South of France

[Jelly4444]

I'm flying into Marseilles in late June for 2 weeks. I haven't been to the South of France in 20 years so I'm super excited.

Any suggestions as to which area to stay in? Aix-en-Provence? Avignon? Arles? I'm looking for good food, a nice atmosphere, a little bit of a buzz and plenty of restaurants for the evenings. We are going to book a villa with a pool. All suggestions welcome.

I'd say Cassis, but then I'd prefer to be near the sea.

We stayed about a 50 minute drive from Avignon in Oppede I think it’s called. It was beautiful. Lots of little hilltop towns to visit, lavender fields if you go at the right time. It was bliss.

Do you want to be in a town/city or in a rural area?

For cities, Aix is definitely buzzier than Avignon or Arles, but both Avignon and Arles are nearer to nice countryside areas around them (imo).

If you would rather be rural, there are lots and lots of lovely towns/villages. Not that buzzy, but nice atmosphere. Lourmarin, Isle sur la Sorgue, Gordes, Les Baux, St Remy are the larger/better known ones.

Thank you for all your replies! I think I'd like to be on the outskirts of a village or town. There's 4 adults and 5 kids under 12 so we aren't looking for anything wild. I'm going to check out all your suggestions!

You are so lucky, what a fantastic area! I vote Aix, it is magical.

I know the area well, so feel free to ask about any specific villages/towns if you want.

What sort of outings do you think you will be wanting to do? As that could affect where you base yourselves. Fun outings for kids include canoeing down a river (available at Fontaine de Vaucluse and the Pont du Gard), walks in the beautiful sand ochres (available at Roussillon and Rustrel), accrobranche (loads of sites available). There is also the Cathedrale des Images in Les Baux (and the fort in Les Baux is worth a visit too).

Aix as well would be my choice.

@CatherinedeBourgh Apologies for the delay in replying. I've been researching! Do you have any experience of Cassis? I've thrown your suggestions out to the wider group and there was a few suggestions of getting closer to the sea!

Sorry, don't know Cassis. We’re all about the hiking and climbing, so haven’t spent much time in the coastal areas.

We had a nice day out in Cassis but it was just too busy. My preference would be for somewhere near Aix.

The lavender fields are wonderful, hope you get to see them on your trip.

Personally I prefer Avignon to Aix, although it's very touristy. It was more interesting and you are close to places to visit like Les Baux de Provence, St Rémy de Provence, Arles (big Roman amphitheatre). Or the villages in the Luberon national park are lovely. I stayed near Lourmarin but Bonnieux is also supposed to be nice.

I don't know the coast but Marseille is close to the Camargue with its horses and flamingos. Beware the mosquitos though.