Provence & the French Riviera Guidebook
Favorite discoveries or tips:
First, a note, French restaurants open at 7pm and close at 10pm (at least in November) -- plan accordingly.
Don't be afraid of the toll expressways -- they don't cost that much, and are a much more efficient way to travel longer distances.
A great "tea house" near Place Pie in Avignon: Le Gritz Salon de the Gourmand 23 rue Bonneterie passage Bernheim-Lyon 84000 Avignon Tel: 04 88 61 060 28
A nice Boulangerie, in the main square of Beaumes de Venise: Boulangerie Duperon Plenty of parking across the roundabout, by the police station. There is also a local arts/crafts shop nearby on the main road.
Eric in Dixon, CA USA 12/03/2011
Imagine Tours of Avignon My husband and I vacationed in France in the Summer of 2010. While touring south of the country we took a guided tour offered by Imagine Tours based in Avignon. The day before the tour Mr. David Price (an Occitania aficionado from Texas) of Imagine Tours spent the evening with us in a tiny café in a town across the river from Avignon. Like a sincere teacher he explained the history and culture of Occitaine region to help us get oriented to the tour. We were very impressed by his passion, knowledge and energy.
The following morning our tour started from our hotel in Avignon in a sedan. Our guide was an elegant Scottish lady, Evelyn Matheson. Within a few minutes Evelyn became a good friend (language definitely helped as we do not speak any French). She was not only nice and friendly, she was extremely knowledgeable. The trip was a fest for our eyes. Evelyn stopped at every lush and well-groomed lavender and sunflower fields so that we can take snaps. We visited quite a few tiny and very pretty hilltop towns and also got to see grand panoramas of the land. She went out of her way to help us during and even after our trip. Our trip ended in a tiny and very “Red” hilltop town of Roussillon.
Sampa Santra in Brookline, MA USA 07/27/2011
Yes
Sampa Santra in Brookline, MA USA 07/27/2011
Restaraunt- Le Grand Balcon in Nice- with a delightful tour guide named Pascale Tucker
grant c. stebbins in great falls, mt USA 07/25/2011
Yep! WinesinProvence.com We used them for Wine Tasting in Provence. I loved it! The ladies were very knowledgeable about the wines and area. They prepared a wonderful French picnic for us with wines and cheeses. This surprise was after visiting the vineyard and wine tasting there. Magnificent!
Lourdes in Miami, FL USA 06/25/2011
The Cotes du Rhone Wine Road: This self-guided driving tour with all of its deviations was wonderful! We especially liked the Hotel les Florets for lunch and the English-language tour at the Domaine de Mourchon. We were surprised by the impressive chateaux in Grignan (p. 185).
Robin in Menlo Park, CA USA 06/17/2011
We just returned from France and spent three days in Provence. We stayed just outside Les Baux at La Cabro d'Or which was expensive but spectacular. On a Friday, we took a tour through the Luberon villages using the guide. We started in Lourmarin which has a small but very selective market with excellent products. We then drove to Bonnieux, which as Rick suggests looks gorgeous from a distance but is rather limited in interest. We drove to Lacoste and ate lunch at the Restaurant de France which was good and had a spectacular view across the valley of Bonnieux. From there we drove to Roussillon which we loved. A beautiful town with good shops and wonderful views of the cliffs and valley.
Neil Phillips in Cherry Hill, NJ USA 06/06/2011
It would be helpful when talking about electronics if you told people to ensure they buy an adapter that accepts three prong plugs (as many computers require.) Also, they should check that ALL of the plugs for their electronics fit in the adapter. I had an adapterwith a flange that prevented both my razor from fitting and my camera battery recharger from fitting. I has to borrow pliers to break off the flange on the adapter.
