I traveled the South of France for ten days in August, 2014 with my mother, and my younger brother Jiro who lives in Taiwan. We started in Nice, and drove east along Côte d'Azur to Monaco, then drove west to the characterful towns in Provence, then onto Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, and Marseille, and before we headed back to St. Paul du Vance, just west of Nice. All lodging and travel was self-arranged, including the rental car.
Day 1, 2: Nice
We started by walking to the Promenade des Anglais, and the market in Cours Saleya, then continued into Vieux Nice. We toured the museums dedicated to Moussieu Matisse and Chagall, and especially enjoyed the works of Chagall, aided by the Japanese audio tour.
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| Olives |
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| Nice Cathedral |
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| Socca (chickpea pancake) at Chez René Socca |
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| Jiro and Mom against Port Lympia on the East side of Nice, viewed from Parc du Château |
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| Stained glass at Marc Chagall Museum |
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| Vieux Nice, viewed from Parc du Château |
Day 3, Drive to Èze and Monaco
Three routes connect Nice and Monaco at different levels of elevation. We chose Moyenne Corniche, the 'middle' road, and enjoyed glorious views of the sunshine coast. It's a short 30 drive to Èze, and another yet shorter drive to the country of Monaco, which is surrounded by France on all sides.
In Monaco, we visited the Palais du Prince, which again had an excellent audio tour of the palace and Monaco's history, the aquarium which was built by a Prince, and the famous casino.
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| View from Jardin d'Eze |
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| View from restaurant, Le nid d'aigle, Eze |
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| Guard at Palais du Prince |
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| Musée Océanographique, a century old, but still excellent aquarium |
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| The illustrious Monte Carlo Casino |
Day 4, Drive from Nice, via Castellane, Gorges du Verdon, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, to Rousillon
We left Nice early, followed La Route Napoléon through the town of Grasse (known for perfume production) towards Verges du Gordon (which is known as Grand Canyon of Europe). Our destination for the day was the town of Rousillon in Provence.
Our first stop was Castellane, a mountain village with a huge stone mountain on its east side, with a church capping its peak.
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| Chapelle Notre Dame du Roc, Castellane |
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| Cobbled streets of Castellane |
We enjoyed lunch in a simple street side restaurant in Castellane, and had our culinary surprise. A salad with raw, salted gizzard. Delicious. The owner was having fun shooting at pigeons with an air gun.
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| Salad with fresh salted gizzard |
We drove the northern bank of the canyon in Verges du Gordon.
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| Interesting rock formations in Gorges du Verdon. |
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| This is known as the Grand Canyon of Europe. |
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| River rafters in the canyon, near Lac des Ste Croix. I must try rafting next time. |
After we drove through the gorges, we get to the town of Moustier Sainte-Marie. We visited Musée de la Faïence briefly to see its history.
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Village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, known for its pottery production.
A Crusader hung a star on a chain between the two mountain peaks, many centuries ago. |
After Moustier Sainte-Marie, the landscape changed dramatically. Canyons were replaced with rolling hills, telling us, we've arrived in Provence.
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| Our first view of the rolling hills of the Provence |
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| What looked like countless small flowers turned out to be tiny snails stuck on grass! |
We made it Rousillon, just before sunset!
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| The ochre colored town of Rousillon, where we spent a night. |
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| Dinner in the restaurant of Hôtel le Clos de la Glycine |
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| I continued to eat low carbo-hydrate as much as possible. |
Day 5, Rousillon, Lacoste, and Bonnieux
Rousillon has a well preserved medieval town center, which is a pleasure to walk. But first, breakfast of bread basket, goat cheese, good coffee, and local fruit.
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| I had to put my low-carbohydrate diet on hold for this one. |
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| Our rental car, not. AVIS gave us a beat up, silver, Opel Astra instead. |
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| Red rocks at Sentier des Ocres |
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| Sentier des Ocres |
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| Mom in Rousillon |
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| We were a few weeks late for levandar. These were still some purple flowers. |
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| View towards Bonnieux from Lacoste |
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| Château de Lacoste, where Marquis de Sade once resided |
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| Town of Bonnieux |
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| Auberge Le Luberon in Apt |
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| Auberge Le Luberon in Apt |
Day 6, Avignon
It rained one morning. We drove to the town of Avignon, which was home to the Catholic Popes from 14th to 15th century.
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| Palais des Papes |
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| Pont St-Bénézet, Avignon |
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| Window view out of Palais des Papes |
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| Fountain in Avignon |
By evening, we drove back to Luberon, to spend a night in the village of Gordes.
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| We drove back to Gorde |
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| Best meal of our trip was had at an unexpected pizzeria in Gordes |
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| Beef carpaccio with fruit and Rucola is to die for. |
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| Pasta with truffle |
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| Bread with raw fish |
We stayed at a small but well-run auberge run by a friend of a family friend.
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| Jiro really enjoyed this room. A house cat kept him company. |
Day 7, Gordes to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Drive to Aix-en-Provence at night.
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| Gordes again, this time in morning light. |
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| Good example of someone relaxing |
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| Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque |
We then drove to
L'Isle-surla-Sorgue, which was built on the river of Sorgue, and has many water-wheels, as well as antique shops. It's a nice change of scenery from mostly dry villages of Luberon and Vaucluse.
