A Taste of Provence

St Pauls near Cannes

Our Taste of Provence Tour has proved to be our most popular tour so far this year. In fact it is now fully booked! Thoughts have naturally turned to our last trip down to Provence, which was early Spring this year.

Provence is an incredibly varied area and perhaps this goes some way to explaining its popularity. To the west there are three towns that should not be missed: Arles, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence. They all capture the spirit of the region. Avignon is perhaps the pick of the three with its medieval walls and unfinished bridge across the Rhone.

If its medieval towns you're after you will be in the right place. The much photographed Gordes is simply stunning located on a hillside overlooking the plains in the wide valley beneath. Nearby is the highly unusual Bories Village where all the buildings are made using dry-stone walling techniques - including the roofs.

Avignon

Heading down onto the coast is famous French Riviera, which could not be much more of a contrast. Slightly chintzy perhaps but typically warm even out of season and with access to the Med. Cannes and Nice are the two main towns that lie in close proximity on this stretch.

Heading north you come into the lavender growing region. This area is also famous for producing perfumes centred around the fairly small town of Grasse.

Overall, the favourable climate, amazing varied scenery, historical cities and towns and coast, not to mention the cuisine and wine, make Provence unmissable.

The Rhine and Moselle

We have been lucky enough to find a spare fortnight to get down to the Rhine and Moselle valleys. Our main intention was to try out a few new sights for the tour next year.

Mainz sunset

Late autumn is actually a brilliant time to go as it turns out, mainly as you get such a rich variety of colours. The valleys of the Rhine and in particular the Moselle are relatively sheltered and hold on to what heat there is around. That's why they are such good areas for grapes!

There aren't that many people around in early November and the only people to to tend to see are fellow motorhomers. The Rhine and Moselle are littered with 'aires' all the way down. I would imagine that they are difficult to get onto in the season, but at this time of year you would have no trouble.

Most of the sites close at the end of October so we managed to get on a few. It's quite an odd experience being on a site on the last day before it closes.

Half timbered houses near the Rhine

Highlights of the area are the stretch from Cologne to Mainz on the Rhine and then from Koblenz to Trier on the Moselle. Koblenz is the meeting point of the Rhine and Moselle called "German corner". There are dozens of castles and small towns down the rivers, any of which are worth stopping at. Cologne, Bonn and Mainz are probably the pick of the larger places, with Bernkastel Kues and Cochen the best of the smaller towns.

We were lucky with the weather in that it was mainly dry, sunny and mild, but we can't wait to get back there in late Spring 2015.