Provence Le Grand Tour

Avignon, France

Go on the Grand Tour from Avignon, visiting the famous Roman, medieval and winemaking sights of Provence. You'll see the Triumphal Arch in Orange, the legendary vineyards of Chateauneuf du Pape, and the beautiful mountain villages of Gordes and Rousillon.

The first stop on your Grand tour of Provence is Orange, founded by the Romans in the 1st century BC. The Triumphal Arch is one of the most remarkable monuments of its kind in France, decorated with friezes commemorating Julius Caesar's victories over the Gauls in 49BC. You will also visit the Antic theater, built during the time of August Caesar.

Then enjoy a scenic drive and wine tasting in the vineyards around Chateauneuf du Pape, where you will learn about grape varieties, aging cellars and wine tasting.

Your Grand Tour continues to the Pont du Gard, the best preserved Roman aqueduct. You'll also visit Les Baux de Provence, a picturesque medieval village in the Alpilles mountains, and the Luberon region to see the famous villages of Gordes and Roussillon, which rank among the most beautiful villages in France.

USD $152.71

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Robert H	November 2011
This review is for the "Grand Tour" of Provence. Sites visited included Orange, Chateauneuf de Pape, Roussilon, Les Baux, Gordes, and the Pont du Garde. I was pleasantly surprised by the tour. I had found it hard to believe that so many visits to widely separated areas could be accomplished in so short a time without extremely short stays and a "rushed" feeling. That was not the case. We stopped at all the scheduled places and had ample free time at each stop to wander around, see the sights, and enjoy ourselves. Our driver/guide was very nice and informative. I recommend this tour.

Review by: Phillip W	November 2011
The trip was a wonderful overview of the Provence Area. Carolyn, our tour guide was not only knowledgable, but very down to earth, friendly and extremely entertaining. Unfortunately, it was raining quite heavily on our tour and Pont Du Gard was closed, due to flooding. Oh well, a reason to go back. If you have little time in Provence, the tour is well worth the money.

Review by: Merle M	October 2011
Very enjoyable tour. Highly recommended.

Review by: susan	October 2011
A long day of touring but well worth it. It was nice to have someone else do the driving! It was a small group of 8 per van so we could ask questions easily. Our guide spoke perfect English and was very knowledgable.

Review by: Luis R. M	September 2011
Excellent. Strongly reccomended.

Review by: David A	September 2011
excellent full day tour...intelligent friendly guide. the issue is lunch...no advance preparation for the need to possibly grab food as we can and possibly eat in the van. very shabby

Review by: Lester S	September 2011
Ann did a fine job of leading our tour. She kept us moving (appropriately) so that we could see all the sights. We enjoyed her stories and running commentary during the trip.

Review by: James F	September 2011
We really enjoyed this tour as well. Amazing historical sites. Pont du Gard is magnifique. Our tour guide was extremely informative. A great way to spend the day!

Review by: Robert R	July 2011
We enjoyed the Grand Tour very much. We saw so much in one day. Our tour guide Virginia was excellent and did her best to make sure that we enjoyed out day. I would highly recommend this tour as it takes you to some of the best/breathtaking attractions in the area. The smaller van appealed to us. The tour felt more personal this way with only eight people. Well worth it. So glad we did it.

Review by: Randall W	June 2011
the visit to the roman sites in Orange was great, and that to the Pont du Gard was excellent, but too late in the day and with insufficent time to make use of the excelent faciities such as the audio visual show. One hill top village - the first, was excellent - and with more time we may have enjoyed its ambience. Our suggestionn is to cut the 2nd and third village out of the tour..

Review by: Lynn B	May 2011
This tour was WONDERFUL! A little taste of a number of places you want to return and enjoy. Our tour guide was knowledgable, gracious and kept us on schedule so we wouldn't miss a thing! She even let us know where to get incredible lavender glace (ice cream). Loved it! Highly recommend the tour! Thank you!

Review by: Eka B	May 2011
Very interesting. Love Rousillon. Adeline the guide was really nice :)

Review by: Pigman	November 2010
Was everything I expected and more. Mark even stopped when I asked him at a side stop. Maybe a bit more info on the villages visited. Pont du Gard was worth it by itself!!

Review by: Thomas D	October 2010
This was an excellent tour. The tour guide friendly, informative and she took the time to describe all the sites in detail and answered everyone's questions. I really recommend this tour. The tour is long, 10 hours, but it is worth it.

Review by: Robert H	October 2010
First class friendly, multi-lingual guide. He briefed us well before we arrived at each stopping site, as well as commenting on places and sites we were passing en route. This was a really packed tour but extremely well planned and conducted and there was ample time in each place both to see everything there and to sit down for a coffee, crepe, drink, etc. You have to be prepared to be busy if you're seeing nearly "all Provence" in one day but it's brilliantly worth it.

Review by: David S	October 2010
Our guide picked us up on time, was very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. We definitely recommend this tour.

