Southern France and Provence vacation notes and travel tips. Part 2.
This is the second part of my travel notes about our vacation in southern France in spring of 2007. Click here for Part 1. At the bottom of this page I list few France travel tips that you may find useful if you are going to visit France.
April 4, 2007. From Orange to Roussillon, Avignon and going to Arles.
When we visited Orange tourist information office, we picked up a guide of the surrounding places. It listed usual tourist attractions that I already read about when I checked online guide on ADAC site, looking for Provence travel tips. But I was skeptical of ADAC recommendations after we've lost half a day looking the nonexistent museum of chocolate factory on our vacation in Belgium in 2006. So, in this guide we took in Orange there was a picture of strange formations. Those were dark deep red pillars and walls or ochre soil (or clay). The place's name was Roussillon and it was about 50 km south-east of Orange, going by smaller roads. Our next hotel was in Arles, south of Orange, and we decided to make a loop starting with Roussillon, and then, depending on how much time we'll have left, going to Avignon to see the town and its famous Saint-Benezet bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. and probably even look at ancient bridge over the Gardon river, built by Romans, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. That was a long day and we've managed to make all of that! If you ever wondered before a vacation, what to see in Provence or Southern France, you can start taking notes right now! Read on.If going from Avignon, you can take the road N100 that goes close to Roussillon, but had to take another way. We started on some more or less good road and then another one that gradually became more narrow, going through some chain of old mountains.
Hah! Just kidding. This was some gravel road going from the parking where we stopped shortly. The actual road is on the next picture, taken from the same parking.
We've passed by a couple of abandoned farms, some smaller villages and then descended to some kind of valley, where Roussillon lies. All those roads are okay to drive if you have time and if you don't meet heavy trucks transporting gravel and other construction stuff. When you see one coming you have to look for a side pocket, otherwise there is no chance for you both to pass each other.
We didn't have any detailed information on Roussillon, and first passed by it because there were several signs with directions, but actually we were lucky to arrive first to the old ochre factory, not to the ochre columns we saw in the guide.
Roussillon is a small village (or town, if you like) that lived for a long time on its ochre pigment factory - Usine Mathieu (site is currently only in French and German). The soil around the village, whenever it's open, has all hues of red, orange and yellow. After the decline of pigments production, tourism has become an important source of income. I guess the village is struggling with the crowds of tourists, that's why they have decided to introduce parking fees, with exception of winter months.
When approaching Roussillon you will notice the soil color immediately. They also probably have building code that required that residents support the place's character by choosing appropriate paint and construction materials. If you look at Roussillon on Google Maps, you will see the colors, though the map scale is not as detailed as such beautiful place deserves.
As I said, the best is to start with the old paint factory and then go about 2 km to the ochre columns (le sentier des ocres), whose entrance is located at the center of the village, because you are going to spend more time with your eyes popping out and probably get tired. Souvenirs are on sale at both places.
The building you see below is "Conservatory of Ochres and Applied Pigments". The long scientific name means that you are going to learn some history of the paint discovery and processing. You can purchase a tour that should be very interesting, but I think they provide it only to groups.
Red, orange and yellow colors outside are crazy. And you can see other colors, some of the paint derived from ochre too, in the museum and in a shop located in another building. Be careful: entering it makes you a child and you think "I'm going to buy ALL of that", though it's nothing else than paint, paint, color pencils and other related stuff. The smell... hmmm... it makes me dizzy too. It's the oil paint with its specific smell, reminding my childhood and my grandfather, painting whenever he had free time. He did mostly oil, watercolor, but also pencil and applied things like posters that were in demand during Soviet times.
Whatever they sell in the shop is coming from whole Europe. In Roussillon they have only left some small scale production of paint. The local economy was destroyed by the discovery of synthetic pigments.
I liked the color of the wall of one of the buildings on the site. They select the stones so carefully to match the local hues.
On the photo below are old factory buildings. On the site there are many abandoned "baths" the size of a tennis courts, where the clay was taken out for paint production.
As I said, the colors are everywhere. This is the road going to the village center that you take when you go to see the "sentier des ocres".
Roads going to the village were empty, but parking is a problem. You have to drive past the center, to find more places and return 300 m on your own. I remember that I haven't seen a lot of cars with German plates in the last days, but when we were buying tickets to the ochre conservation area, the rest coins that I got were all with German eagle - so many tourists visit the place.
Architecture is typical of Provence, with local colors. The village is situated on the hills, some partly eroded as if rains wanted show more color to attract more tourists.
Colorful Provencal pottery is also a big attraction here. (Aren't you fed up with me saying "colorful"? It really is - everything there).
