We are planning to visit France in October and wanted to sample some of the red wines of the southern Rhone. We have allotted 4 nights and will be using public transportation. Am I wrong in assuming Avignon would be a good base of operations.
Provence is best explored with a car. Public transportation is not geared at all for tourists, but rather to get French citizens to and from work and school. It is going to be a HUGE challenge visiting wineries without a car unless you take private tours.
Agree with Dan. Plus, if you are visiting during the first or second week of October, many wineries will be closed to visitors for the harvest. Not all, but many.
Avignon can be a good base, each situation is different. It is definitely a good place if you intend to take guided tours as many depart from Avignon.
It seems like renting a car is the thing to do. Since I have a small backyard vineyard myself, the harvest is something I would be interested in seeing. We would rather visit an area not so touristy with more of a country setting but my French is very limited. Would there be a more small town setting you could recommend?
Thanks for your help
Happy to help, Mike! If you elect to stay in Seguret, I would recommend La Bastide Bleue. It is quite small (5 rooms I think?) and is well located just below the village. Quite good value too, as I recall....certainly was when I stayed there a few years ago.
O.K. Thanks again, I will consider it.
