Leaving the hilly villages of the Luberon, we pressed on westward to the great artery of the Rhône. There are only four rivers in France to which the word “fleuve” is applied, rather than “rivière”, and the Rhône is one of them. The others are the Seine, the Loire and the Garonne. These are the ones that flow all the way to the sea, collecting tributaries along the way.
Avignon gave us a taste of big-town life again, as well as of the frantic tourism that goes with it. On either side the villages were small and quiet, but not too quiet to have bars and brasseries for the hungry foot-traveller, so we had a comfortable three days on our way to the Pont du Gard.
Day 9: Fontaine-de-Vaucluse to Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne
Day 10: Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne to Avignon
Day 11: Avignon to Pont-du-Gard