The village is small, but you can spent hours and hours looking at the read and orange hues.
And this is a view in the direction of ochre columns conservation area. The entrance is on this hill at the right.
The view back on the village.
And finally, here we are. I leave this without comments. I'll just say this was one of the most impressive places I've seen in my life.
Leaving the area, you will have your shoes' bottoms all deep ochre red - all the time you are walking on the fine ochre powder. They could have some kind of wet brush carpets on the exit but no - be careful if going straight into your car.
South from Roussillon goes the N100 that took us straight to Avignon. It's a big city, you need some time to get to the historical center. There are parking places in the very downtown, and there are parking only for city visitors along the river, but everything was packed. We went north along the Rhone river, past the famous bridge, that we didn't even notice first, until we reached a big parking. We thought this may be too far, but some young woman said there is a bus serving this parking that takes you to the downtown and back for free. Well, why not to ride it then?! We didn't even wait for long, and it was so simple.
There are many things to see in Avignon in addition to the bridge, but we didn't have a lot of time. The picture below shows the Pope's Palace, the biggest gothic palace in the world, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Pope was based here in the 14th century.
As everywhere, you can take a small tractor train if you want easy sightseeing. We went to see the bridge Saint-Bénezet on our own. We didn't go on the bridge, you see enough if you are on the street. Visitors of both the bridge and the Pope's Palace get a discount for tickets.
The bridge was built in the 12th century and was so frequently destroyed by wars that in the 17th century the French decided, well, what the heck? and abandoned it. So now it goes about two thirds to the other bank. You can have a look on my photo below, and of course, Google Maps has a pretty detailed satellite view of the famous bridge.
In may be two hours we were ready to go to the next point on my plan - Pont du Gard, the Roman bridge on the Gardon river. Finding it is easy, actually, as most of UNESCO World Heritage sites - there is enough signs on all surrounding roads. On both river banks you'll find big parking where you can park the whole day for a small fee. We stayed less than one hour, which is enough to see the bridge, but the surroundings of the bridge are beautiful, so spending a day there would not be a strange idea.
I believe that Romans built bigger things, but this bridge is a magnificent one.
April 5, 2007. Arles. More Classical Rome. Trying to visit Marseille.
Arles has a lot of interesting to see, and we could continue our Classical Rome experience here. There is a half circled amphitheater that, unlike one in Orange, has mostly seat rows left, and round amphitheater. You can see both amphitheaters on Google Maps. The former was completely closed for reconstruction and we could see it only through a fence. The round amphitheater (Arenes Arles) was partially under reconstruction, so that we unintentionally sneaked in through some side entrance without tickets. Some elements are greatly eroded, some look much better.
Above the entrance there is a kind of tower that is used by tourists as an observational platform with a great view on the arena and the city. Just like in Orange, the place is used for many shows.
And this is the main entrance. Imagine the crowds of Romans flowing in?
In the afternoon we've decided to go to Marseille. I have have seen Marseille in 1998. My main impression was the fish merchants in the Vieux Port. I saw a picture of them in my French textbook, printed in fifties. And then, decades later, they were still there (well, their descendants)!
We went first to Fos-Sur-Mer, a small coastal town about 40 km west from Marseille. The clouds cleared and it was a very nice day. We've spent an hour or two staring at the Mediterranean sea and collecting shells and then went east to Marseille.
I have visited the city in 1998 when I was on a business trip to my company office in Aix-en-Provence, and we went to Marseille on Saturday. This was in January, and of course it wasn't crowdy. Now imagine a busy afternoon, plus tourists during the Easter vacation! The whole downtown was a giant traffic jam! My wife had a look at the Old Port while I was trying to escape from collisions, and as kids didn't care at all, we made a round in the car over the downtown and went back.
If you will be more lucky to park in Marseille, there will of course be a number of things to see. The most notable of them is probably the church at the top of the hill overseeing the city and its surroundings - the church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde. There are many ways going up, but most interesting is the long stairs. Many "milestone" stelas are set up along the stairs to show relief sculptures and inscriptions, partly from Bible, with Jesus Christ on the way to his crucifixion at Calvary (Golgotha). In the downtown, I don't remember any really interesting things with the exception of the Vieux Port (old port), but then, it was just several hours and more than ten years ago.
Shortly after getting out of the city, we stopped on a parking near a suburban beach. The road we were going, N568, winds along the coast. On the following photograph, it's behind the trees, under the bridge. What was the bridge? Maybe it's a Roman too? I've understood it when I saw a train on it.
April 6, 2007. Flamingoes of Camargue. Going to Sete.
