Join us on a visit to Provence, located in southern France, bordered by the Alps on the North, Italy on the East, the Mediterranean on the South, and the Rhone on the West.

We begin our journey in Avignon, a beautiful city steeped in medieval history and religious ritual. It is the home of the famous Palais des Papes (the Pope’s Palace), the 14^th century residence of seven successive popes as well as many hotels (including the one where we will stay) housed in 16^th–19^th century stone buildings. From Avignon, we will take daily excursions to neighboring towns such as Arles, Nimes and Orange as well as to small quaint villages in the Luberon valley. There will be lots of opportunities to tour celebrated examples of ancient Roman architecture, visit local markets featuring fresh produce and flowers, and taste the wares of small cottage industries specializing in local products. We will also be able to admire the breathtaking vistas that over the ages have inspired great French artists. We will end our journey with a visit to Aix-en-Provence.

The best times to visit Provence are from March to May and September through November, when the weather is as moderate as the crowds, so our timing should be good, although we may be a bit early for the full-on brilliance of the lavender fields.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Avignon: the Palais des Papes; taste the famous Châteauneuf-du-pape at a local winery
• Saint-Rémy de Provence: Glanum, a fortified Roman town; see the place where Vincent Van Gogh once lived
• Oil-tasting at a private olive oil mill
• Arles: a walking tour of its impressive Roman monuments; see places painted by Van Gogh; visit to a lavender farm
• Nîmes: its elliptical Roman amphitheater; the Maison carrée; a museum of contemporary art; the Pont du Gard, the world’s tallest aqueduct
• Orange: its Roman amphitheater and Triumphal arch; visit to a truffle farm
• The Luberon valley: its charming landscapes; the village of Gordes; the Abbey of Sénanque and its fields of lavender
• Roussillon: land of ochre cliffs and colorful landscapes
• Isle sur la Sorgue: charming Provencal town with numerous canals
• Ménerbes: beautiful old stone houses, narrow streets winding to the top of a hill which yields breath-taking views; visit to a honey farm
• Aix-en-Provence: reputed to be one of the most gorgeous cities in France, with its wide tree-lined promenade first opened some 400 years ago; walking tour of the city; visit to Cezanne’s former studio; visit to Granet Museum; visit to Aix’s large daily market

See more details below.

The Weather The brilliant sunshine of the area is mesmerizing. There’s a reason artists like Cezanne and Van Gogh were drawn to the region.

The Food Provence is the breadbasket of France so the food is local and fresh. In fact, we’ll visit both a truffle and honey farm.

The Wine The best wines might be sold in Paris (and London and New York …), but this is one of the regions where the grapes are grown. We’ll see the real life of wine making, and of course enjoy many samples.

The Landscape Everywhere you look there are acres of flowers, vineyards, and olive groves. In springtime the countryside practically explodes. And of course there are the ochre-colored cliffs of Roussillion.

The Villages Provence boasts perhaps the most picturesque villages in all of Europe. We’ll visit several of them and be charmed anew day after day.

This program was custom designed for travelers who want to discover and experience quintessential France: stunning landscapes, quaint villages, and the Roman past that remains vibrant today.

This itinerary is subject to change. Travel demands flexibility. We will strive to balance adaptability with remaining on schedule. Please trust that, when it is not possible to follow the plan laid out below, your program leaders will work to find substitutions that retain the quality of this Study Travel program. Various details may be added or changed due to information obtained while making reservations, or perhaps on site, especially because of the weather. BLD indicate included group meals.

Wednesday, April 20                Depart USA
Individual departures from your home town.

Thursday, April 21                     Arrive Avignon (D)
Upon arrival in Avignon, make your way to the group hotel. For those of you who were on the Bordeaux and Dordogne program, you will remember our guide, Bruno, who will join us for the duration of the program. The program starts with introductions and a group welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Hotel: Hotel Cloitre Saint-Louis or similar.