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| Street side cafe in L'Isle-surla-Sorgue |
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| Jiro in front of a water-wheels in L'Isle-surla-Sorgue |
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| Clear water flows in the Sorgue in L'Isle-surla-Sorgue |
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| Ice cream was enjoyed many, many times. |
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| A river side table behind one of the antique shops in L'Isle-surla-Sorgue. I'm getting really tanned from the sun. |
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| L'Isle-surla-Sorgue is known for its antiques. Here, a table full of door knobs and parts. |
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| What looks like tomato is actually apples. |
By night, we drove to Aix-en-Provence, which is compared to Boston in the U.S.. It hosts many schools and cafes.
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| Aix-en-Provence at night |
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| Our dinner in Aix was a goose course. |
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| Aix-en-Provence at night |
Day 8, Aix-en-Provence
We visited the atelier of Paul Cézanne, and the hill close to the atelier where he's said to have painted his seminarl works. Here, the view of Mt. St. Victoire.
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| Montagne Ste-Victoire, seen from the Painter's Terasse near Paul Cézanne's Atelier |
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| At Atelier Cézanne |
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| Lunch at Bistro HÔTEL ST CHRISTOPHE |
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| Bistro HÔTEL ST CHRISTOPHE |
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| Cours Mirabeau, Aix-en-Provence |
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| Cours Mirabeau, Aix-en-Provence |
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| Provencal Textile on a street stall |
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| Quartier Mazarin, Aix-en-Provence |
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| Quartier Mazarin, Aix-en-Provence |
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| "Cézanne" |
We happened on a beautiful choir at Cathédrale St-Sauveur.
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| Cathédrale St-Sauveur, Aix-en-Provence |
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| Fontaine de la Rotonde, Aix-en-Provence |
Day 9, Marseille
We rode the train to Marseille, and stayed at the comfortable Holiday Inn Express, just outside the Sainte Charles station.
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| View out of our hotel room in Marseille. |
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| Centre de la Vieille Charité in the center of Le Panier district, Marseille. |
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| Nouvelle Cathédrale de la Major |
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| Villa Méditerranée |
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| View from Fort St-Jean, Marseille |
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| Vieux Port, Marseille |
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| Trying Bouillabaisse |
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| View from Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde |
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| Another view from Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde |
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| Another view. |
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| Interior of Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde |
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| Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde |
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| Walk from Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde to Vieux Port, Marseille |
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| Vieux Port, Marseille |
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| Tourist Train, Marseille |
Day 10, Vence, and Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Maeght Foundation Museum
Our flight was planned to leave from Nice. Rather than spending another night in Nice, we decided to stay in the village of St. Paul du Vence, just outside Nice, which was a very good idea.
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| Sophisticated tourist crowd at Vence |
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| View of the hills surrounding Vence |
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| Provence goods |
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| Steps in St. Paul du Vence |
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| Mom in St. Paul de Vence |
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| St. Paul de Vence at night |
Summary:
South of France is as beautiful as the books say they are. Not just the cities and the beaches, but the mountains and villages nestled among them are such a treat. It was a great idea to rent our own car, and travel at our own pace. One thing I would do differently next time: we would pack our own lunches. Restaurant service is very slow. A meal can take as long as two hours, from the time we sit down, get our menus, make our orders, eat, and finish paying the bills. One day, we saved a lot of time by buying slices of various pâté and terrine, which are delicious, along with cheese, bread and fruit. This is not just cheaper, but saveｓ a ton of time. We should go to a supermarket and buy a cooler box to keep these items, along with a big bottle of brewed coffee. Oh, if you have data connectivity, Google Map works as well as Garmin. No need to rent GPS with your rental car. Bon voyage!
Detailed itinerary:
Day 1 (8, Fri): Mom and I arrived in Nice. (Villa Victoria Hotel, Nice)
Day 2 (9, Sat): Jiro arrived in Nice late morning. We visited Vieux Nice, Matisse Museum, and Chagall Museum. (Villa Victoria Hotel, Nice)
Day 3 (10, Sun): Picked up rental car, and drove to Èze and Monaco. (Villa Victoria Hotel, Nice)
Day 4 (11, Mon): Drove from Nice through the scenic Gorges du Verdon, to Roussillon in Luberon by evening, with stops in Castellane, and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. (Hôtel le Clos de la Glycine, Roussillon)
Day 5 (12, Tue): Visited the towns of Rousillon, Lacoste, and Bonnieux. (Auberge Le Luberon, Apt)
Day 6 (13, Wed): Visited Avignon. (Chantal et Michel Vigneron, Gordes)
Day 7 (14, Thr): Visited L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. After dinner, drove to Aix-en-Provence. (Hotel Cezanne, Aix-en-Provence)
Day 8 (15, Fri): Walked around Aix-en-Provence. After dinner, dropped off rental car at the TGV station and rode train to Marseille. (Holiday Inn Express Marseille Saint Charles)
Day 9 (16, Sat): Sightsaw Marseille all day. After dinner, took 9pm TGV to Antibes (2hrs), and taxi to Saint-Paul-de-Vence. (Villa St. Maxime in Saint-Paul-de-Vence)
Day 10 (17, Sun): Visited the villages of Vence, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, and the Maeght Foundation museum. (Villa St. Maxime in Saint-Paul-de-Vence)
Day 11 (18, Mon): Flew out of Nice airport.
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| South of France |
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| Côte d'Azur and Provence |
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