Chateau Pibarnon is a really good wine and I also agree with suggesting Hostellerie Berard, which is basically at Pibarnon. We had a lovely couple of nights there.
Any of the hilltop towns in Provence are amazing, but Gordes, Menerbes, Crillon le Brave are some of my favorites. Provence is a big area and so much to see.
l’Isle sur la Sorgue and fountaine de Vaucluse and stay at the Hotel Restaurant du Parc on the Sorgue river. If open, eat at a Sorgue riverside restaurant up the hill walking distance called Restaurant Philip. The view on the river makes this place enchanting and as a result one of the better experiences I have had there. For a fine dining experience and wine list, try La Table des Sorgues.
Chateau Vannieres -
Cassis -
First post but since my wife and I were there just two months ago, I’ll share that St. Remy is an excellent base for Provence. We stayed at Hotel de Tourrel for 5 nights and it was perfect to go north to Chateauneuf du Pape and Gigondas, southwest to Arles, East to the Luberon towns, etc…
We LOVED dinner at L’Oustalet in Gigondas. Over-researching our trip did not ruin this place for us. Dinner outside in the town square in early September during sunset was just a perfect night for us. Highly recommend this place for dinner. The wine service is exemplary and the food is actually delicious (versus some other 1* michelin restaurants.
Honestly, I did not care for Gordes and Roussillon which I felt were overrun with tourists. If I were there in July with 105 degree temps and 3x the amount of tourists, I would’ve been miserable frankly. Bonnieux was much quieter and more enjoyable. Menerbes, Lacoste as well. Arles reminded me of a small town version of Paris meets Barcelona. Nice for a day trip but that’s about it.
Depends what you’re looking for.
The luberon hill towns (Menerbes, Oppede, Gordes, Roussillon, Bonnieux…) are all incredibly beautiful but suffer from overcrowding in the summer. Of those, my favourite is Oppede le Vieux.
The Alpilles (Baux, Maussane, St Remy…) are stunning and historic. Worth exploring those. But also suffer from overcrowding in the summer.
I love Uzes. Prettiest and best preserved of the bunch.
I spent a good chunk of each summer between 2008 and 2015 around those, then got bored of the overcrowding and suffered too much from the heat (global warming hasn’t been kind to those places) and decided to buy a place in the Drome Provençale about 100km north. Grignan, Saint Paul Trois Chateaux, Valaurie Nyons. It’s all lavender fiels, Olive groves and hilltop villages. Doesn’t have the veneer of the luberon and alpilles but so much more authentic and less crowded. Also a bit cooler than Provence proper. And surprisingly rich in Masters of Wines with holidays homes. You’re also within striking distance of the Southern and Northern rhone.
i haven’t been to Provence in a decade, but we happened to stay in Arles during the Cocarde d’Or. It was magical. Most of the townspeople wore period dress (mostly 1650s-1800s - a lot of Huguenots lived in the area), with parades and a bullfight in their old Roman amphitheater (French bullfights are nothing like Spain’s). We lucked into a couple great restaurants and generally had a great time.
Was in Bandol for a day a couple years back. Very happy the one producer I visited was Pradeaux. Highly recommended.
Avignon and La Bastide Blanche, love their Rose.