Provence on a Monday
 

I'm trying to choose from the following for a Monday in Mid-June (in less than two weeks).

Arles
Saint-Remy (excluding Les Baux as it has been accounted for separately)
Montpellier

Like to wander and see the sights. In addition, wife likes to pop into some stores.

I think I'm leaning towards Saint-Remy as I think it's more of a tourist town and would be more alive. Correct?

All towns will be alive on a Monday. I would pick Arles because it has lots to offer - Roman arena, Roman theatre, cathedral, the Elysian fields, museum and, of course, all sorts of shops.

Saint-Remy is more a small town which serves well as a base for excursions in the countryside.

Montpellier (which technically does not belong to Provence) has more large-city feeling.

Arles is most "provencal" of the three options.

I think I sent you my Provence itinerary. On the first or second page, I wrote about Mondays in St Remy. Most of my wife's favorite shops were closed. Some opened in the afterrnoon. Same with Arles & Montpellier. We reserve Mondays (and Sundays) for driving through the pretty countryside. Shops in Gordes & Roussillon will be open.

From my itinerary - if you want the whole thing, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail:


Something to be aware of when visiting the cities, towns, & villages of Provence

In many towns & villages, shops are closed on Sunday & Monday. Some shops open on Monday afternoon. We never plan to visit a town (for shopping) on a Sunday or Monday unless we know in advance that the stores will be open. Most stores in Aix, Nimes, and Avignon are closed Sunday and Monday morning. While in Aix in mid June ’10, I did a “survey” of about 30 shops that had opening & closing days & times posted on their storefronts. Of these 30 shops, 5 were open all day Monday (including a Gap and Monoprix – chain-type stores), 10 were closed all day Monday, and 15 were open Monday afternoon only. Only 1 shop was open on Sunday. Shops in very “touristy” towns like St Paul, St Tropez, and Gordes are always open. 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.

http://about-france.com/holidays-sundays.htm

Stu Dudley

I'd pick Arles, also. The only thing about Mondays is some shops are closed in some places (but I don't care about shopipng anyway, so this is no issue to me at all) and some museums. I do care about museums, and the Musee Fabree in Montpellier is closed Mondays, but the archeologicl museum in Arles in closed Tuesdays (the one I really like is closed for renovation, I think -- the Arletan ethnographic museum in Arles). BUt other than museums, it probably doesn't matter other than what traveller1959 says in terms of ambience.