Bill Jensen in Toronto, ON Canada 05/29/2011
Rick, Your guides are excellent, however, I suggest you replace the not easy to read black and white maps with color ones ! I am willing to pay more ! - Regarding accommodations in Nice: remove Hotel de la Mer. Instead, include Hotel Albert 1er. " www.hotelalbert-1er.com/ ". It is located almost on the Seafront, and some of the top rooms (4th, 5th, 6th floor) offer view towards the sea and Promenade des Anglais ! Much cheaper than Le Negresco (the doorman only let me in when I told him I was born in the same country as Henri Negresco, the one who built it). La Place Massena is just 1 min away, and bus 98 from the airport stops in front of the hotel. Needs a face-lift, but the rooms were clean, with bath tube and shower, and a small fridge was available. Good daily service, just avoid the 12EUR breakfast. - Regarding transportation: Since La Gare Routiere in Nice is not operational anymore, it may be useful to show how to reach buses 82 to Eze-le-Village and 116 to La Turbie - take the Tram till stop ("arret") Vauban, where one finds buses 82 and 116; - Timetables for TAM (Transport des Alpes- Maritimes) are hard to find (both the TIs and ticket offices of Nice's Lignes d'Azur did not help), therefore it is very useful to download the PDFs with the timetables from " www.cg06.fr/fr/servir-les-habitants/deplacements/transport-collectifs/lignes-et-horaires/lignes-et-horaires/ ". - While it is true that many speak English, I found out that one gets more, better, and faster what one wishes, if one speaks French (I do). - The SNCF-TER train is faster and useful (runs longer into the evening), but the stations are unmanned after 9pm, therefore one has to use the automatic vending machines - have lots of coins ready,since American credit cards without chip ("puce") are not accepted.
Emil Marcus in Aberdeen, NJ USA 05/03/2011
For the Arles listing of restaurants, you might consider Le Cilantro
31 Rue Porte de Laure 13200 Arles, France 04 90 18 25 05
The local folks thought that was a very good restaurant. We were there on the evening of 3/25 and had an enjoyable evening with good service and interesting food. Only 3 tables that evening and we were somewhat surprised that there weren't more guests, but that meant we had more attentive service.
In Nice, there is another open air market on the north end of Jean Medicin, just north of the tracks. This is clearly more geared toward local consumers, but is easy to get around and within walking distance of the hotels close to the train station. There is a short, strenuous hike to the peaks of the Dentelles de Montmirail starting from the Col du Cayron trailhead. The road from the Hotel les Forets isn't very far, but there are a lot of potholes.
Warren Lo in Columbus, OH USA 04/03/2011
"The Tastes of Provence" tour (tastesofprovence.ccom) (email info@tastesofprovence.com) was excellent. A great half-day in Aix-en-Provence with a wonderful guide, Jennifer Dugdale, who shares history, lifestyle information, best places to find excellent foods, visits to markets, bakeries, coffee roasters, cheese merchants, patisseries, etc.
Toby Citrin in Ann Arbor, MI USA 04/03/2011
Aix: We HIGHLY recommend the Hotel Mozart in Aix-en-Provence--not in Rick's Provence book. It is a great location with decent clean, affordable rooms and a very very helpful and friendly staff. We did not have breakfast there. It is a short walk (10 mins?) from center of Aix.
Ron Clark in Winchester, MA USA 12/05/2010
Bodeguita Restaurant, Arles, a fabulous tapas place. So good we went twice. Our choices included meatballs with cumin and spices, chicken in garlic cream, potatoes with garlic butter, red peppers in oil, Spanish tortilla, chorizo, bread and prosciutto, creme caramel and cafe gourmand (espresso served with 3 mini desserts which on that day were tiramisu, creme caramel and moelleux). Dinner for 3, including a carafe of house wine was only about 45 euros. Delicious food and a great value.
Amelia Brons in Vancouver, BC Canada 12/01/2010
We at Colombo's in Nice, France - GOOD food - check it out.
Joan in Magalia, CA USA 10/10/2010
Due to a death in the family, the Hotel Relax in Marseilles closed for our second night. On a whim, we grabbed our bags in took a train to Cassis. WOW!! What a gem. We walked the 45 minutes into town through beautiful wineries to finally drop into a super cute but full of everything you could ever want. We lucked out with a nice room and a fun market on Friday morning. Down side is you can't get food until noon other than items we were tired of eating.
Amy Shearer in Baltimore, MD USA 09/19/2010
Wine tour with Celine Viany (“Le Vin à la Bouche" http://www.levinalabouche.com/)
I was referred to Celine by Mike Rijken mentioned in Rick’s book. The tour was simply wonderful. In one day my family and I visited three domains in each of the major appellations of Southern Rhone (Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas and Vacqueras). Celine’s choice of wineries reflects her experience as a sommelier. She loves wine and food and she is enjoyable company. We highly recommend her.
