Isle-sur-la-Sorgue for Antiques
About 30 minutes from Maillane, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, is generally recognised as the antiques capital of France (after Paris), and is home to over 160 dealers; on Sundays, the number swells with the arrival of various street market stalls selling furniture of varying quality. It's an attractive town and a nice place to wander round. And if you’re up for some serious shopping, shipping can easily be organised on the spot. The best days are Saturday and Sunday - many shops are closed during the week. Sunday is also the town’s weekly market day, so with fruit, veg and produce stalls also vying for space, it can get pretty lively.
Lunch
We love Le Carré d’Herbes (04 90 38 46 00), off av des Quatres Otages at no 13, for informal and inexpensive food – dine outside under pretty trellising in summer and cosy up inside in cooler weather.
If It's something more upscale you are after, try gourmet restaurant La Prévôté (04 90 38 57 29, www.la-prevote.com) rue JJ Rousseau, in a converted convent behind the church. Good value lunch menu for 26€ (not Sunday).
Market Days: Thurs, Sun
Isle sur la Sorgue tourist info (04 90 38 04 78; www.ot-islesurlasorgue.fr), place de la Liberté