P R O V E N C E, S O U T H OF F R A N C E

June 2023

Provence was our perfect babymoon destination, though it makes for an amazing getaway regardless of an incoming baby! Ultimately we wanted a beautiful warm location with great food and drink. We could also decide how much physical activity we were up for. I couldn’t manage much in the way of hiking (though I know I missed out on that), the amount of walking through small towns in our proximity was plenty of movement at 6+ months pregnant, combined with the June heat!

We setup basecamp in Maussane-les-Alpilles because it served as a great portal to all the towns we wanted to visit most. Another motivating factor was our incredible AirBnB which we can’t recommend enough. Our hosts, Barbara and Christian, were incredibly welcoming and their space was the perfect spot to relax in between hitting the road. Their dogs, Moody and Ida, gave us much needed company as we always miss our dog while on vacation. The town of Maussane was lovely and convenient for grabbing groceries, morning coffee or drinks on a terrace. Of course my husband did the drinking; I made a point of grabbing daily gelato.

It was easy for us to decide which days we should visit which towns since they have their own designated market days. Flea markets, antiques, food and/or plenty of artisanal souveniers to bring home. Our daily itinerary can be found below. We missed out on visiting Aix-en-Provence, otherwise we felt this was everything we personally wanted to accomplish.

Regarding markets, I’ll detail what we learned and share a larger list which our host provided.

We can personally vouch for the following markets:

ST. REMY

Perfect for a bit of everything - note that it’s smaller on Saturday versus Wednesday.

VILLENUVE-LES-AVIGNON

You’ll only find antiques at this particular market, though our hosts highly recommended it, and it did not disappoint! Much less tourists than others, as well.

L’ISLE SUR LA SORGUE

This was a personal favourite as it was huge and the town itself was beautiful - they call it the Venice of France!

EYGALIÈRES

Another personal favourite. Despite the small size of the town, this was a very rich market and large enough to get your dose of everything.

ARLES

Another very large market. At first this was a huge disappointment, as we walked through 20 minutes of cheap articles and knockoffs before realizing the other side of town carried more authentic items.

AUTHENTIC MADE-IN-FRANCE SOUVENIR IDEAS:

For us, this was a lot items for our baby’s room; books, toys, etc.

Some general items that you’ll see plenty of during your trip that make great gifts would be:

Nougat - I recommend purchasing from a patisserie versus market vendors, as the price difference is shocking

Fleurs de Sel

Wine

Olive oil

Soap

Lavender

Handmade artisan items or antique trinkets/books/prints

A great help for us with planning was reading up on Curious Provence’s blog. We had originally hoped to stay at their brand new rental, though sadly the dates didn’t line up. While we highly recommend the Airbnb we were so lucky to have, I invite you to look here as well!

OUR ITINERARY

DAY 1

Arrive at MRS

Hotel in Vieux Port of Marseille 

Walk the port, terraces, boutiques 

La Bonne Mere (pizza) for dinner

DAY 2

Levon café morning coffee and croissant 

Car rental 11am

Drive to Maussane des Alpilles

Café de Fontaine for lunch

Eygalières for dinner

DAY 3

Abbaye-Notre-Dame-Sénanque, Gordes

Town of Gordes

Caves of Palais Saint Firmin

Homemade dinner at home

DAY 4

Eygalières market in AM 

Hike to Blue Lagoon quarry from airbnb

Poolside

Carrierre en Lumiere (light show exhibition) in les Baux-de-Provence

Visit the town of les Baux-de-Provence

Dinner in Maussane

DAY 5

Villeneuve-les-Avignon market in AM

Lunch in St. Remy (small market day)

Dinner at home

DAY 6

L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue market (church, Café de France, l’Atelier de Jardins

Bull race, "Trophée des As", 4:30pm

Dinner in Mouriès

DAY 7

Coffee in Maussane + lounge at home

Dinner in St. Remy

DAY 8

Short hike in Maussane

Eygalières “food cruise”

Mas de Gourgonnier cellar

6pm massage, le Graal

Dinner in Villeneuve-les-Avignon

DAY 9

Arles market

Eygalières dinner, l’Opale restaurant

DAY 10

Travel home