provence and Les Baux (close to Roman town of Glanum; Les Baux is a medieval hilltop town)

Salon-de-Provence is the birthplace of the famous Nostradamus. The town has some interesting stone fountains.

Aix-en-Provence, famous for delicious "calissons d'aix" (a frosted marzipan sweet), is an interesting walled town.

Arles has many Roman ruins, and bull fights continue to be held in the ampitheatre.

Nimes, known to the Romans as Nemausus, is full of Roman sites, including the nearby Pont-du-Gard aqueduct.

Our trip stayed mainly in the Haute-Provence and Vaucluse regions.
If you click on the link below, it will take you to a map of all the towns we visited. This is a good itinerary, but by no means all-inclusive of sites you might want to see!

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Please scroll down to view touring suggestions and see more photos!

The area now called Provence was once the Roman region Gallia Transalpina, or "Gaul beyond the Alps". Its capital was Nemausus, now Nimes, and the entire region is dotted with amazingly well preserved Roman ruins.
Probably the most famous are the Pont-du-Gard aqueduct outside Nimes, and the village of Glanum by St-Remy-de-Provence. However, most of the area's cities still have a Roman amphitheater, often used for a Provencal style of bull-fighting or for concerts.
There are also examples of temples and even sarcophagi in Nimes and Arles.

Provence is famous for its lavender, sunflowers, herb blends, natural soaps, brightly colored fabrics, and food.

The modules below showcase some of my personal recommendations.

Provence is beautiful year round. However, if you want to catch the colors of the lavender and sunflower fields at their peak, the best time to visit is between June and September.
In mid-September, the weather is still very comfortable, but the flowers have been harvested and the lanscape is much more muted.