Roman roads and the best of town & village
April 13-20, 2024
7 nights / 8 days
Limited to 7 guests
3,950€ EUROS per person based on double occupancy
850€ EUROS supplement for single occupancy
*Prices converted to USD two months prior to tour date
I’ve put this tour together to combine regions that you don’t often see on any one tour. The first three nights will be in the charming town Uzès from where we will adventure along the Roman roads in the Occitane region. Then we’ll move into the Luberon Region after passing through Avignon with a few tales from the Popes. Lodging is a mix of small town boutique and luxury countryside B&B.
Tour Notes
The Luberon B&B is situated within walking distance to the village Gordes. During free time (relaxing time at the B&B) you have the possibility to walk to the village for more exploring or for those magical evening strolls.
Physical ability should be at least moderate to enjoy this tour (2-hour city tour in Nimes and the hilltop villages).
Flowers for you: Wisteria starts to bloom around the 1st of April, Cherry blossoms the first part of April, and poppies start blooming along the roadsides mid-April.
Itinerary
NOTE: This is a working itinerary; the final itinerary will be posted and provided to guests closer to the tour date.
Pick-up around 10:30 at the Avignon TGV train station (or at your Avignon hotel should you arrive the day before). We kick off the week of slow travel and inspiration with a garden & abbey tour. From here we have views of the Popes Palace, the legendary Pont d’Avignon and the 14th century ramparts seen from across the Rhone River. From this fiefdom owned by the kings we’ll move into the charming town Uzès where the Duchy will greet us. Free time to explore the cobblestone lanes and boutique shop before we meet up for dinner. Lodging is in the center of Uzès at a lovely boutique hotel.
Picnic Lunch & Dinner included
We have a short drive to the city of Nimes. Our city guide will take us through the Roman era and by the time lunch time comes, we’ll be imagining we are in togas and cheering on the Emperor (or not). A gourmet Sunday lunch in courtyard resembling a Roman villa and then on to the first public gardens created in France for a poetic stroll. This evening is yours to relax and dine at your leisure in Uzès.
Gourmet Sunday lunch included
Continuing our Roman explorations, today we will marvel at the top of the Pont du Gard. Our guide will lead us through the water canal at the top from where the views amaze and the height makes you really ponder how such an endeavor was possible to build. Lunch at small village bistro and then free time until we meet up for our evening cooking lesson with dinner to follow.
Bistro lunch & cooking lesson (dinner)
From the Occitane region to the Luberon we go. En route we’ll stop in Avignon because Saint Benezet and the Popes have a few stories to tell. Lunch at the gourmet market known as Les Halles and then on to the village Gordes to settle in to our B&B. Free time to either relax or take a short walk into the village Gordes for exploring the cobblestone lanes and vista corners. Dinner this evening is catered to us at the B&B by a local chef.
Lunch & Dinner included
It’s market day in Saint-Remy-de-Provence. You have free time to stroll the market and pick up snacks for our picnic lunch in the countryside Van Gogh painted. After lunch we’ll plunge into Van Gogh’s world around Saint Remy when he stayed for a year at the private asylum. Before going back to the B&B, an inspirational multimedia show, known as Carrières de Lumières, will have us oohing and awing and perhaps swinging and swaying as well. Dinner this evening at chef’s house.
Picnic lunch (with your market goodies) & Dinner included
The ochre village Roussillon is our first stop and you may be wanting to get your morning steps in by walking the beautiful ochre trail next to the village. The village has plenty of anecdotes from the legends of why the earth is red to the stories behind the ochre industry, a major economy until the beginning of the 20th century. From Roussillon we’ll make a short drive to meet up with an artist in his workshop and have the privilege of seeing Provence (the world) through his eye. A catered picnic lunch and then on to two more villages each with their unique stories: Lacoste and Oppede-le-Vieux. Dinner this evening at a favorite countryside restaurant.
Lunch & Dinner included
Magical morning walk along the Sorgue River at Fontaine-de-Vaucluse and then down river to the town, L’Isle Sur la Sorgue. Legends and a rich industrial heritage linked to the river here. After a casual lunch in town, we visit one of Provence’s most well known icons; the Abbaye de Senanque. Just before dinner, a sommelier comes to our B&B for an olive oil workshop. Alfresco dinner to follow casually at the B&B with a champagne toast to our magical week in Provence.
Lunch & Dinner included
- Depart from B&B around 10 am for Avignon train departures
- Other drop-off points can be arranged
- Choose to stay one more night at the B&B for a relaxing last day in paradise. (Payment for extra night directly with B&B…to be reserved very early on).
