7 DAYS PROVENCE HIKE & DINE

Upon arrival in Marseille, be met by your English speaking driver guide.  Drive to Avignon (approx. 1 hour).  Check into your hotel and enjoy some free time.

Avignon Walking Tour

After lunch, discover the ancient Papal state in the Rhone Valley. Enjoy a private walking tour of the medieval Avignon. The jewel in the crown is without doubt the Palace of the Popes, it is the largest Gothic palace in the western world and was home to nine successive Popes in the 14^th century. We will also walk the 12th century Pont d’Avignon Bridge. Enjoy the cobbled streets enclosed by the city’s 14th century ramparts.

Chateauneuf du Pape Village Excursion

After breakfast, be met by your guide and transferred to the village of Châteauneuf du Pape (New Castle of the Popes), the castle ruins set above a veritable blanket of vines. We stroll through the parcels of Grenache and Syrah, among vineyards planted in the times of the popes, creating what is today the most famous wines of the Rhône Valley.

Enjoy a picnic among the vines, learn all about the local wines, and be led through a wine-tasting in one of Châteauneuf du Pape’s most historic estates. (Walking time: approx. 3 hours walking, 10 km, +/- 150m elevation gain)

Return to Avignon and enjoy rest of the evening free for leisure.

Vaison la Romaine, Mont Ventoux and Local Farm Excursion  

Transfer to the Roman city of Vaison la Romaine, for its celebrated Tuesday morning market (Alternative markets available on other days of the week). Take time to meander through the village streets – covered with colourful and scented market stalls and pick up our picnic fare.

Then transfer to the upper slopes of Mont Ventoux, Provence’s highest mountain, where during the walk you can admire views of the entire chain of the Alps, and the Rhône river snaking its way down to the Mediterranean Sea.

In the afternoon visit a local fruit and vegetable farm, walk through the greenhouses of scented melon and strawberries, and taste the local produce. (Walking time: approx. 4 hours walking, 12 km, +/- 400m elevation gain)

Transfer to L’Isle sur la Sorgue, a quaint village completely surrounded by the crystal green waters of the Sorgue River. Check-in to the B&B, which is hidden within the village centre, and we settle in for two nights. Enjoy dinner tonight in a local restaurant in the village.

Gordes and Roussillon Walk

Today transfer to Gordes, listed among the most beautiful villages in France, its golden-stone homes rising in concentric circles up to the renaissance castle that crowns a village hanging almost impossibly atop a rocky crag.

Walk through a countryside sprinkled with aromatic herbs, and dotted with old stone huts. The trails lead to the Cistercian monastery of Senanque and to its famed lavender fields. Built in the 12th century, Senanque abbey is a marvel of Romanesque architecture.

In the afternoon visit the village of Roussillon, its colourful homes ranging from pale yellow to deep red, painted with the ochre pigments from the nearby quarry. We take a walk through the colourful sands before returning to L’Isle sur la Sorgue. (Walking time: approx. 3.5 hours walking, 11 km, +/- 250m elevation gain.)

Return to your hotel in the early evening and enjoy relaxing evening in the guesthouse.

Saint Rémy de Provence Tour with Walking the Van Gogh’s Path

Transfer to the artists’ town of Saint Rémy de Provence, nestled against the jagged crest of the Alpilles Mountains. It is here that Van Gogh spent the last year of his life, and where he painted some of his most memorable work, including his starry night.

Walk along the very same paths that Van Gogh took just over a century ago, and admire the very same landscapes that inspired his paintings. In the afternoon, visit an olive mill, and enjoy olive oil tasting of the famous Baux de Provence olive oil. (Walking time: approx. 4 hours walking, 12 km, +/- 250m elevation gain)

Settle into the charming hotel for two nights, and enjoy a local dinner.

Alpilles Mountains & Les Baux de Provence Walking

Walk along the jagged crest of the Alpilles Mountains, admiring the windswept formations of limestone, and awe-inspiring views of the plains of the Camargue to the south, and the mountain ranges to the north. Visit the perched 1000 year-old village of Les Baux de Provence long after the tourists have gone, its majestic stone homes set defiantly above the olive groves that carpet the plains.

 (Walking time: approx. 3 hours walking, 12 km, +/- 250m elevation gain)

Today you may choose to enjoy relaxing evening at your guesthouse free for leisure or take a part for the optional cooking class.

Marseille Walking Tour

Enjoy leisure breakfast and then transfer to the city of Marseille and its old port, a melting pot of cultures and foods. Enjoy a walking tour of the city, its different neighbourhoods telling the stories of a city almost 3000 years-old. (Walking time: approx. 3 hours walking, 15 km, +/- 100m elevation gain.)

Enjoy free time for shopping and lunch before transferring to the airport to catch your flight back to Singapore.