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Day 1: (Hotel in Arles)
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Your guides will meet you at the train station
in Avignon. |
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Possible visit of the vineyards
of Châteauneuf-du-Pape for early
arrival, with a short stop at the village that
produces this famous full-bodied red wine.
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Place of the Popes in Avignon
Roman bath in Arles
Saturday market
in Arles
Arles festival (Pegoulado)
Arles festival
Camargue
Roman aquaduc "Pont du Gard"
Roussillon
Bonnieux
Lavender in provence
Lunch in Brantes
Roman theater in Orange
Last dinner in provence
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After
pick-up at the train station, tour of Avignon,
the city of the Palace of the Popes, a
magnificent setting for the 4 French popes who
lived the 14th century. |
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Drive to Arles,
settle into your hotel, rest.
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Meet for apéritif and orientation.
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Day 2: (Hotel in Arles)
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Morning
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The Saturday market in Arles
is a spectacle not to be missed. Stalls featuring
local wares wind along the Boulevard des Lices
and up the hillside towards the Roman arena.
You will delight in the assortment of Provençal
specialties--spices, flowers, brightly colored
fabrics in traditional patterns, fresh vegetables,
olives of all kinds--and so much more.
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Afternoon
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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 and was a cultural
center throughout the Middle Ages.
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Dinner, then possibly, at
9:00 PM see the "Pegoulado" -- night
parade with traditional costumes.
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Day 3: (Hotel in Arles)
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Morning
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Fête du costume: A
unique opportunity to see some of Provence's
most colorful and beautiful folk costumes.
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Visit Nîmes,
as thriving a town today as it was when the
Emperor Augustus made it a showplace of the
Roman Empire.
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Afternoon
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Visit the spectacular Pont-du-Gard,
a Roman aqueduct dating from 19 BCE. This well-preserved
structure, a key element in a 31-mile-long system
to bring water to the city of Nîmes,
bears witness to the engineering genius of the
ancient Romans.
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Late afternoon
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Discover the Camargue,
rich delta of the Rhône River,
a wildlife sanctuary and home to the celebrated
white horses, pink flamingos and black bulls.
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Day 4: (Hotel in Apt)
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Morning
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En route to Apt, we will
stop to discover Saint-Rémy-de-Provence,
birthplace of physician-astrologer Nostradamus
and of the poet Frédéric
Mistral.
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Nearby, we will stop by
the Roman settlement of Glanum and visit
St-Paul-de-Mausole, a tranquil and beautiful
convalescent center that was home to Vincent
Van Gogh during the last year of his
life.
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Discover the hillside fortress
of Les Baux-de-Provence, built into bare
rock and perched on top of an outcrop of the
Alpilles. It is one of the most impressive
sites in France, and one whose history is the
most violent. Richelieu had it destroyed in
the 17th century, but it prospered again in
the 19th with the discovery of bauxite, the
mineral which gave the town its name
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Afternoon
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On our way to Apt,
short stop to visit L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.
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Check hotel in the animated
town of Apt.
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Day 5: (Hotel in Apt)
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Morning
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This
is your day to discover some of the fascinating
hilltop villages of Provence that Peter Mayle
found so attractive.
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Start with a visit of beautiful
Roussillon, where every structure features
a different shade of ocher, from yellow to brown
to rust to bright red.. We can also walk the
Ocher Trail, a fantasy walk through slopes of
brilliant color.
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In late morning explore
and walk in other fascinating villages in the
Lubéron that Peter
Mayle described so vividly: tiny Oppède-le-Vieux;
Lacoste, site of the Marquis de
Sade's château; Ménerbes
and Bonnieux, both
villages clinging to craggy hillsides.
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Lunch
at the Café de la Gare in Bonnieux |
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Afternoon
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Visit
Gordes. With its panoramic view of the
countryside and its long history, Gordes
is classified one of the "most beautiful villages
of France," As we leave Gordes, we will
visit the beautiful 12th-century Abbey
of Sénanque, nestled among surrounding
lavender fields. |
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Dinner in one of the favorite
sites described in "A Year in Provence."
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Day 6: (Hotel in Orange)
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Morning
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Pass through fields of lavender
and picturesque provençal villages and
stop at Ferrassière to visit a
small lavender production.
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Lunch
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For lunch, stop in the hamlet
of Brantes at the foot of Mont Ventoux.
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Explore Vaison-la-Romaine,
often called "the four-in-one city."
It is a medieval town built on a prehistoric
settlement; and a modern agricultural center
built on a ancient Roman city, where excavations
progressively reveal vestiges of the rich culture
of the Gallo-Romans.
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Late afternoon
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Arrive in Orange,
settle into your hotel, rest.
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Day 7: (Hotel in Orange)
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Morning
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Visit Orange and
its immense Roman theater, a huge amphitheater
built to hold 10,000 spectators, still used
today for special outdoor music performances.
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Afternoon
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Visit the wine village of
Gigondas; if you want, we can take you
for a gentle walk in the beautiful hills of
the Dentelles de Montmirail for panoramic
views of the region.
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Drive
through the foothills of the Dentelles de Montmirail
("Montmirail Lace") to the the terraced village
of Beaumes-de-Venise and taste the sweet
apéritif wine named for the village. |
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Evenning
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Dinner at our hotel.
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Day 8: Departure Day
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Morning
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Au revoir to Provence. We
will drive you to Avignon, where you
can take the TGV (bullet train) to Paris. Or
to your next destination.
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