Which 3 Cities in Southern France for a summer holiday?

January 7, 2024 2:20 PM

We are thinking of holidaying in Southern France this summer, picking 3 locations as a base and spending ~5 days in each, visiting in last week of June and first week of July. My current short list is Avignon, Nimes, Montpellier, Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Beziers, Perpignan and Carcassonne.

Partner would also like something more in the mountains, maybe towards Andorra. Which three cities should I pick? Where else should be on the list? Any suggestions for accommodation would be a bonus, probably looking for Airbnb/Vrbo type rental.

posted by biffa to Travel & Transportation around Parañaque, Philippines (10 answers total)

We spent a similar about of time in that area about 10 years ago. We stayed in 3 cities on your list. Carcassonne was my favorite, and from there we did a day trip to Perpignan. Arles and Aix-en-Provence both had some interesting Roman ruins. I think 5 days is more than enough for them.

Our trip covered a little more ground both east and west. They are a little outside the area you are talking about, but the highlights of that trip for me were Nice and Barcelona. If you're flexible on the parameters, I'd recommend considering one or the other.
posted by Horselover Fat at 2:52 PM on January 7 [1 favorite]

I know Montpellier, Perpignan, Carcassonne and Béziers quite well. I would recommend Montpellier for its interesting mixture of old and modern and very youthful feel. Carcassonne is unique but the old town is a little Disneyfied for my taste. Perpignan and Béziers had less appeal to me: it’s not like they have nothing; just not as much as other places. If I were going to suggest places in Languedoc other than Montpellier: Roquebrun and other villages of the high Languedoc - maybe Marseillan or Sête.
posted by rongorongo at 2:59 PM on January 7 [1 favorite]

Will you have a car? Roquebrun is lovely - and the surrounding villages are very sweet, perhaps not a five day trip though. What are you hoping to do or see - arts, wine?

I live just outside of Nice nowadays so can answer sud est France questions. For example mountains - if you did fancy coming east, it gets hilly quickly, I'm thinking about Sospel and Tende/Vallée des Merveilles.
posted by socky_puppy at 3:09 PM on January 7

Response by poster: We could certainly look to rent a car, even if just for a few days at a time.
posted by biffa at 4:18 PM on January 7

Response by poster: We are probably not looking to go further east than Marseille / Aix-en-Provence. Pyrenees is fine but not going as far as Barcelona.

Activitywise: walking & cycling depending how hot it is. Lake swimming. Food, wine, galleries. Some history perhaps. My french is very poor so nothing that requires that. We both love mazes of ancient streets.

Thanks for answers so far!
posted by biffa at 4:28 PM on January 7

Carcassonne is small and the old town is kind of a one day and done visit; the new town is more interesting, but not for five days. I'd include it as a stopover on your way to somewhere else but not as its own feature.

Marseille is not on your list, but I think is very much worth considering. It is super cool and has a wonderful old town and really good food and nice people, as well as great culture and museums.
posted by urbanlenny at 7:18 PM on January 7 [2 favorites]

Base yourselves in a smaller village for one of the three destinations. Bonnieux, in the hills of Vaucluse, is perfect for this. It's a lovely walk from Lacoste, another nice village, as well as a short drive from Gordes which is gorgeous, though more touristy. You'd be smack in the middle of some of the most beautiful lavender regions, though you might be a little early for the bloom (depending on the weather). However, it'll be the height of cherry season and there's a good chance you can get a rental that'll have a few trees to gorge yourselves from.

Of the cities I really like Avignon for its medieval history and easy access to other interesting places in the region. You also could be there for part of this year's Festival. But for an extended stay you may prefer Aix. I also really like Arles - not least for its proximity to the Camargue, which has a unique culture and a magical quality to the light.

I wouldn't recommend Carcassonne other than as a day trip.
posted by theory at 11:34 PM on January 7 [1 favorite]

Carcassone was a pretty good base of operations for day trips to the foothills of the Pyrenees and the beach, but the city itself got old after about 36 hours. Still, the "new city" felt like a real place people live, and not just a tourist destination, which was nice.

Arles was quite lovely, and I wish we had had more time there.
posted by suelac at 9:30 AM on January 8 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for all the useful advice! Influenced by theory, we ended up near Lagnes and had visits to Gordes, Oppede and Menerbes, amongst other local towns and villages. We then went with Nimes for a city base, with day trip to Avignon, which was good but we were happy not to be there for the festival. We also daytripped from there to Aigues-Mortes. We dumped Carcassonne as an option based on feedback, and stayed in Llivia, the Spanish enclave/exclave which was lovely and handy for trips to Andorra and locally.
posted by biffa at 2:44 PM on August 2 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I should say I would have liked to go to Marseille but I think I have showed my SO too many crime dramas and she vetoed it.
posted by biffa at 10:48 AM on August 3