by Gary / 0 comments - Orginally published:23rd March 2018
Or what we learned from last time
Following on from our post 'A Good Year: A reason for a road trip', we roll forward to 2012, and our second Provençal road trip.
We hadn't been idle in the years since the first trip; We had seen other parts of France, had our Texas & New Mexico Trip, Our Canadian Adventure. All squeezed in within our annual leave.
However, we had unfinished business with Provence.
Why not Pin it for later?
Our route through Provence
Where we stayed
These are the all the locations we stayed at on this trip. The ones with gold stars relate to our Provence & Côte d'Azur locations;
Dijon - Hôtel des Ducs
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence - Hôtel Gounod
Villefranche-sur-Mer - Welcome Hotel
Besançon - Hôtel de Paris
Planning a French Road Trip
First, the mistakes we made last timeSo as you are aware, if you read the earlier post, the original trip was inspired by Ridley Scott's 'A Good Year'. We loved our time in Avignon & Arles, exploring cities like Nîmes, driving through the Camargue and the countryside of Provence.
The Arènes de Nîmes
However, we wanted more time in one place. On the last trip we'd had seven stopovers in the two weeks leave, on this trip we reduced it to four. We still needed intermediary stops for the journey down, and the drive back home, but we'd split our time between Provence and the Côte d'Azur 50/50.
Our Itinerary this time looked like this;
Dijon (from Calais 353miles/569km)
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (from Dijon 271miles/437km)
Villefranche-sur-Mer (from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence 202miles/325km)
Besançon (from Villefranche-sur-Mer 454miles/730km - to Calais 403miles/648km)
The Hôtel de Ville de Dijon
We picked a smaller town too, somewhere it would be good to come back to after touring the countryside.
So we chose Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
It starts in France
Our journey started with the Eurotunnel. It's quick and easy, and in no time we're on France's superb Autoroute network. Remember to book early for the best prices.
Crit'Air vignette required for driving in France
If you’re heading to France from the UK with your own vehicle, you’ll need a Crit’Air ‘clean air’ car sticker.
Just like our low-emission zones in the UK, France now legally requires the display of a Crit’Air vignette. The good news is, these stickers are readily available and affordable online through the official French government website.
The Crit’Air sticker lasts the lifetime of the vehicle, so it’s a one-off purchase. The RAC website offers an in-depth guide to everything you need to know and your requirements.
Destinations in Provence
We picked a winnerWe arrived at the boutique Hotel Gounod, and popped the car outside reception, check-in and opted to use the secure private parking (currently €10 per day) which is around 500m from the hotel. It is also next to the town cemetery, guess who spotted that! I knew then we'd be having a little wander around.
Collégiale Saint-Martin, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
A stroll back into town and we set off to discover, and boy were we pleased. Now Saint-Rémy-de-Provence has some beautiful tree-lined streets, and a fantastic array of restaurants from the cutest little bistro's, to temples of gastronomy with everything in between.
Strolling the lanes of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
The tree-lined streets of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France
After an hour or so I persuade Janis that 'Drive' deserved a drink, so we took a table at Grand Cafe Riche and settled back to watch the world roll by. You just can't beat a spot of people watching, and our main subject of interest was the roaring trade the Pizza van was doing opposite us.
Discovering Provence
But this was inspired by 'A Good Year'Indeed it was, go the next morning we headed in the countryside in search of Cucuron. For those who have seen the film, this is the little town with the vast pond that hosts the outdoor movie screening.
The village pond at Cucuron, Provence
But the truth about the movie is that it's about the Provençal way of life, and the beauty of its little towns & villages.
Luberon
As we cruised the countryside, we followed no set script. We discovered towns as we went, stopping where the urge took us. We urge you to follow the same path - go with the flow.
The quiet little town of Venasque
A Good Year
Did you catch our post on the original inspiration for our first trip? A Good Year: A reason for a road trip A little busier, but still fun - well, it must have been because it led us to this trip.
Provence by road
Discovering further afieldThere's a couple of great lines in the movie when Fanny Chenal, rushed off her feet at her bistro, tells Max "McDonald's is in Avignon, Fish 'n' Chips in Marseilles". Max offers to help with the waiting duties, and after being told by Fanny "And remember you're in France: The customer is always wrong!" repeats the "MacDonald's …" line to two slightly annoying American tourists.
The Vallon des Auffes, Marseilles
Those lines reminded me though that Avignon just 13miles/20km to the north and Marseilles is only 56miles/90km to the south, along with pretty coastal towns such as Cassis.
The harbour at Cassis, Provence
If you love Provence as much as we do, you'll want to start planning your visit now.
I so enjoy using the DK Eyewitness books, as they are extremely informative, easy to follow and the pictures and maps tempt you into discovering more.
We used a previous version of this book to plan our Provencal road trip, now you can grab the revised copy.
The best of Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence: A great base to return toAt the end of each day it was great to head back to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Each night we tried a different restaurant, and each one was a great experience. So would we return to the town? Without a doubt.
The quiet lanes of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
More on Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
If you are interested in More on Saint-Rémy-de-Provence then you're in luck, we have a post dedicated to our visits to the town. Yes, we have been more than once to this idyllic retreat, why not check out 'Our little secret, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France'
The perfect destination in Provence?
All good things...So after five short days, we left Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
Not before we checked out the town's cemetery though (told you so!)
A family grave in the town cemetery
The Triumphal Arch, Glanum
As we left, we thought, "perhaps we should have stayed just a little longer…" It was that good.
However, we were heading up the coast to the Welcome Hotel in Villefranche-sur-Mer.
Welcome Hotel, Villefranche-sur-Mer
Now haven't I seen that in the movies?
Your own adventure
As you can see, we drove from the UK. However, why not fly into Marseille or Nice (Visit ebookers.com for the best flight offerings), and then check out Rental Cars for your wheels and start exploring?
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