Friday, April 22                            Avignon (BL)
Guided tour of the Palace of the Popes, once a mighty symbol of the church’s influence in the area. We’ll enjoy a lunch cruise on the Rhone, followed by a tour and tasting at a local vineyard. Dinner on your own.

Saturday, April 23                      Avignon/Day Excursion (BL)
Today we’ll visit Glanum, a fortified Roman town, and Saint-Rémy de Provence to visit Saint Paul le Mausole, where Vincent Van Gogh lived in 1889 after his year in Arles. Group lunch at a countryside restaurant near Saint-Rémy. In the afternoon, visit Les Baux de Provence, a lovely hilltop village dating to the Middle Ages, with a stop at a private olive oil mill for a tasting before returning to Avignon for dinner on your own.

Sunday, April 24                         Avignon/Day Excursion (B)
Today will be very full. Travel to Arles for a walking tour of the Roman monuments and then a guided tour of the Musée de l’Arles Antique, exhibiting the famous “tête d’Arles,” a possible portrait of Julius Caesar. Lunch on your own in Arles. We’ll also view the places painted by Van Gogh and visit the Roman necropolis, and visit a lavender farm for a tour. Return to Avignon in the late evening.

Monday, April 25                       Avignon/Day Excursion (BD)
Depart for Nîmes, for a guided visit of the elliptical Roman amphitheater, still used today as a bull fighting and concert arena. Continue to the Maison Carrée, a small Roman temple dedicated to the sons of Agrippa, and one of the best preserved Roman temples anywhere. Lunch on your own in Nîmes. The visit Norman Foster’s Carré d’Art, a museum of contemporary art. Continue to the Pont du Gard, the tallest aqueduct in the world, and its museum. Return to Avignon for group dinner.

Tuesday, April 26                       Avignon/Day Excursion (BD)
Travel to Orange, a city rich in history, from its Celtic fortifications to its Roman monuments, for a guided tour. Lunch on your own in Orange. On the way back to Avignon, visit a truffle farm for a tour and tasting. Group dinner in Avignon.

Wednesday, April 27                Avignon — Cavaillon (BLD)
After checking out of our hotel, we’ll transfer first to the Abbey of Sénanque, built in the 12^th century and surrounded by fields of lavender, for a visit. Group lunch. We’ll continue to the village of Roussillon. Built on top of a hill and situated in one of the largest ochre deposits in the world, the village is known for its striking colors. Then we’ll stop in the village of Gordes for a visit before continuing on to Cavaillon for overnight. Group dinner. Hotel: Hotel du Parc or similar.

Thursday, April 28                     Gordes — Aix en Provence (BD)
Check out of the hotel and travel to Isle sur la Sorgue, a charming Provencal town. The numerous canals and branches of the Sorgue have given the town the nickname of Venice of the Comtat. Lunch on your own. Then, we’ll have a guided tour of Ménerbes, one of the prettiest villages in France. Visit a honey farm for a tour and tasting and then continue to Aix en Provence for group dinner. Hotel: Hotel de France or similar.

Friday, April 29                            Aix en Provence (BD)
This morning we’ll visit the Atelier Cezanne, where the artist worked for the last four years of his life. Then we’ll take a guided walking tour of Aix en Provence. Lunch on your own. Then w’e’ll have a guided tour of the Musée Granet, whose collection has evolved over the years to more than 12,000 pieces. We’ll end our day with a tasting of local food products, and group dinner at a local restaurant.

Saturday, April 30                      Aix en Provence — Avignon (BD)
Free time this morning, perhaps to experience the local market on Place Richelme, offering up a wealth of local specialties. Lunch on your own and then return to Avignon for a farewell group dinner.

Sunday, May 1                            Depart France (B)
One airport transfer will be provided to the Avignon airport; more information on the timing to be announced. Depart on individually-booked flights.

