Going to France

[bjannsen]

Yup, the wife and I will be going to France - Paris for 10 days and Provence for 5 weeks starting June 6. She will be looking at perfume, flowers, decorations - I will be looking for Lavender fields, old villages and general 'French Life' photos (if there is such a thing).

My main question is for Provence; what are the 'can't miss' places? We have Gordes, Sault, Saint Remy, Avignon, Banon and about 10 other places on my list, but I'm looking for any ideas (particularly from any French POTN members) as to where I need to look for great sunrise and sunset landscapes.

Other than landscapes, I'd like to shoot old villages and villagers and come away with a great sense of French life in the country.

If there's any POTNer's in the Provence area maybe we could hook up for some pointers and suggestions...

Thanks for any help...

Brian

[Philscbx]

This is the guide source you need/
http://www.ricksteves.com/
He has a DVD set I may order anyway.
The series by far always shows the best there is to see.
When I compare my tours to Europe, then see his of the same area or city, I then see what I missed.

Update/
Here's one of their tours to where your going/
http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours09/product.cfm/rurl/code/FVV09/199

[blueM]

In Aug 2006 we drove from Italy to Paris thru Provence & central France. Here are some places you might want to consider depending on where you are located and how far you want to travel:
Grasse
Roussillon (near Gordes) – we wanted to go here but did not have time

If you will be driving to or from Paris consider these which are quite close together:
Rocamadour
Sarlat-la-Caneda
Beynac-et-Cazenac
We stayed in Gourdon for several nights & day tripped to the above locations. I was blown away by these places. I have traveled quite a lot in the USA, but only 1 trip to the UK. There is no place in the US like rural France. Wish we would have had more time.

Here are a couple of books that might be worth buying. I think I found used on Amazon:
1. “France on Backroads – The Motorist’s Guide to the French Countryside” by Duncan Petersen (Hunter Publishing). I purchased the 4th edition, copyright 2000
2. “Undiscovered France – An Insider’s Guide to the Most Beautiful Villages” by Brigitte Tilleray with photographs by Richard Turpin.

Also check out this web site:

http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/index.php?lang=en

Hope this helps
Kevin

[funlovincamera]

The Pont du Gard near Nimes would be worthwhile. http://www.cambridge2000.com/gallery/html/P9043730.html

[ThD40]

Yup, the wife and I will be going to France - Paris for 10 days and Provence for 5 weeks starting June 6. She will be looking at perfume, flowers, decorations - I will be looking for Lavender fields, old villages and general 'French Life' photos (if there is such a thing).

My main question is for Provence; what are the 'can't miss' places? We have Gordes, Sault, Saint Remy, Avignon, Banon and about 10 other places on my list, but I'm looking for any ideas (particularly from any French POTN members) as to where I need to look for great sunrise and sunset landscapes.

Other than landscapes, I'd like to shoot old villages and villagers and come away with a great sense of French life in the country.

If there's any POTNer's in the Provence area maybe we could hook up for some pointers and suggestions...

Thanks for any help...

Brian

First of all, I apologize for my bad english; You have to know I'm french, and I've been living for nearly 8 years in Provence (Aix en Provence).
Great spots: Les Baux de Provence, 10 kilometers around you can see "Le Moulin de Daudet" at Fontvieille.
Leaving Avignon in East direction you "must" see: Oppedes le vieux (real middle age village), The lavender museum at Coustellet, Lacoste (small village where is the castle of Marquis de Sade).
At Roussillon you'll see wonderful landscapes with amazing colors (les Ocres de Roussillon)
You'll see, Luberon is great, wonderful.
Enjoy your journey, I'm sure you'll never forget it.
If you want others details, ask me, maybe I can help you.
Thierry

[Mike]

5 weeks in Provence!! I am most jealous! ;)

I have visited Provence many times over the last few years and it is a fantastic place to visit. We have always stayed in the Vaucluse area of Provence about 40 minutes from Avignon. We have always stayed in little villages away from the main touristy hub and it is always a great experience. Only visited Avignon 1 time though and was oddly disappointed! The Palais des Papes was interesting if lacking a bit in content. However, there are quite a few places to visit that I can recommend.

