Be Belle from Beauty and the Beast with this Provence France Travel Guide

Welcome to Part Two of our guide to the ultimate vacation in France. In Part One I recapped the best places to stay, eat and drink and all the must-sees in Paris. Today I’ll cover what was probably my favorite part of the trip: the Provence region. This part of our stay was inspired by our friends at Happily Ever Adventures who have traveled the region extensively. Once I saw the picturesque little villages, I knew we had to go.

About Provence

Provence is a region in southeastern France bordering Italy and the Mediterranean Sea (does a dreamier description exist?). Provence is known for its diverse landscapes, from the Southern Alps and Camargue plains to rolling vineyards, olive groves, pine forests and lavender fields. It’s comprised of villages, all that look straight out of Beauty and the Beast. Remember the classic “I want much more than this provincial life!” lyrics? Yep, this is the region she’s referencing…but honestly not sure what she was complaining about? Provence is magic!

How to Get There

We took a 3 hour high speed train from Paris to Avignon booked through RailEurope. It was like $20 more per person to sit in the first class part of the train and I would 100% encourage you to upgrade. The seats were very comfortable, had outlets and felt private. There’s a bar with snacks on the train but since it was before 10am (even we have our limits) we stuck to cappuccinos and pain au chocolats. Once in Avignon, we rented a car to drive to our home base of Gordes. If you’re planning to visit the provence region, I would highly recommend renting a car. There’s not really and uber service in this remote area and I don’t think I saw one taxi, so yea, get yourself a car. It’s about an hour drive from Avignon to Gordes, but since Provence is filled with so many gems, you can definitely make a few stops along the way to break up the day of travel.

Where to Stay

We chose Gordes as our home base village, basically because of the above photo that I saw all over Instagram. Gordes is a known as one of the most picturesque villages in France, dating all the way back to the Roman Empire. While we stayed in an Airbnb in Paris, we knew we wanted to choose a hotel for the Provence portion because A- we were ready for a little pampering and B- Air conditioning was a MUST. It was an average of 90 degrees everyday so having a pool was also key.

We stayed at the boutique hotel le Petis Palais d’Aglae and I think it’s one of the loveliest places I’ve ever stayed. The hotel sits atop the medieval town and the views of the countryside are unreal. The breakfast on the terrace is unbeatable, and the pool is just perfection. We appreciated the ice cold A/C as well 🙂

If ya feeling fancy: La Bastide de Gordes

Another gorgeous but more budget friend option: Le Phebus & Spa