Lev in Gainesville, Fl USA 07/24/2010
Getting to the Musee Renoir can be difficult. There are two brown signs in Cagnes-sur-Mer, one to Musee Renoir and the other to Bourg Medieval. A different guidebook said you could get there by following the Bourg Medieval sign--you can't The trouble was, you couldn't read the signs till you were right there, and then you were in the wrong lane. We went round and round before we found it. Moustiers-ste-Marie was better than the book led us to expect. We would have gotten there earlier had we known. It's a hanging village backed by cliffs. The stream from the canyon behind goes right through town, with waterfalls as much as about 20 feet high. Very picturesque. Les Tilleuls d'Elissee is a great B&B with its own easy parking just 5 minutes from the Roman ruins and weekly market and about 10 minutes by foot from the Old Town in Vaison-la-Romaine. The B&B is in a beautifully renovated mas (old farmhouse), enthusiastically run by Laurent and Anne Viau. The rates are better than the ones listed for other lodgings in the guidebook and the accommodations were very nice--we had a view of the Old Town and Mont Ventoux. The included breakfast was typical French with an occasional additon of cake or something else extra. Laurent was very helpful. English not perfect, but neither is my French--we managed fine. It has a beautiful garden and tables out back. www.vaisonchambres.info/; anne.viau@vaisonchambres.info. Another nice hotel between Beaulieu and Villefranche is Hotel Patricia. It is very simple, reasonably priced, owners Joelle and Franck speak very good English and are very helpful in guiding you to take the bus or train to Nice, Monaco, etc. Good (extra cost) breakfast with brie in addition to bread and jelly. A 20-minute walk to Villefranche and 10 to Beaulieu, but it had its own parking and a nice homelike feel, including the family dog. It is close to beaches. http://hotel-patricia.riviera.fr/ hotelpatricia@free.fr
Jinny Danzer in St. Louis, MO USA 07/02/2010
Consider including Le Prieure hotel in Villeneuve-les-Avignon as a hotel in the Avignon chapter; it's a short drive across the river to Avignon, and the hotel is amazing. Great front desk staff, beautiful rooms and grounds, and the restaurant was an experience--it's got a Michelin star and an amazing 8-course dinner for two (with wine) was under 200 Euros--AMAZING.
Julie Stewart in Arlington, VA USA 05/24/2010
Rick, My wife and I have used your books and several of your products for some time now and have found them to be reliable and very helpful. So, I was surprised that you did not include a gem of a B&B in Avignon in your Provence and French Riviera Guide. Sabine.ferrand@wanadoo.fr Mobile phone +33 (0) 623 465 095 6, Rue de la Vieille Juiverie - Place du Palais des Papes 84000 Avignon - Provence, France
The following is taken from my review on the TripAdvisor website.
My wife and I have just returned from two weeks in France. The trip was wonderful everywhere we went, but our stay with Sabine Ferrand at A l’ombre du Palais in Avignon was the most enjoyable time of our vacation. Our high rating of this place is based on our overall experience. There are many wonderful aspects of a stay in this B&B. 1. The location is excellent - in the heart of the old city - literally steps from the Petite Palais, a very short walk to the Palais De Papes across the plaza, the fabled St. Benezet Bridge, the old city wall, the Rocher des Doms, etc. Most of the attractions of central Avignon are within a reasonable walking distance. The view from Sabine's covered terrace is fantastic.
2. The accommodations are charming. Each guestroom is dedicated to an artist and is decorated with a Provencal style. We enjoyed the warm orange and red of the Kandinsky room along with the antique furniture. Comfort was quite good and everything was kept spotless and in order by Madeleine, Sabine's friendly and helpful assistant. The room rates range from 125 to 165 Euros and we felt we received good value in the most expensive room.
3. The breakfast is simple and good - juice, coffee/tea/cocoa, berries, breads, butter, marmalades (preserves). Big breakfast eaters will need an American breakfast at a restaurant, however.
4. We highly recommend having dinner on the terrace at least once during a stay. The finest meal we had in France was prepared by Sabine. We had a truly excellent meal at the Jules Verne Restaurant at the Eiffel Tower in Paris that cost four times as much but was in second place when compared with Sabine's cooking. She also offers cooking classes. 5. There are several excellent restaurants nearby and you can trust Sabine's recommendations. We especially enjoyed Le Moutardier, which is located a very short walk south, directly across the plaza from the Palais de Papes.
6. Language is not a barrier. Sabine speaks English, Spanish, Italian, some German, etc. Madeleine speaks excellent English and may be fluent in other languages as well - but we are unsure about that.
