I will be in Provence for 4 nights. What area should I stay in if I have never been before and want to see the beauties of the area. I like Cassis but is it inconvenient to stay there if we will be driving to see all the villages and attractions of the area?

Cassis is a sweet seaside resort town - Arles is a multi-faceted historic town that has for the average tourist a lot more to see and do and yes is just a few miles from many great sites - like St-Remy-de-Provence; the Pont-du-Gard, Nimes and its monumental Roman ruins and especially Les Baux-de-Provence, a *** Michelin site and Avignon, another city with lots to see and do and is perpetually lively.

Neither is where people usually stay for a visit to Provence at large, but I would think Cassis more inconvenient and much duller. It is very small, I can't imagine there are many hotels there to choose from. Have you looked at a map? It's down on the coast, southeast of Marseille. SOme people think Aix is too inconvenient for a base, and this is much worse than that. It's about 125 km to Gordes, for example.

Neither is where people usually stay for a visit to Provence at large>

Arles ain't? I've stayed there several times and there were manhy tourists basing here - it is the quintessential great base IMO and IME for the several places I mention above - just a short drive - Arles to me is the perfect base or I should say a perfect base - there are others like Avignon - St-=Remy-de-Provence and smaller towns - perhaps Christina means folks prefer smaller towns - she is an expert of France IMO but in this case I do disagree - Arles is a favorite base for many and IMO a great base both in terms of an old-world city and utilitarian base - not too large a city so driving is hard, etc. but one that has everything a tourist would want.

I've stayed in Arles and found it convenient. I've stayed in Casste D'Azur the true Provenceis to explore the Cote DÁzur ( don't consider the C
























I've stayed in Arles to explore Uzes and the Camargue.
I stayed in Cassis to see the Cote d'Azur which is very different and I don't consider it the true Provence.

Another vote for Arles!

My favorite hotel in the world is in Arles:

http://www.hotel-particulier.com

Sometimes when I'm bored I go to the website just to gaze at the beautiful photos. If you do stay at Hotel Particulier, get detailed instructions on how to find it. It is truly a hidden gem - it took us several trips around the block to figure out where it was. It looks fairly non-descript from the outside walls, but once you enter the gate you are in French paradise! It is walking distance to the City Center of Arles.

We found Arles to be a very convenient base for exploring nearby sites.

Have a great trip!
A

Arles and Cassis are apples and oranges - no comparison. Cassis would be terribly inconvenient for visiting what most people think of when they think Provence. Arles is a nice city, but wouldn't be my choice if my intention were to visit the Bouches-du-Rhône or Lubéron. I'd prefer a smaller base like Maussane or even St-Rémy, which is very touristy but still appealing. Driving in and out of Arles is a PITA, especially on market day.

True. I've stayed twice in Arles at the Calendal and
the Nord Pinus, because of where I wanted to visit but usually every year, our home base a
was in St Remy or nearby like Maussane and Eygalieres.
You must read about where you'd like to stay because the experts" have no idea what you'd like. This months magazine,
If you have a foreign magazine seller, is Coe Sud that focus's on Arles.

sorry cote sud

sorry cote sud