Base in Arles or St. Remy
#1
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Base in Arles or St. Remy
Hi. Fine tuning our Provence itinerary and undecided whether we should base ourselves for 3 nights in Arles or in St. Remy? Both look very nice. Opinions?
Will have car.
Thanks.
Will have car.
Thanks.
#2
Join Date: Dec 2003
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your choice is either a large city or a small town. there is much to do in arles, and a stay of 3 days would allow you to make day trips to other areas in the region. but the same is true of st-rémy's general location. so it all depends on whether you prefer big-city or small-town ambience.
#3
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I don't think of Arles as a "big city" like Avignon or Aix. Arles is 50,000 while Avignon is 86,000 with a sprawl that includes a total of 250,000. Aix is 134,000. St Remy is 10,000.
I think St Remy is a little more centrally located, and it's easier to get in & out. I even think there are better restaurants in St Remy. The only restaurant in my Michelin guide not associated with a hotel in St Remy, is not in the historic center of town, and I did not like my meal there nor the ambience.
Stu Dudley
I think St Remy is a little more centrally located, and it's easier to get in & out. I even think there are better restaurants in St Remy. The only restaurant in my Michelin guide not associated with a hotel in St Remy, is not in the historic center of town, and I did not like my meal there nor the ambience.
Stu Dudley
#5
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I'm dealing with a similar dilemma! I won't have a car, so while I'd love to base in a small town like St. Remy, I'm a little worried about transportation connections. Is Arles the best bet, in that case? Or will I be fine with trains and buses in St. Remy?
#7
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St. Remy is smaller, easier to get in and out of and to park, more charming and very convenient to the other places you will want to see. If you stay in St. Remy, be sure to visit the Arles market - one of the best we have ever seen.
#9
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ashields, I just looked up bus services in and out of St-Rémy. It looks like you can get to Avignon, Tarascon, Nîmes, Uzès, and Les Baux from St-Rémy:
http://www.saintremy-de-provence.com...is/rrendre.htm
If you want to find local bus routes and timetables for other towns, try googling the name of the town and look for either their tourism or municipal site. There's usually a schedule or a link to the bus operator's site.
Bonne chance.
Anselm
http://www.saintremy-de-provence.com...is/rrendre.htm
If you want to find local bus routes and timetables for other towns, try googling the name of the town and look for either their tourism or municipal site. There's usually a schedule or a link to the bus operator's site.
Bonne chance.
Anselm
#10
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St. Remy. And it does have nice restaurants like Gousse d'Ail and La Source. These are not Michelin-level restaurants but very satisfactory. Both are in town.
Bus service is limited. You really need a car to see Provence properly.
In my opinion, St. Remy's market on Wednesday is better tha Arles on Saturday. I agree with St.Cirq about Saturday trafic problems in Arles, a town we do not really care for.
Enjoy your trip.
Bus service is limited. You really need a car to see Provence properly.
In my opinion, St. Remy's market on Wednesday is better tha Arles on Saturday. I agree with St.Cirq about Saturday trafic problems in Arles, a town we do not really care for.
Enjoy your trip.
#11
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>>>>>>The only restaurant in my Michelin guide not associated with a hotel in St Remy, is not in the historic center of town, and I did not like my meal there nor the ambience.<<<
Oops - big mistake. I knew I shouldn't have written this after a glass of wine. I meant that Arles (not St Remy) has only 1 restaurant in the Michelin Guide - and I did not like it. St Remy has four, and I have been to all of them several times, except Jardin de Frederic. All are quite nice - I like the garden at Source.
Stu Dudley
Oops - big mistake. I knew I shouldn't have written this after a glass of wine. I meant that Arles (not St Remy) has only 1 restaurant in the Michelin Guide - and I did not like it. St Remy has four, and I have been to all of them several times, except Jardin de Frederic. All are quite nice - I like the garden at Source.
Stu Dudley
#13
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Ihopp,
You may want to consider hotel options. Arles has many reasonable hotel choices - Hotel le Calendal for one. If you stay within the old walled section, where most hotels are, it is a very manageable and enjoyable base. We spent eight days there two years ago. The hotel arranged parking in the municipal garage a few blocks away. We generally left for day trips returning later in the afternoon. Then drove to nearby towns like St. Remy, Fontveielle, or Maussane for dinner. We loved coming back to Arles. There was always something to do. Just walking around through the narrow streets and along the Rhone was fun. We stayed right next to the arena and across from the amphitheatre. We enjoyed watching the schoolchildren come and go each day. We never had a problem driving in and out of town. There was always something to do.
St. Remy is beautiful town, smaller, with many fine restaurants as mentioned. Hotels and B&B's will be pricier.
Either way you will have a great time.
We leave on Friday and will spend six nights at le Moulin de Greoux on the outskirts of Maussane. I can already taste the olive oil!
JoeG
You may want to consider hotel options. Arles has many reasonable hotel choices - Hotel le Calendal for one. If you stay within the old walled section, where most hotels are, it is a very manageable and enjoyable base. We spent eight days there two years ago. The hotel arranged parking in the municipal garage a few blocks away. We generally left for day trips returning later in the afternoon. Then drove to nearby towns like St. Remy, Fontveielle, or Maussane for dinner. We loved coming back to Arles. There was always something to do. Just walking around through the narrow streets and along the Rhone was fun. We stayed right next to the arena and across from the amphitheatre. We enjoyed watching the schoolchildren come and go each day. We never had a problem driving in and out of town. There was always something to do.
St. Remy is beautiful town, smaller, with many fine restaurants as mentioned. Hotels and B&B's will be pricier.
Either way you will have a great time.
We leave on Friday and will spend six nights at le Moulin de Greoux on the outskirts of Maussane. I can already taste the olive oil!
JoeG
#14
Joe have a wonderful time. We stayed a few nights there. I'm still raving about those beautiful antique stoves.
If you are buying the oil at the Barres, also try the olive confiture. Fantastic on chevre and dark bread.
If you are buying the oil at the Barres, also try the olive confiture. Fantastic on chevre and dark bread.
#15
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JoeG:
I trust you know that the olive oil from Mas des Barres, just a short walk from the Moulin de Gréoux, was awarded a prize for best olive oil in the world in 2004? I forget who gives out the award (the confrérie des huiles d'olive?), but I still have almost a liter left, and it is GOOD!
I trust you know that the olive oil from Mas des Barres, just a short walk from the Moulin de Gréoux, was awarded a prize for best olive oil in the world in 2004? I forget who gives out the award (the confrérie des huiles d'olive?), but I still have almost a liter left, and it is GOOD!
#17
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StCirq,
It is the best olive oil IMHO! We've brought some back and also ordered on line from France. Recently I found a place in the US where it can be oredered on line - Chef.Shop.com located in Seattle. It's very expensive but freight is cheap and it comes in less than one week!
JoeG
It is the best olive oil IMHO! We've brought some back and also ordered on line from France. Recently I found a place in the US where it can be oredered on line - Chef.Shop.com located in Seattle. It's very expensive but freight is cheap and it comes in less than one week!
JoeG
#20
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>Yes, but the price<
It came to slightly less than what I paid ordering from France with the freight differential. Plus it took 4 or 5 weeks. We call it "Liquid Gold"
Of course we will be bringing back a suitcase full!!!
JoeG
It came to slightly less than what I paid ordering from France with the freight differential. Plus it took 4 or 5 weeks. We call it "Liquid Gold"
Of course we will be bringing back a suitcase full!!!
JoeG