7. We also recommend a guided tour with Michele, who is fluent in English and several other languages. We had our best day in France on an exploration of the Luberon with Michele and couldn't have had a better time, even with a bit of rain. We feel we have made a friend in Michele. If you travel by train, we also advise asking for pick-up and delivery at the train station by Michele. She will take very good care of you and you will not be frustrated by the spotty cab service and language problems at the train station.
7. Sabine is an amazing hostess. We learned so much about the culture of Avignon, Provence, France and Italy from visiting with her. She has a wonderfully sharp wit and sense of humor to go along with her deep knowledge of the arts and high intelligence. She is also very accommodating and helpful. We are already making mental notes for a return to Avignon and a stay with our friend Sabine.
Curtis Zeitelhack in Phoenix, AZ USA 05/19/2010
Fad'Oli restaurant in Arles. It highlights the region's olive oil and the food is incredibly fresh. One of my favorite meals. 44 bis rue des Arenes.
Le Petit Bedon in Avignon. My favorite meal. Amazing service, incredibly friendly. Food was amazing!! Had a traditional provencal meal that was so good. 70 rue Joseph Vernet.
Kerrie Giesen in Webster, NY USA 05/18/2010
LA MAISON D'AIX 25 RUE DU 4 SEPTEMBRE 13100 AIX EN PROVENCE FRANCE www.lamaisondaix.com
Our stay at La Maison d’Aix was absolutely delightful. Each of the three rooms and the suite in this historic townhouse is astonishing luxurious and beautifully decorated. We found this hidden gem after reading about it in French magazines. It is located in the middle of the old town, le quartier MAZARIN. We was so happy about our stay, we requested Rick Stevens Guides add it to its list of properties.
We stayed in La Chambre d’Henriette (the Henriette’s room - Henriette Reboul supposed to be the previous owner of this amazing Mansion). We appreciated all of the thoughtful gestures, such as being received with a glass of French champagne, access to free nespresso coffee anytime and soft drinks bar free of charge.
Breakfast was amazing, Alexandra selecting only rare and premium products. It is served in the “jardin d’hiver”, a quiet and design private terrace.
Alexandra took great care of us, and recommended the most wonderful restaurants in Aix, where we had memorable dinners. We felt like the pampered guests of a wealthy and gracious host. We are already planning our return trip.
HAGEGE EDWARD in HONG KONG , HK HONG KONG 04/24/2010
Our favorite town was Vaison la Romaine. The Hotel La Fete en Provence was very nice. We ate at Domaine du Gros Pata, Route de Villedieu 84110 Vaison la Romaine. The food and the service were wonderful. We had a table on the balcony overlooking the Roman bridge. In the morning, the market was the best we saw in Fance. We purchased amazing bread, cheese and fruit for lunch.
Heather in Olympia, WA USA 03/21/2010
We stayed in Rousillon this week and on the last night found a new small eating place - Le Petit Snack - on the right of the main parking lot. Open 7:00am to 7:00pm every day. Serves crepes, sandwiches and pizza. Very clean and excellent, friendly service from the operators/owners. A good change from the heavy French-style eating.
Mark Cullen in Vancouver, BC canada 03/21/2010
We stayed in Rousillon this week and on the last night found a new small eating place - Le Petit Snack - on the right of the main parking lot. Open 7:00am to 7:00pm every day. Serves crepes, sandwiches and pizza. Very clean and excellent, friendly service from the operators/owners. A good change from the heavy French-style eating.
Mark Cullen in Vancouver, BC canada 03/21/2010
We stayed for a week at Domaine de la Tourette just east of Arles on a farm. It had a kitchen, bath, bedroom and was a very good deal. You would need a car for this type of rental. I wish some of these items could be in your guide books.
Larry Nielsen in Golden Valley, MN USA 03/18/2010
We returned from the French Riviera yesterday and used Rick's book (as we do on every Europe trip!). The 1 Euro bus trips all over the Cote d'Azur were wonderful: no stress and very cheap way to travel. Go off-season! The weather was sunny and high 50's for 9 out of 10 days. Rick, we used www.rivierapebbbles.com to rent a wonderful, convenient apartment in Nice for 10 nights. Everything was just as they said on their website. This company did a great job, the apt was at rue Congres, convenient for walking to the beach Promenade, shopping, and bus connections. I spent a lot of time reading the reviews on Flipkey.com so we could get just what we wanted. This is a great alternative to hotels and off-season prices were much lower. We used your suggestion to eat breakfast and a light dinner in the apt and then ate a large lunch at your recommended restaurants in each town. Our evening apt dinners consisted of wine, fresh bakery bread, goat cheese from the Nice Cours Saleya market, olives, grapes and sweet bakery dessert. Loved it!!!! After dinner we played cards or watched a DVD.
