Arles vs. Nimes?
 

Our time in Provence will be tight, and it seems hard for us to justify visits to both cities. If you had to pick one, which and why?

If they're a toss-up, which has the better photo ops?

[Background data: 40-ish couple w/ 13-year-old, staying nearby in St. Remy, driving a car]

We went to both. Arles is probably a little cuter, but it was pretty empty. But we were there during a bullfighting festival in Nimes, so that was amazing. When are you going? Will there be a festival at all in either at the time? Even if you don't like bullfighting, the food and crowd and sangria are all a blast.

Photo-op-wise - Arles is on the river and they show you where Van Gogh painted some of his scenes. Their arena is nice.

Nimes - the old Roman building they have is great and their arena is bigger I believe.

Arles empty? That's novel! I've spent a fair amount of time in Arles and empty is one of the last adjectives I'd use to describe it. O'n market day it's positively teeming.

They're both nice cities, duly representative of the roman and provençal cultures, both with fine arenas, good restaurants, nice gardens, etc. I think Nîmes is a bit more photogenic in parts, but Arles has more to offer in the way of sights to visit.

Arles is closer, so I think for that reason alone I'd choose it. And enjoy all the towns along the way - Maussane, Fontveille, etc.

Tough choice. I've been to both and liked them both. If you do choose Arles, I recommend the cloisters at St-Trophime as an excellent photo opportunity. They have beautiful vaulting and arcades that beg to be photgraphed. Choose a sunny day and you'll also get some very interesting shadows.

Anselm

I've only been to Arles. I really enjoyed it. I second Anselm's recommendation of the cloister at St-Trophime. Also, your 13 year old might enjoy the Cryptoportiques (hope I've got that right). I was there in January of last year--and it was blissfully empty except on market day, StCirque :) --and not being able to find the exit, down there alone in the Cryptoportiques was one of the scary highlights of my trip.

Thanks for the input, everyone. I suppose I should have mentioned that we will be there in June...hopefully on a brilliant, sunny day!

I would prefer Arles myself, but that's because of the things I enjoyed seeing there, such as the local Arlesien folklore museum, and I guess just to see some of Van Gogh's haunts.

In reality, I do think Nimes may be a little more scenic and photogenic. There are some nice areas around the park there.

Maybe it was empty because they were all at the festival in Nimes!

Nimes is a much bigger city - uninspiring modern city ringing the old town with several fantastic sights - mainly very intact Roman relics - theatre - old building, etc.
Arles is smaller but not small and just seems nicer to me. Since they are only a few minutes apart by train or car maybe see both.

Eep! How to decide?! Flip a coin, you'll be happy with whatever one you decide on. :)

They're both great!

Cheers,
Crissy

TTT any other input?

mr_go no doubt has been there, done that since June has come and gone. I wonder which he chose.

For Judyrem then I guess, we stayed in Arles and visited Nimes from there. We loved Arles. Stayed at Hotel le Calendal steps from the Roman arena and theater. We also visited the Camargue and took a short nature hike. I'd vote for Arles if that's what you're asking Judyrem. What else do you wish to know?

My vote goes to Arles too. If you hit Nîmes on a hot, windy, dusty day when a feria is on it can be crowded and uncomfortable.

We picked Arles and liked it very much - in fact, more than we thought we would - particularly the arena, the cloister at St. Trophime, and hanging out in the Place Republic watching the bridal parties arrive at city hall.

Here is the thing, I have my trip planned out, but have been tweeking things a bit. 6 days in St Remy at the Hotel du Soleil's apartments, 3 days Gordes at the Mas des Romarins, THEN either 3 days in Arles or Nimes(or maybe even Avignon), and 2 days in Aix at the Grand Hotel Mercure, then flying from Marseille. I wanted someting differant from Gordes and St Remy and thought a city would be be a nice change of pace. So input from you is appreciated!!!

Given the age of your kid, I would pick Nimes hands down because of the unique opportunity to visit such beautifully preserved Roman amphitheater. You will see many "cute French towns", but I found very doubtful that your 13-year old will get lots of opportunities of visiting such a unique city.

Viajero: mr_go's 13-year-old went to Arles in June (see post above). We are now trying to help Judyrem make a decision--no kid involved.

The cathedral (St. Trophime) in Arles is my favorite church in the whole world I think. I also stayed at the Calendal and loved it. Also very much enjoyed the square with the Van Gogh's "night cafe." Overall, however, Arles has a bit of an end of the world lost feeling about it that keeps it from being a favorite of mine (kind of empty when I was there one April). Have not been to Nimes...

Well, Judyrem can get her post I guess....:-D

Arles over Nimes and not even close IMO for first time traveler.

We were just in both a couple of weeks ago. I am confused---didn't I see many Roman ruins in ARLES, along with a colloseum??? Someone said that was in Nimes!!

Anyway, Arles is the better choice between the two.