Our next hotel was near Sete, a city and a port. Going directly from Arles it would be about 100 km, but of course we went along the coast, spending the whole day.We started by going south to the Rhone delta, where the national park Camargue is located. There is an ornithological park that we wanted to see.
The region of Camargue is known by its horses. I've see this mentioned somewhere after our trip. But when going there we were surprised by the number of horse ranches, with hostels for those spending their vacation riding.
I think I've read about the ornithological park at ADAC, or maybe that was one of the guides we picked up at our hotel. There was a picture of flocks of flamingoes, and of course we could not miss the chance to see them. We saw the birds in the Nuernberg Zoo, but here, they live almost in wild conditions and because they get food in the park, the concentration of their rose color is striking. The park is a constant attraction for bird photographers because of the easy access and even special huts with narrow gaps to watch and photograph. So there were lots of these guys with tripods and lenses soooooo long that my wife said my 80-200 mm manual focus Pentax is rather embarrassing. Actually, birds are not afraid of visitors so you don't need a powerful telephoto lens - a standard zoom will do the job. I used slide film in the park, so I still need to scan it somehow. The photo below is made by my son, with digital zoom I guess.
Flamingoes are the main attraction and apart from them, you won't find lot of other birds to see. When we've left the park and were going further, we saw flocks of flamingoes outside of the park. So, park is only good because of the number of the birds. You can even see the flamingoes on the satellite photo at Google Maps!
We did a short stop in kind of a tourist (or camping) place, La Grande Motte, or maybe it was Le Grau-du-Roi, stuffed with cars and trailers, with dogs doing number two everywhere on the beach (where are those Korean dog gourmands when we need them?) and went further west. We stopped for longer at Carnon, whose beach is most likely used by the residents of Montpellier, about 5 km from there. This was the only clean beach we've seen in the area. The tree on the parking, pictured below, was so strange and lonely that we wanted to photograph it.
Our hotel was five kilometers north from Sete, in Balaruc-les-Bains, located across the street of a big mall. Very convenient. There is a bunch of inexpensive hotels around, but our hotel (this one was new and very clean, costing the same 35 Euro or so), was fully booked. The receptionist said that in France, they have the same two weeks of Easter vacation in schools - that's why.
April 7. Sète and Cap d'Agde.
We started the day spending a couple of hours in Sète, which was called Cette until 1927. The city has a relatively big port and many corresponding things: streets with "geographical" names and very visible Arab and North African population. John Hughes, the 19th century British author and artist, in his book "Itinerary of Provence and the Rhone Made During the Year 1819", that I've read later, says: "Our perquisitions in the town of Cette itself were more fortunate, though, by-the-by, it exceeds Lyons itself in dirt and ill smells." It was similar for us: not that bad and though I haven't been in Lyons, after taking some side streets in Sete, I bet he was right.Actually, the street at the front of the sea is nice, with a very long promenade along the port and marina:
When planning our vacation, I did not find anything special about the city in Wikipedia, so there was nothing to look for and soon we've left, going to Cap d'Agde.
Agde is a town located slightly off the coast, and its part that has grown on the coast bears the separate name - Cape Agde. It's a resort place, very tourist oriented with endless eateries and shops. We had a walk and a snack there and then went to the long beach that lies between Sete and Cap d'Agde.
While going to Cap d'Agde and being there we've seen a rather strange phenomenon. Clouds of some fog or fine dust going from the sea towards the coast, completely obscuring the visibility. I tried to search on the Net when we got back home but did not find anything. Maybe this is the dust coming from Africa? Didn't look like that. I was stupid that I didn't ask the people around.
The beach, Marseillan Plage, where we've spent the rest of the day, our last day on the Mediterranean Sea, is several kilometers long. It goes along the road (D2) and it's quite narrow. The sand is good, but you have to be careful because of loads of dog sh*t. I have no idea how French can tolerate that. In summer it should be packed with local residents and tourists that probably stay there in trailers, but there are no toilets, nothing at all (this is the same actually even for beaches located right near the city).
April 8. Starting going north. Cirque de Navacelles, Millau Bridge and then up Montluçon.
Now we had to go up Paris, 800 km north. I have booked a hotel in Montlucon, in about 450 km from Sete, to have a pause. On the first day we wanted to see the giant circus, in geographical sense - Cirque de Navacelles, then see the new bridge in Millau on the highway A75 that French has built couple of years ago. On the first day, we could go the greater part of our way on the new highway that is free from Montpellier (close to Sete) up to Clermont-Ferrand, with the exception of the bridge. We had to leave the highway though, to see the circus.It takes you some time to reach it after leaving the A75, but it's worth the time spent. Cirque de Navacelles is a big big big hollow, with roads and villages on its bottom.
