How should travellers plan Provence?
Provence works best when you decide what version you want: rail-friendly cities like Avignon, Aix, Arles and Nîmes, or slower village-and-market days that usually need a car. Trying to have both without time creates frustration.
Answer
Provence is not one postcard. There is the city-and-history version, with Roman sites, museums, markets and cafés reached by train or short transfers. Then there is the rural version: Luberon villages, vineyard roads, lavender-country timing, long lunches and parking outside stone towns. Both can be good, but they do not move at the same pace. A short trip is better with one approach. Longer trips can combine them by splitting bases, not by pretending every village is an easy day trip from anywhere.