A week in Provence – from Avignon to Aix day by day

Seven days in Provence beyond the coast: the popes' Avignon, the Sunday market in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, the villages of the Luberon, Van Gogh's Alpilles, Arles and Aix. Our plan for a week inland, day by day – markets included.

Provence beyond the coast is an area where the distances are short but the content is vast. In a week, you can take in the popes' Avignon, the villages of the Luberon, Van Gogh's Alpilles, Roman Arles and Aix-en-Provence – if you plan around the market days and accept that you won't see everything.

The week below starts on a Saturday and ends on a Friday, with three bases: Avignon, a village in the Luberon and Aix-en-Provence. A car is needed from day two. Property prices in each town can be found on VERA PI's map of Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône.

01Day 1, Saturday: Avignon

Arrive by TGV in Avignon and start at the Palais des Papes, the popes' palace from the 14th century, which with 15,000 square metres of floor space is considered Europe's largest Gothic palace. Then walk up through the garden on the Rocher des Doms and down to the Pont Saint-Bénézet, the bridge that ends in the middle of the Rhône. On Saturday mornings a market is held in the centre, and in the afternoon you can see contemporary art at the Collection Lambert. If you travel in July, the city is full of theatre during the Festival d'Avignon.

02Day 2, Sunday: L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Fontaine-de-Vaucluse

Collect the hire car and drive to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, where the Sunday market along the canals runs from 7am to 1pm. At the same time, the town has its antique dealers – over 300 all year round – and flea market stalls along the streets. After lunch, drive the eight kilometres to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, where the Sorgue emerges from a spring at the foot of a cliff face. The evening and night are spent in the Luberon, in or near Gordes.

03Day 3, Monday: Gordes, Sénanque and Roussillon

Start early in Gordes, the clifftop village that Travel + Leisure in 2023 called the most beautiful in the world. Then drive to the Sénanque Abbey, founded in 1148, and on to the Village des Bories, the stone huts west of the village. In the afternoon, walk the Sentier des Ocres in Roussillon, the trail through the old ochre quarries that were in operation until 1930. See VERA PI's page on Gordes.

04Day 4, Tuesday: Ménerbes, Bonnieux and Lourmarin

On Tuesday morning there is a market in Gordes. Afterwards, drive across the valley to Ménerbes, the walled village made famous by Peter Mayle, and on to Bonnieux. In the afternoon, take the road through the pass to Lourmarin, with its Renaissance château and Albert Camus's grave. Dinner can be had at Garrigue in Ansouis, which received its first Michelin star in 2026.

05Day 5, Wednesday: Saint-Rémy and Les Baux

Drive west to the Alpilles and arrive in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in time for the Wednesday market. Then go to Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, the monastery hospital where Van Gogh lived from May 1889 to May 1890, and to the Roman town of Glanum nearby. In the afternoon, drive over the hills to Les Baux-de-Provence and the Carrières des Lumières, the art in the old quarry. The evening can end at L'Oustau de Baumanière, which has three stars in the Guide Michelin 2026.

06Day 6, Thursday: Arles

Arles is half an hour away. Start at the Roman arena from around the year 90 and the theatre next to it, then walk through the town where Van Gogh made over 300 paintings and drawings in 1888–1889. In the afternoon, visit LUMA Arles and Frank Gehry's 56-metre-high tower in stainless steel. Towards evening, drive on to Aix-en-Provence, the week's final base.

07Day 7, Friday: Aix and Château La Coste

The last day begins on Cours Mirabeau in Aix, with its plane trees and fountains, and continues up to Cézanne's studio at Les Lauves, where he painted from 1901 until his death in 1906. In the afternoon, drive half an hour north to Château La Coste, the vineyard with architecture by Tadao Ando, Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry and Renzo Piano, and walk the art trail between the vine rows before it's time to head home. See VERA PI's page on Aix-en-Provence.

08If you have one more day

With an eighth day, you can drive east from Aix to the Gorges du Verdon, the canyon that is up to 700 metres deep, and the village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, with the gold star between the cliffs. Between mid-June and mid-July, you also pass the lavender fields on the Valensole plateau along the way.

Plan the mornings with the markets of Provence, day by day. More destinations can be found among metromode.co's destinations, and once there, Metro Mode Camera can tell you about what you see.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.