On a Monday morning the big street market in Bedoin at the foot of Mont Ventoux is a fantastic place to visit. I'd get there quite early though as parking can be tricky if you leave it too late in the morning. When you finish at the market a trip up Mont Ventoux is a must - 3 stunning views - across the Luberon on one side, the Rhone delta on another and the Alps on the third. We went last year at the end of May and there was still a bit of snow but it may all be gone by mid June. I'd also recommend a trip up the Ventoux for sunset - it is a great experience.

Venasque is a picturesque fortified medieval village perched precariously at the top of a steep hill which is well worth a visit.

Fontaine de Vaucluse is the site of one of the deepest natural springs in Europe and at certain times of the year the water roars down through the valley. Again very picturesque.

Isle sur la Sorgue is near to Fontaine de Vaucluse and is a lovely town that has the river Sorgue flowing through it. Known locally as little venice due to the many flowing waterways it is fed by the Fontaine de Vaucluse nearby. Lots of places to eat here and we always got an Omelette et Frites at one of the many cafes only to find out 2 years ago that our favourite cafe had stopped doing them! Shock horror!!! ;)

Sault is one of the main lavender producing towns and you'll find lots of lavender fields nearby although in June not many of them will be in flower. By July though you'll see plenty of the iconic "hedgehogs" in full bloom!

Near to Sault is the Gorge de la Nesque which has a very windy road running through it. Not for those who don't like heights and if you decide to drive it I'd recommend going down it from the Sault direction as the drop will be on the other side of the road most of the time. Very pretty to drive through though and shows off the rugged Provencale landscape brilliantly.

The Abbeye de Senanque is one of the iconic images of Provence and can be found hidden near the Col de Murs road. It is a medieval abbey with fields of lavender surrounding it. Again very pretty but popular with the tourists and tricky to get decent shots of.

If it is a slice of local life you are after try Pernes les Fontaines, Mazan & St Didier - 3 towns that are fairly less known to tourists. Pernes les Fontaines, as its name suggests, has a multitude of fountains dotted around its streets and alleys and has some interesting old architecture. A bricabrac market at the weekend bring out all sorts of locals which can lead to some great candids. Mazan is a favourite of ours just because we stay nearby most of the time we visit. A great little restaurant called St Germaine at the bottom end of the town serves proper rustic Provencale food and is an experience not to be missed! Also good for a bite to eat or an aperitif is St Didier - one of the restaurants has a very good menu that has a special cheap lunch offer on Tuesdays (I think it's Tuesday!) which is very popular with the locals. Also an after lunch stroll round the town is nice - head up the main street towards the church and through the archway to find a hidden part of the town that is a real gem!

The Luberon is a very popular area visited by tourists and has a number of pretty towns. Due to the popularity though you will find that prices are a bit higher than some other areas of Provence. Gordes is perhaps one of the most visited and sits at the edge of a hill guarding one side of the Luberon. Roussilon as mentioned above is a very distinct town that is very red in appearance. Very unusual colours of the rocks. Bonnieux is another town worth visiting and again sits on the side of a hill with 3 different levels to it. Other places worth a look in the Luberon include Goult and Joucas.

Pont du Gard again as mentioned above is a great place to visit. An enormous roman viaduct that dominates the landscape.

Dont forget to take plenty of sunscreen and a good hat as the Provencale sun can be fiercly hot during the middle and latter part of the day.

Take a look at my website though and also my Flickr site for photos that I have taken in Provence and feel free to ask for more info if you want.

I can go on and on confusing you with more places to look at but I think I'll stop now! :p

[bjannsen]

Thanks so much! We had a great trip - it was last June/July. Ended up with 3500 shots from Paris and another 8000 from Provence.

Now we need to go back! Currently planning on April in southern coastal France then on to Italy for May/June.

I'm still using some of your ideas in our planning.

Thanks,

Brian

[Mike]

Thanks so much! We had a great trip - it was last June/July. Ended up with 3500 shots from Paris and another 8000 from Provence.

Now we need to go back! Currently planning on April in southern coastal France then on to Italy for May/June.

I'm still using some of your ideas in our planning.

Thanks,

Brian

Hehe!! Trust me to not check the date of the first post!! Glad you had a good time, shame I didn't see this a year ago though! I'm off to Italy in May too so planning for me as well!! Got any pics of your time in Provence?