aggiemom

Despite what it may seem with this question, DH and I ARE narrowing down where we want to stay in Provence.

DH leans towards Avignon. He wants a large enough place to explore and "kick around" after a day of sightseeing. There are some interesting B&B's a couple miles outside of town center. Is parking easy and available?

St Remy and Uz&egraves; interest me but are they large enough for four days of exploring and eating dinner (after day trips to other places)?

Merci,
mom

Patrick

My choice would be St. Remy. But I'm a little confused, like your husband I like a place big enough to explore and kick around in. While Avignon is certainly bigger, I don't get the idea of staying in the country instead of in the city if that's his desire. After a day of sightseeing, I don't really want to get back into my car and drive into another town. I want to be able to walk out my door and explore.

Underhill

Getting into and out of Avignon can be a bit of a hassle, depending on your navigational skills. The best parking lot we've found is up by the Palais des Papes, with paid underground spaces.

I have to admit to being not all that fascinated by Avignon; I sure wouldn't want to spend four days there. If you base in St-Rémy, however, you can go in all different directions easily, and there are any number of good restaurants.

jazzyred

What other places do you want to see?
Last May we stayed in Arles and then Mazan near Carpentras.

We discovered that we could have seen la Camargue, Uzes, le Luberon, les Alpilles and la Vaucluse just as easily from Mazan. Moving to a second hotel was kind of a pain, however both were good places. You can make all sorts of day trips from St. Remy without too much trouble.

I would choose close to St. Remy or Gordes on a return visit. Like you I am not crazy about staying in Avignon.
We had to drive in the city and it was a bit nerve wracking. ~o)

chicagolori

I say St. Remy. If you click on my name you can see previous posts. There are lots of different opinions - it all depends on what you like.

We stayed there 5 days and did day trips all over Provence and it was very convenient. We wanted a smaller town than Avignon.

StCirq

I say St-Rémy, too. Your husband won't be bored there. It's plenty large enuogh to explore. When I was there about ten days ago, the place was absolutely hopping! There are dozens of restaurants and cafés and shops, and plenty more within a few kilometers.

Parking wasn't easy and available when I was there, but that was August. It's always pretty crowded, but there's a big lot in the center of town. And it's easier than Avignon.

aggiemom

Thanks again everyone, for all your insight.

I'm just trying to get a feel for how big some of these towns are.

For instance, in May, Mom and I stayed in Beilstein, Germany which was a lovely little town, but very, very small and not much to walk to.

Patrick - I understand what you're saying - my question was ambiguous. When I said "a few miles outside of town center" I was assuming Avignon was a larger metropolitan area. Is it just a walled city - and THAT is what being in Avignon means - within the walls??? In my head, I kind of thought Avignon was the size of Annecy, for example.

I still like St. Rémy - and I think DH is starting to think so, too.

merci,
mom

Underhill

Avignon is a fairly large city--it spreads into suberbs in most directions. The main part of the city for tourists lies within the ring road and is still fairly large. You can't just walk to everything you want to see. It's definitely larger than Annecy--quite a lot larger, if you include the area outside the walls.

St-Rémy, on the other hand, is a lovely small town. There's a central parking lot; from there you can easily get around to restaurants, cafés, and shops (marvelous shops!).

Are you ready for hotel recommendations yet?