Professor of French Wendy Allen and Professor of Computer Science Richard Allen custom designed this program based on their knowledge of France, French history, and French culture. Rich and Wendy led the Term in the Middle East for St. Olaf students in 2001-02, and the Global Semester for students in 2005-06 and in 2008-09.  They have led many St. Olaf Alumni and Family Travel programs, including two to Paris, one to Brittany and Normandy, one to Bordeaux and the Dordogne, and one to Morocco.

At St. Olaf since 1977, Wendy taught courses in French language, culture and literature for forty years before retiring from the faculty in 2017. During those years, she led numerous January Interim courses for students to France, including one, early in her career, to the Provence region of southern France. She was one of the founders of St. Olaf’s Languages Across the Curriculum program. Wendy is currently in her last year of a three-year term as chair of the St. Olaf German Department. Her curriculum development work in the department was recently recognized on a national level by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Her official retirement is set to begin June 1, 2019.

Richard came to St. Olaf in 1975 to create the computer science program and has been involved in that program ever since. For 25 years, Rich conducted research with French artificial intelligence teams in Rennes and Grenoble. He has spent three successive sabbatical leaves in France working with these teams. A result of his Middle East work is a course on Islamic geometric patterns that he teaches in Morocco for St. Olaf during January.  An ardent Francophile, he visits France — in particular, Brittany — as often as he can. Rich and Wendy had a home in Brittany for twenty years.

This program requires you to be able to walk a great deal each day, at a moderate pace. Excursions include walking on unpaved surfaces, uneven pavement, stairs, and hills, and a great deal of standing. Good balance is required. The program is not recommended for travelers with difficulties walking. For all excursions and transfers where coaches are involved, travelers have to board coaches with 3-6 steep steps.

• Walking tours are at least 1½ to 2 hours, often over uneven pavement or on unpaved paths.
• Many cities/villages have small sidewalks, uneven surfaces and rail tracks.
• The program is not appropriate for very slow walkers or travelers who use canes or walkers or who need any wheelchair assistance.

You should plan on seeing your family physician or a travel doctor at least four to six weeks prior to departure, preferably earlier, to talk about routine vaccinations. For more information on travel health, visit cdc.gov or who.int.

Covid Information

As a condition of participation in this program all attendees must have received a COVID-19 vaccine and received a booster shot at least 2 weeks prior to attending the program. The Centers for Disease Control now say all adults can and should get a booster shot once they are six months past their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or two months past their single Johnson & Johnson dose. If, by departure time, you are not yet 6 months past your second dose or 2 months past your single J&J dose, you will not be required to have a booster. Because changing conditions may result in additional or different participation restrictions, we will strive to keep you promptly informed of any changes resulting from the ongoing pandemic.

What happens if you develop symptoms or test positive for covid while traveling on the St. Olaf program?

• we will expect everyone to follow the isolation and other protocols of the host country and will provide those to you, to the best of our knowledge, closer to departure, as they may be updated frequently in the next several months
• our itinerary cannot be altered, so if it calls for the group to move to a new city/hotel, we will do so
• group leaders cannot stay back with sick or covid-positive individuals
• the injury and illness coverage provided with your program fee includes covid-related illness. Here is the language from the latest FAQs:

Is there coverage for COVID-19? (new as of 5/1/21)
Yes, participants diagnosed with COVID-19 would have the same coverage as if they had any other illness.

Is there coverage for pandemic quarantine? (new as of 5/1/21)
Yes, if the participant is required to quarantine while on a covered trip due to exposure to, or a confirmed case of a virus/illness due to epidemic/pandemic not requiring hospitalization, the policy would provide up to $5,000 of benefits for food and lodging. If the participant requires hospitalization, the basic emergency medical coverage would apply.

You can read more, including the full FAQ and a Summary document, on our Travel Insurance page.

Inclusions and exclusions vary from program to program. Please read the following information carefully.