Review by: Margaret F	October 2010
_strong_Note from Viator:_/strong_ Dear Margaret, _br__br_We have sent your review to the tour operator to make sure that your concerns were heard. The Tour Operator and we at Viator are sorry that the tour did not meet your expectations. We did want to go ahead and address a few of your concerns here. _br__br_This tour always stops in Avignon between the morning and afternoon segments. The morning part of the tour focuses on the Northern area of Avignon with Orange and Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The afternoon part is dedicated to southern areas, so driving through Avignon is the most sensible route. On the way, some other guests may join for the afternoon portion of the tour, but this doesn't affect the itinerary. _br__br_We are also sorry that you were not able to enjoy the Triumphal Arch in Orange. We are informed that if traffic conditions are bad the guide may make a snap decision to ensure that you have enough time at the Antique Theater (for which the entrance fee and audio-guide are included). The Antique Theater requires more time to visit, and guides would rather give you the time you need here, rather than rushing to see both monuments. This need to change the itinerary is rare, but it ensures that you do get the most for the money that you have paid. _br__br_The visit of the Pont du Gard is scheduled for the end of the tour: this is the last monument customers will see before going back to Avignon. The end of the tour is scheduled for 7:30pm. The Tour Operator tries to arrive at the Pont du Gard as early as possible, so guests can take pictures in the daylight, but in October the sun goes down around 7:30pm. The rush to get you back to Pont du Gard was in an attempt to get you to the aqueduct before nightfall rather than a desire to get the other group to their train in Avignon. _br__br_We would all like to apologize that the tour did not meet your expectations. But we do hope this information helps. Thank you for your review, and we hope the rest of your trip was excellent.

Review by: Ma Belen E	October 2010
It was really a "le grand" tour as we covered the best of Provence. Every spot is worth seeing and coming back to. I would definitely recommend this tour. I thought driver/ tour guide could be less stressed in getting us through the tour.

Review by: ARTURO A	October 2010
It would have been much better if our tour guide was not arrogant, did not shout at us for opening the windows of the van and drop us back to the front of the hotel, not 1/2 a kilometer away and made us walk. We did not give her a tip as she did not deserve one. She gives Viator a bad name.

Review by: Anonymous	August 2010
Excellent tour and our tour guide, Virginie, was outstanding.

Review by: Melodie M	July 2010
I thought this was a guided tour, unfortunately all it was was a driver dropping us off at the sites and letting us tour on our own and then there wasn't enough time to even listen to some of the audiotours we were given! We had rented a car so this was no advantage to us except to avoid the driving and parking, so for us it was a waste of money. The tour guide was not all that informative whereas other guides were better. I would not recommend this tour if you have your own car.

Review by: Tricia B, Canada	May 2010
I loved seeing everything that we saw, but would've liked to spend more time in Roussillon.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	March 2010
A perfect way to see the main sights without driving! Ideal for "mature" travelers!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	February 2010
Our guide was lovely, and we enjoyed spending the day with her in a beautiful part of France. She was knowledgeable and furthered our understanding of the region and its history. I highly recommend this tour.

Review by: Holly D, United States of America	October 2009
This was a terrific tour with many different types of activities. My husband and I took the full day tour and despite some rain enjoyed the day immensely. Our tour guide was experienced and very good.

Review by: Bill D	October 2009
This was a terrific tour with many different types of activities. My husband and I took the full day tour and despite some rain enjoyed the day immensely. Our tour guide was experienced and very good.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	September 2009
Very nice tour, includes many highlights of Provence. Good guide and transportation.

Review by: Murray F, United Kingdom	September 2009
Great value for money, given the range of venues visited!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	August 2009
Wonderfully interesting sites to visit, extremely friendly and knowledgeable guide, and the minibus was cool and comfortable. Absolutely worthwhile.

Review by: Donald B, United States of America	August 2009
Our tour guide was great! We thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience!

Review by: Timothy D, United States of America	July 2009
A rushed tour, squeezing in a lot. The Antique Theater was great, the wine tasting was at Chateauneuf du Papes, which was a beautiful place by itself. The wine was disappointing but still worth the side trip. The villages visited were impressively beautiful. The time in each was very limited, so that there was little time to explore. If you want an overview of Provence, this tour will do the trick. It might leave you wanting to return for a second visit to one or two places to spend more time.

Review by: Meredith S, United States of America	July 2009
Our guide was absolutely fabulous, and the choice and timing of the tour stops just right.

Review by: Rebecca R	July 2009
Our guide was absolutely fabulous, and the choice and timing of the tour stops just right.

Review by: Marsh M, United States of America	March 2009
The Pont du Gard is an awesome structure and the scenic locations of Les Baux, Gordes and Rousillon are well worth the trip.

Review by: David C, United States of America	September 2008
Wonderful tour guide. Very knowledgeable. Beautiful, stunning places. Comfortable minibus. Courteous service, would definitely do it again.

Review by: DAVID C	September 2008
Wonderful tour guide. Very knowledgeable. Beautiful, stunning places. Comfortable minibus. Courteous service, would definitely do it again.

Review by: Anonymous, Singapore	August 2008
It was great. Covered alot of touristic places. Would have been better if we were given more time in each places. The guide and the transport was perfect.

Review by: Anonymous, Canada	June 2008
The tour guide was knowledgeable, interesting and very kind. The sights were incredible, and we saw so much in just one day! I have no criticisms at all.