16 days in Provence in September was a good idea. Here is a recap of the top 10 places we visited, as well as a few things to avoid. Overall, it was a good itinerary. We drove around a lot and lucked out with a hybrid vehicle, so the gas bill was cheap. Photo slide show below.

10 Locations Worth Visiting in Provence

Avignon: Stayed here for the duration of the trip. We got an apartment with a parking garage and a balcony with a nice view of the Palace of the Popes. The town is very low-key in a great way. It’s a little bustling around the palace and bridge but never got that bad. Great restaurants and market, good record store. Close to a lot of other great things. What more do you need?

Roussillon: Gorgeous. Ochre overload. Ochre-load. The ‘Le Sentier de Ochre’ hike around rich hues. The ochre buildings in the town are beautiful. Can’t miss.

Around (but not) St. Remy de Provence: The St. Paul’s asylum, where Vincent committed himself to with Van Gogh walk, completely fascinating. Next to it is Glanum, Roman ruins from the first century BC (with Gaul/Salyen roots from 6th century BC). it was destroyed in a mudslide and apparently Van Gogh was painting olive trees there without any idea there was a buried city beneath.  Also behind the asylum is the excellent vineyard/olive oil maker Domaine De Métifiot. Top shelf 00 and Rosé.

Pont du Gard / Uzès: First century roman aqueduct in VG+ condition. Kids playing in the water beneath it. A stunning hike up, over, and back. Nearby Uzès is as charming a French town as you could want. Had a fantastic 3-4 course dinner for next to nothing. Would probably be worth staying only there for a week. We returned for the market day, which was the best of the markets we visited.

Arles: Unexpectedly my favorite city of the trip. Spent two days there. Just beautiful. Adorable micro-Coliseum and other Roman goodies. Stylish old streets. Art everywhere. We were there during their annual photography fest, art photos all over town. Van Gogh painted here a lot, and they kept the square of his first post ear slash hospital garden looking more or less the same as in his paintings. There’s also an excellent sprawling art complex LUMA. Frank Gehry tower, choice exhibitions, places to hang and chill.

Swipe below (captions are basically impossible to read. Sorry.) More destinations below

Aix-en-Provence: From the Cezanne paintings. Famous Madelines and excellent Corsican food. Great market (not as great as Uzès). Cool streets and squares. Overpriced LPs at the flea market.

Cassis: had to see the sea so we went to Cassis. Great location, with many of the usual downsides associated with great locations. Thought about a hike in next door in gorgeous Calanques National Park – but decided 2 hour hike to get to one beach seemed extreme — so we took a nice boat ride from Cassis to see more calanques in less time. I took a dip in the Mediterranean. Had a hot dog with French fries, both on a baguette. We also had to park up the hill and take a bus down/up.

Saignon and Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt: 2 quiet villages of the Luberon that are not too far from each other and both are excellent destinations. Saignon is just gorgeous and the “Saignon Rock” was built by Paleolithic people and was used as an observatory. You can walk up! Photos in slide show. The town Saint Saturnin is low-key and wonderful but at the top are amazing roman castle ruins, an old damn, etc. Visiting these two towns will make for a perfect Provencal day.

Les Baux-de-Provence: rock plateau village, former brutal medieval stronghold and Bronze Age troglodyte village before that (habitation dating to 6000 BC). The town is touristy AF but worth it for the incredible views and wild old ruins

Château La Coste: Winery and art/architecture destination with incredible location/views and a somewhat suspicious array of 50+ works from seemingly every famous living (or recently deceased) sculptor. Very cool, though easy to imagine the evil billionaire owner (hotelier Paddy McKillen) checking off a list. Art…what a racket. Tons of great works but none of it beat the views. Funny that there are works famous sculptors Bob Dylan (I enjoyed his rail car) and Michael Stipe.

Perhaps Avoid in Provence

La Isla de La Sorgue: was very irritating during their overpriced market day. Not that much to see. Everyone takes the exact same Instagram photo in the one picturesque corner. The Venice of Provence? Definitely not.

Gordes: I don’t know. Shrug. Crowded parking lots. Not that interesting. Maybe we didn’t walk down the mountain far enough.

St. Remy old town: Over the top touristy. A few nice fountains, including one dedicated to native crackpot Nostradamus. However, the nearby stuff mentioned above is awesome. Spend your time there. Les Baux is great and not that far, either.