Checking off a bucket list item

The south of France has been on our bucket list for several years. In 2022, we visited northern France, and came away totally committed to making it back to see the Mediterranean coast. We had high hopes and they were met and exceeded. There was so much good food, good wine, amazing history, and simply unbelievable beautiful scenery. Trying to summarize everything we saw in two weeks is nearly impossible, but here we go. Let’s start with our absolute favorite part.

The Massif de l'Esterell mountain range

Formed over 250 million years ago, this mountain chain was originally attached to Africa. During the formation of the Mediterranean, this 125 square mile piece of land separated from Africa and “drifted” to what is now Southern France. Composed of stunning red rock, it starts inland and dives into the waters of the ocean at the coast. You can literally drive, or hike for miles along the coast enjoying the amazing beauty. We had no idea this existed and “discovered” it by accident as we took the train to Avignon. As as we saw it outside the train window, we started working on how to get back there before heading home.

Avignon

Avignon is an amazing city that is rich with history. In the late 1200’s, due to unrest in Italy and the international politics of the time, Pope Clement V decided to move the papal residence, and thus the seat of the Catholic church, from Rome to Avignon. Things stayed this way for most of the 1300’s. Of course, the popes had to have a suitable place to live, and so the Palace of the Popes was built. It remains to this day one of the largest and most important Gothic buildings in Europe. Avignon grew up around the palace.

The old city exists entirely within the 14th century walls. You don’t need a car (and couldn’t drive it within the walls even if you had one), as everything is walkable. We walked from the train station to our Airbnb, and it felt like we were walking into a medieval fairy tale. With so many things to visit, it is smart to get the Avignon city pass. You probably couldn’t see everything in a week. In addition, Avignon is also surrounded by an unbelievable collection of attractions.

Carousel - click on images to see more. These are images of buildings around Avignon.

Cote-du-Rhone Wine Region

Avignon sits in the center of the Rhone Valley wine region. We spent one whole day touring wineries in the area including the world famous Chateauneuf du Pape. We hired a local tour guide which was a great way to learn about the winemaking in the area and taste a lot of wonderful wine without having to worry about driving.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhone wine region - check out these rocks! All the vineyards in this area are just like this.This is unique to this region.

Carousel - click on images to see more.

Pont Du Gard

Southern France has the most impressive, well-preserved Roman ruins in Europe outside of Rome.

Pont Du Gard is a Roman aqueduct built by the Romans in the 1st century AD. If that isn’t impressive enough, it is the highest Roman aqueduct in the world. It is truly an engineering marvel. Built with hand tools, ropes, and pack animals, it ran over 30 miles and required incredibly precise measurements to move water from the mountains to the Roman town of Nimes.

https://pontdugard.fr/fr — Point Du Guard

Carousel - click on images to see more. A few images of us exploring the grounds.

ARLES

If you are an art history (or ancient Rome) buff, you are going to love Arles. Picasso and Van Gogh, along with many other artists, had a love for this town. In fact, it was Van Gogh’s masterpiece, Café Terrace at Night, that brought notoriety to Arles. The city features two great examples of a Roman Arena and a Roman Theater.

Other highlights in the area included Saint-Remy-de-Provence, and Les Baux-de-Provence, two amazing medieval towns.

Arles Amphitheater: Built in 90 AD, the amphitheater held over 20,000 spectators of chariot races and hand-to-hand blood battles.

The French Riviera

After Avignon, we headed to the French Riviera. We made Villefranche-sur-Mer our home base. We stayed in a lovely condo overlooking the bay in this quaint little town.

Village of Eze

The Village of Eze was definitely one of the highlights of this part of our trip. Located on a hill 1,000 feet above the sea, it is a stunning little village dating back to the middle ages. It clings to the mountainside above the Mediterranean Sea creating some unbelievable views. We felt like we were in a dream!

Carousel - click on images to see more. Our day in Eze. We started off with cocktails at Le Cafe Du Jardin before being escorted to our table with its unbelievable view. After lunch we explored the town.

South of France