Or what we learned from last time
Following on from our post 'A Good Year: A reason for a road trip', we roll forward to 2012, and our second Provençal road trip.
We hadn't been idle in the years since the first trip; We had seen other parts of France, had our Texas & New Mexico Trip, Our Canadian Adventure. All squeezed in within our annual leave.
However, we had unfinished business with Provence.
![The pin image for our post - 'Another Good Year - Another Provencal Road Trip, Provence, France'](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Another-Good-Year-Another-Provencal-Road-Trip-Provence-France-Pin6.jpg)
Our route through Provence
Where we stayed
These are the all the locations we stayed at on this trip. The ones with gold stars relate to our Provence & Côte d'Azur locations;
Dijon - Hôtel des Ducs
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence - Hôtel Gounod
Villefranche-sur-Mer - Welcome Hotel
Besançon - Hôtel de Paris
Planning a French Road Trip
First, the mistakes we made last time![The brass statue of a bullfighter in front of the complete, two-storey, Roman arena in Nîmes.](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-arenes-de-nimes-discover-provence-hidden-france-historic-provence-must-see-france-places-to-see-in-provence-visit-france-what-to-see-in-france-V5.jpg)
However, we wanted more time in one place. On the last trip we'd had seven stopovers in the two weeks leave, on this trip we reduced it to four. We still needed intermediary stops for the journey down, and the drive back home, but we'd split our time between Provence and the Côte d'Azur 50/50.
Our Itinerary this time looked like this;
Dijon (from Calais 353miles/569km)
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (from Dijon 271miles/437km)
Villefranche-sur-Mer (from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence 202miles/325km)
Besançon (from Villefranche-sur-Mer 454miles/730km - to Calais 403miles/648km)
![The grand stone palacial Dijon town hall from the Place de la Libération in the centre of Dijon, France](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-hotel-de-ville-de-dijon-discover-france-historic-france-must-see-france-places-to-visit-in-france-visit-france-what-to-see-in-france-V5.jpg)
We picked a smaller town too, somewhere it would be good to come back to after touring the countryside.
So we chose Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
It starts in France
Destinations in Provence
We picked a winner![The impressive four columned portico in front of the cream stone Collégiale Saint-Martin in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Collegiale-Saint-Martin-Saint-Remy-de-Provence-explore-provence-hidden-france-places-to-stay-in-france-visit-provence-where-to-stay-in-provence-V5.jpg)
![A Provencal cafe in the lower storey of a shuttered building in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/strolling-the-lanes-of-saint-remy-de-provence-explore-provence-hidden-france-places-to-stay-in-france-visit-provence-where-to-stay-in-provence-V5.jpg)
![A quiet lane, lined with plane trees, in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/The-tree-lined-streets-of-Saint-Remy-de-Provence-explore-provence-hidden-france-places-to-stay-in-france-visit-provence-where-to-stay-in-provence-V5.jpg)
Discovering Provence
But this was inspired by 'A Good Year'![The tree line Bassin de l'étang in the village of Cucuron](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/The-village-pond-at-Cucuron-Provence-France-V5.jpg)
![Typical provencal homes in pretty pastel colours with shutters at the windows in the hillside town of Luberon](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/luberon-discover-provence-hidden-gems-in-provence-must-see-france-pretty-villages-in-france-secret-provence-visit-provence-where-to-visit-in-france-V5.jpg)
![A Mini-Morris traveller parked up in the pretty Provencal town of Venasque in France](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-quiet-little-town-of-venasque-discover-provence-places-to-visit-in-france-pretty-villages-in-provence-secret-provence-where-to-visit-in-france-V5.jpg)
A Good Year
Provence by road
Discovering further afield![Overlooking a small harbour, lined with small pleasure boats, in Marseilles, France](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/The-vallon-des-auffes-marseilles-discover-france-historic-france-must-see-france-places-to-visit-in-france-visit-france-what-to-see-in-france-V5.jpg)
![The entrance to the harbour at Cassis protected by a lighthouse, with the provencal town, in the background.](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-harbour-at-cassis-explore-provence-hidden-gems-in-provence-historic-france-must-see-france-places-to-visit-in-provence-visit-france-V5.jpg)
If you love Provence as much as we do, you'll want to start planning your visit now.
I so enjoy using the DK Eyewitness books, as they are extremely informative, easy to follow and the pictures and maps tempt you into discovering more.
We used a previous version of this book to plan our Provencal road trip, now you can grab the revised copy.
The best of Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence: A great base to return to![A stone fountain built into the corner of a building in the quiet lanes of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-quiet-lanes-of-saint-remy-de-provence-explore-provence-hidden-france-places-to-stay-in-france-visit-provence-where-to-stay-in-provence-V5.jpg)
More on Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
The perfect destination in Provence?
All good things...So after five short days, we left Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
Not before we checked out the town's cemetery though (told you so!)
![A large stone grave plot, decorated with porcelain floral tributes in the cemetery of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/A-family-grave-in-the-town-cemetery-Saint-Remy-de-Provence-discover-france-explore-provence-hidden-france-historic-provence-visit-provence-V5.jpg)
![A free standing Roman triumphal arch on the outskirts of St Remy de Provence.](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Thr-Triumphal-Arch-Glanum-Saint-Remy-de-Provence-discover-provence-hidden-france-historic-provence-places-to-visit-in-france-secret-provence-V5.jpg)
As we left, we thought, "perhaps we should have stayed just a little longer…" It was that good.
However, we were heading up the coast to the Welcome Hotel in Villefranche-sur-Mer.
![The view of our accommodation, the Welcome Hotel, from the jetty in Villefranche-sur-Mer](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Welcome-Hotel-Villefranche-sur-Mer-hidden-france-hidden-gems-in-france-iconic-france-places-to-stay-in-france-visit-provence-where-to-stay-in-france-V5.jpg)
Your own adventure
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