DAILY ITINERARY

Day 1: Friday, June 28: (Hotel in Arles)

Your guides will meet you at the train station in Avignon. Drive to Arles, settle into hotel, rest. Possible tour of old town for those arriving early.

Day 2: Saturday, June 29 (Hotel in Arles)

Morning: Visit Arles' huge open-air market, the most colorful in Provence. Afternoon: Guided tour of Arles, one of the oldest towns of Provence, its history dating back to the ancient Greeks. It became a metropolis of Roman Gaul, was a cultural center throughout the Middle Ages, and is today a delightful town, alive wih colorful traditions. After the tour, we will have free time to explore on our own the animated streets, the wealth of artwork and the great shopping that Arles offers. Late Afternoon: Discover the Camargue, rich delta of the Rhône River, famous as a wildlife sanctuary and home to the celebrated white horses, pink flamingos and black bulls that thrive naturally in the area.

Day 3: Sunday, June 30 (Hotel in Arles)

Morning: in Arles. Afternoon: Explore the hillside fortress of Les Baux-de-Provence, then the ancient Roman settlement of Glanum. Stop to see the tranquil monastery of St-Paul-de-Mausole, the sanitorium where Vincent Van Gogh spent the last year of his life. Nearby we will visit Saint-Rémy, birthplace physician-astrologer Nostradamus and the Provencal poet Frédéric Mistral Arrive in the Luberon and our hilltop village home for the next 3 days.

Day 4: Monday, July 1 (Hotel in Gordes)

Morning: Guided tour of Gordes, classified as one of the "most beautiful villages of France," and of the 12th-century Abbey of Sénanque, nestled among its surrounding lavender fields. Lunch and free time at the hotel for a siesta or a swim. Late afternoon: Short driving tour of the area on our way to dinner in the quaint village of Vénasque.

Day 5: Tuesday, July 2 (Hotel in Gordes)

Full day in the Provence of Peter Mayle. Morning: Drive to Roussillon, another site classified as one of the "most beautiful villages of France," a painter's palette village where all visible nature and every structure of man is colored in infinite shades of ochre. Explore the village and possibly walk along part of the Ochre Trail outside the town. Explore and walk in the villages of the Luberon that Peter Mayle describes so vividly: tiny Oppède-le-Vieux; Lacoste, site of the Marquis de Sade's château; Ménerbes and Bonnieux clinging to craggy hillsides. For dinner we will discover one of the favorite sites described in "A Year in Provence."

Day 6: Wednesday, July 3 (Hotel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

Morning: Drive to the wine village of Gigondas for a walk in the beautiful hills known as Dentelles de Montmirail ("Montmirail Lace"), for panoramic views of the region. Lunch, then a visit to the village of Beaumes-de-Venise in the foothills of the Dentelles and a chance to taste the sweet apéritif wine the village produces. Mid-Afternoon: Continue to Orange to visit its immense, well-preserved Roman theater, which held 10,000 spectators and is still used today for special performances. On the way back to the hotel stop at the vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and visit the village that produces this famous full-bodied red wine.

Day 7: Thursday, July 4 (Hotel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

Morning: Visit the spectacular Pont-du-Gard, a Roman aqueduct dating from 19 BC. The well-preserved structure is a witness to the engineering genius of the Romans who built this complex 31-mile-long system to supply water to the city of Nimes. Leave for Avignon and a tour of the city, followed by a visit to the 14th-century Palace of the Popes, a magnificent setting for the seven French popes who lived there.

Day 8: Friday, July 5

Breakfast, then "au revoir." Those returning to the states will go to Avignon to take the high-speed train (TGV) to De Gaulle Airport. Those continuing onto Burgundy will take the train to Beaune.

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