You can probably drive around the circus on the top of the mountains, but we reached the observational platform on its western edge and took a narrow road going to the bottom. The road wasn't that bad if not those caravan folks that take it, thinking that they will be completely alone there. No, they weren't alone and we had to drive sometimes with couple of inches clearance.
You can look at the Cirque de Navacelles, its structures and even see the narrow winding roads in relatively good detail at Google Maps.
After getting back to the highway A75, we went up north to the Millau bridge. Millau lies in the valley and several years ago, the highway had to interrupt here, going into smaller one until getting out of the valley to continue its normal way. When the bridge was built, it was a big event - I remember it was on every news channel. Of course we wanted to see this technological wonder. Interesting: as of January 2008, when I am writing this, Google Maps still shows the long long construction site, lagging behind.
As I said, the bridge is the only toll point on the long drive. When going from south to north, you pay after passing the bridge. On the northern end, there is a big parking with lunch tables, eatery, toilets and I think, an information office and of course, a couple of viewing platforms. If you are short on time, you can just stop and briefly look at it from the lower viewing point. There is even a short time parking for those in a hurry. If you feel like you need some minor exercise after sitting in your car for long hours, park on the big parking and go up to the viewing platform. The way is long and winding, to make it accessible even for wheelchairs (but I think that disabled will need two assistants - with one it will be very tough). You can of course take a shortcut but it's very steep. We took it because a thunderstorm was coming on the other side of the valley.
The parking looks like it is common for cars going in both directions, but driveways actually do not merge - you cannot pass the bridge from south, see it and go back without paying.
The view on the upper platform is fantastic. It does take your breath away, but well, maybe that was the wind from the thunderstorm. If you are looking for great photos, you have to wait for fog that makes the bridge flying in the air above the valley. Those are easily found with Google image search. We did a couple of most simple ones and rushed back to our car.
The thunderstorm caught us then as a heavy torrential rain. We arrived in Montlucon, our car shining from one of the best washes one could have.
April 9. Bourges and going to Paris.
On that day we had to reach Paris. We wanted to see the city of Bourges and then go straight north, visiting Albert, the former French manager of our offshore team I worked at more than ten years ago. That would be in suburbs of Paris, and our hotel was on the opposite side of the city. I booked it because it was not far from RER - the suburban train. Driving in Paris is fun only for French; we would be on the public transport for three days.Bourges is famous with its cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Bourges). But I was also surprised by the overall architecture. Living in the center of an old Bavarian town, we got used to medieval architecture and German "fachwerk". Surprising in Bourges was that the historical downtown is also built with fachwerk. The French call it "colombage". We were not surprised to see that during our vacation in Alsace, so close to Germany that the culture is mixed there. But here, several hundred kilometers away, with exclusively typical French and southern style architecture in between? Well, at least I was surprised much less than historians that were puzzled, until Thor Heyerdahl and Kon-Tiki helped them, with the fact that South American culture is found in the middle of Pacific.
The cathedral, which is of course on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, is impressive outside.
But what is the most impressive there is the cathedral's stained glass windows. We've seen a lot of this kind of art - Europe is rich with it, so you can't take us easy, but here, it's OUTstanding. Three of four inner walls feature the windows telling the stories from the Bible. Colors and details are simply amazing.
The rest of the day was spent on the road going north. It was Monday after Easter, people going back to the city, but surprisingly we didn't lose a lot of time in traffic. Only close to Paris we had to go slowly for several kilometers. We've spent the evening with Albert's family, kind of folks that no matter where you'll see them, North Pole or Australia, you recognize immediately that they are truly French. (Thanks again Albert!) Somehow I could find our hotel easily and without any road rage. Probably Parisians were too kind and relaxed after Easter.
April 9 - April 12, 2007. Paris.
We already visited Paris as a family in 2001, and I was there on numerous occasions in the middle of 90s. In 2001 and on my first visit in 1995, this was cold and humid December. Now, in April, it was already quite hot, air polluted by cars and dust so that on the end of the day you just spit out that stuff when back in hotel. I believe that Parisians don't notice that. Looking back, the best time for Paris should be end of March, when the warm weather begins.We walked a lot, visited Louvre, went to La Defence. My wife and older son went up to the first level of Eiffel Tower, by the stairs. Waiting for elevator was beyond our limits. The display on the ticket booths said one hour till the top, and shortly after we arrived, they said the way up is temporarily closed. Going by the stairs, you save time and money, though it's the lowest level that you reach. I remember waiting in the tourist crowd somewhere in the middle of the way up, in 1996 - it's no fun, especially with kids.
