We will be in Provence the 2nd week of June.

I'm trying to get a feel for L'Isle Sur La Sorgue.

I assume the Sunday market is packed. What time does it start to closeup?
Does the town close up after market?

Is it a ghost town the rest of the week?

We'd like to wander a town that is not overrun or completely covered by a market.
However, spending an hour or two going thru a market might be fun.
We'd like to be able to see the place in relative peace but not be the only ones there.

Thanks for some guidance.

It IS a ghost town on Monday!! Don't miss the market!

We've only been in l'Isle sur la Sorgue as late as lunch time on market day. The market will start to close around noon, and probably be "outta-there" at 1:30. My understanding is that the permanent antique shops stay open after lunch. I don't know about the non-antique shops. It is a mob scene between around 10:30 and noon, and the market spreads through most of the village. We've been to the market around 10-12 times, and we now get there no later than 8:15 and we wander past all the vendors & watch them set up their stands. Then we go for a cafe creme & croissants at one of the cafes next to the church & watch the vendors in that region of the market get ready. Then we hit the market at 9:00 (we start at the section that runs along the river - that seems to get the most crowded area at 10:30).

We have visited the village on a Monday and almost all the shops were closed & it seemed like a ghost town. Some of the permanent antique shops were open. We've visited it on other weeks days & found it to be quite delightful.

Stu Dudley

Stu,
Do I read correctly that if we want to see the town avoid Sunday (packed market all over) and Monday (ghost town) but the rest of the time will have a fair number of people (tourists and non) wandering around?

However, if it's a market we want then it's Sunday AM.

Correct?

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And to go back to a previous topic. Being a tourist town St Remy won't be locked up tight on a Sunday. Correct?

>>Correct?<<

Yep

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>>And to go back to a previous topic. Being a tourist town St Remy won't be locked up tight on a Sunday. Correct?<<

Yep

I think I sent my Provence itinerary to you. If not, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll send one. Here is what I wrote in the itinerary about St Remy on Sunday & Monday

We were recently in St Remy on a Sunday. My wife visited 11 shops that interested her (she likes housewares – no clothes or souvenirs). Two other shops looked interesting from the outside, but were closed on Sunday. Of these 11 shops, 5 were closed all day on Monday, 2 were only open Monday afternoon (around 2:30), and 4 were open all day Monday. The very touristy shops that are prevalent in almost every tourist destination village in Provence (Olivades, Souleiado, Terre de Provence), are usually open on Sunday & Monday.

Stu Dudley

Thank you.

Now, of course, we have to decide which Isle we want.

. . . and I think one more question.

How does the market on Thur compare to that on Sunday?

Not necessarily by size (although that's of interest) but things being sold and setting.

Thanks.

Never been to the Thurs market. It doesn't get much publicity, so I assume it is not much of a market. In other cities like Uzes, the "secondary" market in a week is much smaller.

Stu Dudley

Maybe this should go in another thread but . . .

While it's almost tempting to visit Isle sur la Sorgue twice; once on market day and once not, I'm having trouble getting excited about Saint Remy.

I haven't dug into Les Baux yet but from what I see about St Remy, it appears our time might be better spent elsewhere.

Other than Glanum and its ruins, is St Remy more than a dingy town whose visitors are walking around looking for Van Gogh?

Am I being unfair?
Am I not getting a true picture?

No, it's not a dingy town at all. It might be heavily touristed in high season, but otherwise it's a bustling, typical Bouches-du-Rhône town with plenty of things of historical interest, a fabulous Wednesday market, good restaurants and cafés, and really interesting shops.

Les Baux is another animal entirely.

Then let me caution people.

I've been using Google Earth a fair amount.

While it appears they photographed many of the Italian towns in summer, most of the Provence towns I've looked at were photographed under much different conditions.

Trees with no leaves, the few people on the streets often in coats and gloves and many restaurants closed.

Not the most enticing views.

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And could you tell me about Les Baux the other animal?

Glad we're around. Thanks.

Ooops. Hit send too fast.

Visiting St Remy on a Wednesday and Les Baux at all are in conflict.

I'm still trying to fit in Isle sur la Sorgue on a Sunday.

St-Rémy is a real, working town. Les Baux, though it surely must have a small resident population, exists primarily as a historical monument, a tourist destination. It's not a town - there aren't butchers and electrical appliance shops and gas stations and all the things you find in a normal working town. There's the ramparts and museums and cafés, a couple of restaurants, and shops selling things tourists like to collect from Provence. St-Rémy is big. Les Baux is small.

On one of our earlier visits to Provence, we spent some time in St Remy & loved it. This was in the mid 90s. In '99 when we retired early so we could travel more, we spent 2 weeks in the Luberon near Gordes, 2 weeks near St Remy & 2 weeks near Vaison. Since then, we've returned to the Luberon for another 2 weeks and near Vaison for 8 weeks. We have not returned to the St Remy area for an extended stay - mainly because we think the "area" is not as scenic as other regions in Provence (except for the Alpillies & the area just south of there). However, in '07 we spend a Sunday in St Remy (see my second post on this thread) and we really enjoyed the town itself. Sure - it's full of tourists - often first-timers (like us in the 90s). Also in '07 (we were there for 4 weeks staying near Vaison/Mt Ventoux) we made a second trip to St Remy for their market. I felt that the market detracted from our enjoyment of the village - just too many people & too many distractions caused by the market. I feel the same way about the market in Sarlat (Dordogne), and Uzes (we stayed near there for 2 weeks). While we we were near Uzes (about '05) friends from Vermont were visiting us and they went to St Remy on Wednesday. She made the same comment about the market detracting from really getting to see & enjoy the village.

Stu Dudley

Stu,
This is great info. I was tryng to dance at too many weddings and having issues.

Between a few markets in Aix, Avignon and L'Isle going to Saint Remy on a day other than market day sounds like a good idea.

Thanks.