The program fee is $4,779 per person. Based on double occupancy, the fee includes discussions led by Wendy and Rich Allen • a full-time tour manager/national guide • accommodations, meals, entrance fees, and activities listed in itinerary • private vehicle transportation except airport transfer on arrival in France • guide audio headset throughout the program • tips/gratuities to drivers, guides, and at group meals • some limited medical coverage while overseas. For single occupancy, add $509.

Exclusions: Airfare to and from France is not included. Participants are solely responsible for all expenses not specifically included in the program fee. Examples of excluded expenses are: Airfare between your home town and France • Airport transfers in your home town • Airport transfer on arrival in France • Any passport fees • Any recommended immunizations or vaccinations • Baggage insurance • Trip cancellation insurance above $2,000 lifetime coverage • Housekeeping tips • Porter tips, if you choose to engage them at hotels • Laundry • Dry cleaning • Phone charges • Room service or other items of a personal nature • Expenses incurred during free time or non-group activities • Meals not specifically included on program itinerary • Items not specifically listed above as included.

A $500 per person deposit is required upon registration. View the full Payment & Refund Schedule in the Documents section below.

This schedule is based on payments St. Olaf College must make to program vendors to guarantee group rates. We highly recommend that you purchase additional trip cancellation insurance at the time of registration to recover your payments should you need to withdraw from the program.

Because of ongoing uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, it is possible that a program could be postponed. In such a case, while we will strive to make full refunds when we can, there are certain expenses that may not be refunded to either St. Olaf or the participant.

Deposit due:                          $500 upon registration
Refund if you cancel:          Full refund ($500) until August 31, 2021. If the deposit is made after August 31, 2021 there is no refund.

Interim payment due:        $2,000 on September 1, 2021
Refund if you cancel:          $1,000 if you cancel before January 31, 2022

Balance due:                         February 1, 2022
Refund if you cancel:          None, unless the program is full and your place can be resold

Cancellations must be in writing.

Some limited travel insurance is included with your program fee.

Review the latest information on recommended immunizations, visit the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Check your passport: ensure that it has at least 6 months’ validity past the program return date. Should you need to renew, visit the U.S. Department of State for instructions. A Travel Authorization will be required for entry into France, per new rules for Schengen Zone countries starting in January 2021. We will give you more information about this process a couple of months prior to departure.

Prepare for your adventure by checking out a variety of resources, including frequently asked questions, general health information, included travel insurance, safety overview, and more.

This Program  is an Official Go

• The program starts and ends in the same city: Avignon. However, you may find it difficult to find flights directly into and out of Avignon. See some options below.
• You should time your travel to arrive in Avignon by late afternoon on Thursday, April 21. The program starts with introductions and a group dinner that evening.
• On departure day, Sunday, May 1, one transfer from the hotel to the Marseille airport will be provided, leaving the hotel around 8 or 8:30 am, arriving at the Marseille airport around 9:30 or 10 am.

Fly in and out of Marseille
On arrival, you could take a TER (a local train) from Marseille to the city center of Avignon.
Plan your departure from Marseilles on Sunday, May 1 for noon or later, to allow time to transfer from Avignon to Marseille that morning. (This transfer would be included by private motorcoach and would leave the Avignon hotel around 8 or 8:30 am, with about a 1.5 hour drive.)

Fly in and out of Paris and take the train to Avignon
We recommend using Charles DeGaulle (CDG), rather than Orly, because it provides better travel options.
Take a TGV (fast train) from CDG to Avignon outskirts, and then a local train to the city center or a cab to the hotel.
On departure, you would take a TGV from Avignon outskirts back to Paris. (I can likely arrange for a group transfer to the Avignon outskirts station.)

At this point, even for train travel, we recommend you allow for extra time to handle covid protocols such as providing proof of vaccination and/or a negative test result. These protocols are, of course, subject to change before April.

Trip Information Sheet
Resource List
Release and Waiver
Terms and Conditions