Help with itinerary

We intend to spend about 7 days in Provence in early June. Can someone please help me with my itinerary? We have a family of 2 adults and 2 kids (5 %26amp; 8 yrs).

We were thinking of:

Day 1: Drive from Paris to Lyon

Day 2: Lyon to Avignon (overnight)

Day 3: Avignon to Les Baux to Aix-en-Provence(Overnight)

Day 4: Aix-en-Provence to St Tropez? (is this worth? I%26#39;m not keen on beaches) or Cannes? (too far a drive from Aix???)

Day 5: Cannes to Grasse to St-Paul-de-Remy to Tourettes-sur-loup (overnight)

Day 6%26quot; Tourrette-sur-loup to Nice? or straight to Monaco?

Day 7: How to get back to Paris?

Would it be more advisable to take a TGV from Paris to Avignon then rent a car? Am I being too ambitious and covering too many places in such a short time. We are not museum-lovers or art-lovers. We like things like visiting the perfume factories, craft/flea markets etc. I don%26#39;t think my kids can take too many museum visits!

Thanks in advance for your helpful comments. This is my first time on our own in France.

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Hi

First I would suggest taking the TGV to Avignon as I%26#39;m sure kids would prefer it.

Do not miss Pont-du-Gard near Avignon (it%26#39;s a magnificent aquaduct).

Aix to St Tropez is about 1.5 to 2 hours drive. In June it will be lovely as there will not many people. You can wander around the tiny little back streets, watch the boats. Tuesday and Saturday mornings are market day.

Aix to Cannes is about the same amount of time as it is motorway all the way. It is of course a much larger town.

For the kids: About 12 km from Grasse is La Grotte de Baume Obscure. It is a set of huge caves. Take a sweater as it will be cold underground. There is an audio guide and lights come on as you walk around.

Near Nice in Cagnes-sur-mer you will find the showroom of Gault. They make hand crafted and painted miniature provencal and parisien houses. This show room is open to the public. Near here also you can visit Renoir%26#39;s studio and house. Even for those not that keen on museums and art it is quiet awesome to think this is where he painted.

Then finally in Nice you can visit the Parc des Miniatures which tells the history of the Cote d%26#39;Azur with the help of miniture buildings.

Just a few things to slot in inbetween the adult things.

To make the most of your time drop the car in Nice and take the train or fly back to Paris.

I hope this helps.

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Thanks JBart for your suggestions. I%26#39;ll check out the places you%26#39;ve mentioned. Any ideas for cheap and comfy lodgings? What%26#39;s the rule like in France? Can both my kids share a room with us? They are small sized and they usually share a room with us whenever we go for a holiday. Do they allow such things in France?

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Ask the hotel if they have any family rooms for four stating the ages of the kids. Otherwise they may have interconnecting rooms. It is common in France. How is your French? Try these web-sites for small local hotels www.logis-de-france.fr and www.silencehotel.com. If you would prefer something a little more American try the Novotel chain. There rooms allow two extra kids for free including breakfast - well they always did my are too big for that now.

Anything else just ask.

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Me again. I know you said that you are not keen on beaches but another suggestion is as follows. From Aix take the motorway to Brignoles. Then drop down on the D43 to just outside Cuers then D14 and D12 to just outside Hyeres. Then follow the N98 until just outside Le Lavandou and then take the coast road D559. I think it says %26quot;St tropez par cote%26quot;. This is a delightful drive along the coast where the hills come down to the sea. You will pass through several little towns. It is a very popular holiday area. At Cavalaire, market Wednesday morning, there is a port with lots of little eating places which could be an idea for lunch. The beach at Cavalaire stretches for 3 kilometres and is sand. It might make a nice place for the kids to have a run around. It was on this beach in 1944 the allies landed to start the liberation of Southern France.

This is a little off the normal tourist track but very good for children. I should know after 19 summer holidays here. We have a house in the hills above Cavalaire. From Cavalaire it is an easy half hour or less to St Tropez.

Just thought you might like to hear of something a bit different but perhaps ideal for the kids if they are getting a bit stressed with the tourism.

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Thanks JBart for your replies. The reason we%26#39;re not too keen on the beaches is cuz we live in the tropics so we get great sand and sun and beach almost every holiday or long weekend. But your suggestion sounds good and I%26#39;ll check it out. Esp the port and the food (yum yum). Our French is lousy. Gotta learn the simple phrases before we go.

Right now, due to budget constraints, we might consider just renting a place in Juans-les-Pins (E300/wk/4pple) instead of moving from place to place. Cuz that works out to about E100/room/night and even then, I%26#39;m not sure if that kind of room can fit all 4 of us. I%26#39;m still working on the itinerary so long as the accomodation is not too sky high. Will check out the website you suggested.

Really appreciate your help and suggestions.