Our hotel was in suburbs and we bought the Paris Visite card for public transport, for three days. They are available depending on the zones of coverage and you can use the public transportation as often as you like. It's better to use packs of tickets for one trip each (buying ten tickets, the "carnet" is cheaper) if you live in the center and will need the public transport just occasionally, but in suburbs you get more hotel and free parking for the same money. In this case, Paris Visite is very convenient.
April 12 and 13, 2007. Going back.
The last two days were not especially interesting. I was tired of driving. The last hotel we had was between Metz and Thionville, less than 100 km from Germany. We wanted to replenish our supplies of cider and buy some cheese that is not easily found in Germany. For that we went to a mall in Thionville that we new from our trip in August 2006. The last Premiere Classe hotel was an interesting one. Not like all other in the chain, this was probably independent previously. Rooms were very spacious, with normal and not bunk beds. The surroundings are quiet because it's located not directly on the highway exit. A nice and very affordable place to stay.Getting back to Bavaria, cold was meeting us. Cold was inside, for we shut off the heating, thinking there will be no need for it. Only cider should have felt good, while we were shivering waiting the apartment to heat up. Supplies lasted till summer, and then was one more time in August, going to Switzerland and Mont-Blanc.
General France travel tips, motorist-oriented.
France is stuffed with hotels. Unlike in Germany, where we live, hotels in France are everywhere where you need them, which normally means near highways, with easily recognizable signs. There are many chain hotels that I always prefer to independent ones. Chains has some common standards and are less likely to bring surprises. Many hotels are certified and classified by the French Tourism Ministry (look for a plate with dark blue background on the entrance). There is another certification authority, Logis de France, whom I'll never believe, after staying in a two star hotel with their plate. Most normal people will look for two star hotels. Those are good on average, which means it can happen that you will be dissatisfied with your room if you are unlucky - but it's rare. Those with three stars mean better comfort but are not really affordable by most of tourists unless you get a deal. One star and no stars can mean very small room and often a shared toilet or a bathroom (Formule 1 of Accor hotels chain for example). We stayed the whole Easter vacation trip in the hotels of Premiere Classe. No stars, but you can survive if on a budget, and you get private bathroom, though those with big bellies won't fit in there. Those are from Louvre Hotels chain, whose two star Campanile hotels are almost all good and affordable. I would highly recommend to look at the hotel's surroundings using Google Maps (satellite view) when booking, to ensure that you won't end up near some industrial dump. Cheap hotels can have round the clock check-in systems but it can happen that they work only with French credit cards. If unsure, call your hotel to get the number code for parking and doors if the reception closes too early for you.If you are on a long trip, saving on fuel makes sense. Many supermarkets (Carrefour, Cora, Supermarche etc.) operate their own gas stations that will save you about 10%. Look for "Carburateurs" signs near supermarkets. There are often two sets of pumps, one with card-only pumps, where you don't need to go to the cashier, and another is completely flexible. "Card-only" means also that most of the time that they work only with French cards (Carte Bleue or "CB"). If you want to pay with cash or a "normal" credit card, take another queue. The "CB" pumps operate round the clock but the cash booths are open only when the supermarket is. Diesel is called "gasole" and for petrol, just look for octane number on the pump ("sans plomb 95" means "unleaded 95").
Multi-lane divided highways (with A-numbers) are "coded" with blue color on signs and maps. "Peage" means "toll". Some tollways have booths between the exits, others - both on entering, to take a ticket showing where you enter, and on exiting for paying the toll. Of course, in the latter case, exiting without the "enter" ticket won't be cheaper. If you don't want tollways, you can do without them. I think that any navigation system will show you the toll sections on A-highways. If you are using paper maps, those will be marked too. The highways coded with green color are free and mostly one-lane per direction with 90 km/h speed limit. They will lead you through all small villages are are good for sightseeing.
Beware of roundabouts. They are designed for French that are hardened in the daily road rage. On entering a roundabout you do NOT have right of way. Those that are one-lane are okay and are very useful for travellers because if you are unsure on which of seven exits to take, you can make a couple of rounds, reading the cryptic signs. Actually, four of seven exits are not exits but entering lanes - I wouldn't try taking them. Roundabouts with two lanes are the biggest road evil. Whatever direction you will be showing with your blinker - it will most likely be wrong. So just slow down and turn on emergency blinker to show both directions - this way you won't be wrong for sure.
Back to Part 1: French Alps, Grenoble, Orange.