It's a toss up, but I personally enjoyed Nimes more. Both have ampitheatres (the one in Nimes better preserved) and other Roman ruins; found walking in/around Nimes was more interesting and diverse.

With the exception of the Alyscamps, the Roman sites in Arles are fairly close together--that makes sightseeing easier. Arles also has the fine folk-art museum (Museon Arlaten) and the church of St-Trophime, with its superb cloisters. That's just the start of the long list.

Hmmmm. I will be in either Arles OR Nimes, Fri through Sun. Which would be better for the Sunday sparse restaurant and shop openings? Will be going to Aix on Mon. Does it make a differance?

Arles has a huge market on Saturday, if that's of interest to you.

Underhill, that could do it for me. My DH is quite a fan of Ronin, and the scenes in Arles impressed him. He thought it would be nice to see it. Have tentative reservation on Orbitz for Hotel D'Arlatan and on venere Hotel du Forum. Any thoughts on hotels there. I tried the Hotel du Calendal and they only had one very small room avaiable. So did not book it.

Oh yes! I still remember the chase around the arena. Your husband will enjoy seeing the real thing, and you will like the little shops (and cafés) that rim one side.

With luck, you will see some of the guardiens from the Camargue--you can recognize them by their black outfits.

Judyrem,
I'm glad you mentioned Ronin. I posted a while back on another thread about memorable movie locations and mentioned the scenes from Ronin that were filmed in Arles. Both Arles and Nimes are great towns, for all the reasons mentioned here (I spent a semester in Montpellier and visited both), and it is tough to say which is "better." For the first time visitor, though, I would lean towards Arles, and your DH will definitely enjoy seeing the amphitheater and narrow city streets where they filmed the great chase scene in Ronin. Have fun!

Merci beaucoup dear Fodorites all, I think it will be Arles and the Hotel du Forum. :-)

I'm late in this, but I visited both in addition to a few others April of last year. I enjoyed Nimes much more than Arles.

Hi Judy,

I also vote for Arles. I stayed at the Hotel du Forum and enjoyed it. It's a good location. Old building and the rooms are all different; mine was over the pool and had a nice view of the rooftops. The staff was very nice and helpful. It's next door to the Nord Pinus, so you might sit on their terrace for a drink.

I liked the area around the arena. There was a free performance on a Sunday and the arena was almost filled. I also liked the Antiques museum and Les Alycamps. It's a very walkable city.

The Wednesday and Saturday markets are great, esp. Saturday. Lots of food and other goods, Camargue knives, olive wood bowls, spoons, provencale fabrics -- tablecloths, shirts, etc.

It's also a short walk to the river and the Monoprix.

Thanks so much luisah for the input on du Forum. Did you have trouble parking there. The rooms look nice and it gets great reviews on venere and tripadvisor. FYI LOVELY PEOPLE, there is a picture of the hotel and the arena on du Forum's web pagehttp://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/forumarles/. it shows where the hotel is in relation to the arena and river. BTW, my DH wants to see the flamingos in the Camaraque,,that will be a nice day trip I am thinking, yes?

bookmarking...

Hausfrau, Speaking of Ronin, FYI, in the du Forums web site, they mention that their hotel was used for the housing of the Ronin's staff,,interesting picture too.

Judy, Good luck finding flamingos in the Camargue; we were there for 5 days early this August and never saw a single one. Our base was around Saintes Maries de la Mer and Aigues Mortes.

Maybe if you wander some of the tiny roads near the water you can find them Lots of horses, bulls and birds other than flamingos were easy to spot in the Camargue. Happy flamingo hunting, its a fascinating area. Deborah

With all this response it is hard for me to believe that there is no mention at all of the Pont du Gard (on the outskirts of Nimes ) .This Roman aquaduct is in fantastic condition is absolutely breathtaking and if conditions are even it should sway anybody in favor of Nimes. Also in Nimes is Le Maison Carée the Roman temple also in great condition.

Wondering why this posting is in the Europe catagory rather than the one for France. More Fodories interested in France are there and it is much easier to track postings.

Hi Judy,

I didn't drive so can't answer about parking but the web site reads "Gargage" You'd need to email the hotel about the location. The streets are very narrow but you'd only need your car arriving and departing -- you'll be able to walk almost everywhere in the town.

Even without flamingos, the Camargue is interesting. I liked seeing the white horses and black bulls. The little waterfront town, Saintes Maries de la Mer, was interesting, lots of sea food restaurants.

Bigal is correct about the Pont du Gard. I didn't think of it, but it is spectacular and something you may really enjoy.

Hi Luisah, thanks for the feedback. Pont du Gard is on my must do list for sure! It does say on Forum's web site about psrking fees, 8 euros. Deborah...what no flamingos??? My DH loves flamingos and we will give it the old college try.. ;-)

Bigal--there's no separate discussion area for France; it's all part of the Europe board. (On tripadvisor.com there are separate forums for each country, which makes finding things a whole lot easier.) Specifying a country when posting here is just supposed to make it easier for the search engine to do its thing.