G. Sellers in Melbourne Beach, FL USA 02/09/2010
Restaurant in Maussane des Alpilles Fleur de Thym tel. 04 90 54 54 00 15, avenue dela Vallee des Baux, 13520 Maussane-les-Alpilles
Jacquie Moffett in Laguna Beach, CA USA 10/17/2009
Menton just a 20 min train ride from Nice. An awesome small beach front town, with restaurants lining the beach front board walk......like a tiny Nice without all the bustle! We will go there for sure again, perhaps for a few days!
Jeff & Di Lindquist in Reseda, Ca USA 10/09/2009
We absolutely loved Uzes and lunch on the little square. Believe it or not, it may have been the best meal we had on our entire trip to france, and i ordered the provencale grilled sandwich. Uzes is a true find and so much more charming than the now too touristy and somewhat frumpy arles.
s. elizabeth in philadelphia, pa USA 10/05/2009
Les Olivettes in Lourmarin is a wonderful restored private residence, now five apartments. The owners are Bristish and American. It is just a five minute walk into Lourmarin; fews of village and chateau from rooms; pool, grills, bolles area and ping pong table.
Claire in N. Conway, NH USA 09/24/2009
The best tip discovered in Rick's book, and confirmed during a July 2009 trip to Nice and Antibes, is the wonderful mass transit system in the South of France. The one Euro cost for hopping on a bus to hit the Matisse museum, or to go to Eze or Villefranche from Nice (or to Villarus from Antibes) was liberating. We made plans based on ideas from the 2009 edition of the book, and never were the suggestions incorrect. In fact, each idea seemed better than the next. There is absolutely no reason to rent a car in this area of France unless you really want to explore some of the outer areas. We learned that Rick's descriptions of places were right-on and his suggestions on what could be skipped were correct. Thanks.
Pattie Laun in Ellicott City, MD USA 08/03/2009
If you are going to Festival Avignon and plan to go to at least 3 of the performances of the many shows available (i saw 5 plays and 2 concerts in two days), be sure to purchase an "OFF" card at the TI centre. it will save you 5 euro for each performance.
John in Santa Rosa, CA USA 07/16/2009
Avignon Wine Tours. We used the 2008 version of your book so it may be in the 2009 version. This is an excellent tour. We did tour #2 (he now has 6 tours available) and visited 4 vineyards, got a running commentary on the Luberon, went to a wonderful restaurant in Bonnieux called Cafe Le Gare and stopped for cafe in Lourmarin. Francois, the tour guide, is an excellent guide, is very gracious, and answers any and all questions about wine and Provence.
Kathy Casey in Barrington, IL USA 03/15/2009
On TAM buses in the Nice region (such as to La Turbie), bus drivers will ask where you are going when you get on. I wasn't prepared for this. Also, if you are going to order your SNCF/TGV tickets on-line and know when you want to travel, make sure you place your order at least 31 days in advance. I made the mistake of being on-line when the 30-day time limit occurred (in French time, remember!), and the prices all doubled for the same exact seats. The walk down from Eze-le-Village to Eze-Bord-de-Mer via the "steep path" (mentioned on p. 303) was the highlight of my trip; it wasn't that steep, and it only takes 45 minutes going down (even with lots of photo stops!). This walk was my favorite experience of my entire Provence/Riviera trip, and I would love to see it encouraged in the book. It ends steps away from thr Eze train station, beach, and a bus 100 stop. (But going up wouldn't be very fun!) There is a long-hours Monoprix on Place Garibaldi (one block from Nice's Gare Routiere), great for picnic supplies (even open long hours on Sunday!). There is also a supermarket one block east of the La Cremaillere bus stop in Monaco (handy on the way to Eze). There are free WCs in the Fragonard factory in Eze-le-Village; the ones by the TI cost 0.40 euros. As an aside, the Christmas lights and Christmas markets of Provence and Riviera towns were so fun (and unexpected!).
Kyla Gurganus in Ypsilanti, MI USA 01/02/2009