Saint Remy as hotel base in Provence
Jul 6th, 2017, 12:35 AM
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Saint Remy as hotel base in Provence
Hi, we will be spending three days in Saint Remy as hotel base in Provence, at Villa Glanum. Any feedback about this place? Also, we will spend the three days as follows:
1st Day - Go around in Avignon
2nd Day - Wednesday market in Saint Remy and sightseeing in Saint Remy
3rd Day - Gordes, Rousillon and Luberon
I am worrying about the third day as it includes too much travelling and my husband prefers shorter trips (approx. 1hr max). He will be driving himself.
Which towns do you suggest we visit on the 3rd day? There is also L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue which we could visit. Will Gordes be enough to fill in one relaxed day of sightseeing? Do you know of any short walking trails in Gordes which we may do to spend the day there and omit the other towns?
Thanks a lot.
Corinne
1st Day - Go around in Avignon
2nd Day - Wednesday market in Saint Remy and sightseeing in Saint Remy
3rd Day - Gordes, Rousillon and Luberon
I am worrying about the third day as it includes too much travelling and my husband prefers shorter trips (approx. 1hr max). He will be driving himself.
Which towns do you suggest we visit on the 3rd day? There is also L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue which we could visit. Will Gordes be enough to fill in one relaxed day of sightseeing? Do you know of any short walking trails in Gordes which we may do to spend the day there and omit the other towns?
Thanks a lot.
Corinne
Jul 6th, 2017, 02:17 AM
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I don't think Gordes is enough for one day. We did a similar trip one year where we visited Gordes, Roussilon, and Loumarin in one day. We didn't think it was too much driving, and we came from Aix en Provence. Of course, my husband was driving, and he likes to drive.
We recently returned from Provence, and we loved the Friday market at Egaliyiers (sp?). Had lunch twice at Cafe Progress. Just thought i would mention this if you have the time to go there.
Isle Sur La Sorgue has a wonderful market on Thursdays, but do not go there on Sundays for the market. It is extremely crowded and impossible to find parking.
For Sant Remy, we enjoyed visiting the asylum where Van Gogh spent a year after cutting off his ear. There are reproductions of his paintings at the locations where he painted them. We also enjoyed the Roman ruins at Glanum. We really like Sant Remy even though it is touristy. We've always had delicious meals and there are great shops and many restaurants to choose from.
Enjoy your trip!
We recently returned from Provence, and we loved the Friday market at Egaliyiers (sp?). Had lunch twice at Cafe Progress. Just thought i would mention this if you have the time to go there.
Isle Sur La Sorgue has a wonderful market on Thursdays, but do not go there on Sundays for the market. It is extremely crowded and impossible to find parking.
For Sant Remy, we enjoyed visiting the asylum where Van Gogh spent a year after cutting off his ear. There are reproductions of his paintings at the locations where he painted them. We also enjoyed the Roman ruins at Glanum. We really like Sant Remy even though it is touristy. We've always had delicious meals and there are great shops and many restaurants to choose from.
Enjoy your trip!
Jul 6th, 2017, 02:24 AM
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CORINNE
IF YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATIONS I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE CHATEAU DES APHILLES. I CAN SAY THAT IT HAS BEEN ONE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITES PLACES THAT I HAVE EVER STAYED. THE MOTHER DAUGHTER OWNERS ARE A DELIGHT. THE FOOD....WELL ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. IT IS EVERYTHING YOU WANT PROVENCE TO BE. HANDS DOWN. YOU CAN GET A TOUR IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO DRIVE. WE DID YOUR THIRD DAY OUT OF AVIGNON WITH A WONDERFUL 6 PERSON MAX TOUR. LOTS OF STOPS. ROUSILLON IS SO BEALUTIFUL ...would be sad to miss the beautiful red ciffs/mountains. I would spend the time in gordes ...dont miss the abbey....and go to Rousillon. Gordes and Rousillon are part of the area known as Luberon. You should read Peter Mayle's book "A Year In Provence". Hope that helps. Oh, take the Van Gogh walking trail in St. Remy. You will see where many of his paintings took place. We toured the asylum / museum where he stayed and where he painted many of his most famous works and wrote many famous writings. Experts today think that the gas lamps he had in his home could have created the symptoms he developed. The gas is toxic. Remember that many places take a 2 hr lunch....even if you are coming in the door, they are going out. LOL
IF YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATIONS I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE CHATEAU DES APHILLES. I CAN SAY THAT IT HAS BEEN ONE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITES PLACES THAT I HAVE EVER STAYED. THE MOTHER DAUGHTER OWNERS ARE A DELIGHT. THE FOOD....WELL ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. IT IS EVERYTHING YOU WANT PROVENCE TO BE. HANDS DOWN. YOU CAN GET A TOUR IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO DRIVE. WE DID YOUR THIRD DAY OUT OF AVIGNON WITH A WONDERFUL 6 PERSON MAX TOUR. LOTS OF STOPS. ROUSILLON IS SO BEALUTIFUL ...would be sad to miss the beautiful red ciffs/mountains. I would spend the time in gordes ...dont miss the abbey....and go to Rousillon. Gordes and Rousillon are part of the area known as Luberon. You should read Peter Mayle's book "A Year In Provence". Hope that helps. Oh, take the Van Gogh walking trail in St. Remy. You will see where many of his paintings took place. We toured the asylum / museum where he stayed and where he painted many of his most famous works and wrote many famous writings. Experts today think that the gas lamps he had in his home could have created the symptoms he developed. The gas is toxic. Remember that many places take a 2 hr lunch....even if you are coming in the door, they are going out. LOL
Jul 6th, 2017, 04:42 AM
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St Remy is small. You certainly won't take up all day Wednesday visiting the market AND exploring the town. I always advise people to NOT allocate an entire day to visiting the village they are staying it. You'll see enough of it at the beginning and end of your day-trips elsewhere - also walking to/from dinner. Visit Les Baux on Wed in addition to St Remy, and then drive around the Alpilles & visit some of the other villages in the immediate region.
Gordes is smaller than St Remy and quite hilly if you explore beyond the main square. Also, it is an uphill walk from the large parking lot down below. Get to Gordes early (8:30), take a picture from "THE" picture spot (you'll know when you are there), explore Gordes, then leave by 10:00 when the hoards arrive.
A day driving around in the Luberon and visiting the hill villages is the highlight of Provence for many people. You don't have to visit all the famous villages in the Luberon. Just visit as many as you have time & energy for. Personally, I enjoy driving from village to village as much as exploring the villages themselves. The countryside is beautiful.
We just returned home from a month in France - including 2 weeks in Provence. This was our 21st & 22nd week in Provence. I updated my 36 page itinerary for Provence & the Cote d'Azur that I've sent to over 3,500 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail.
Stu Dudley
Gordes is smaller than St Remy and quite hilly if you explore beyond the main square. Also, it is an uphill walk from the large parking lot down below. Get to Gordes early (8:30), take a picture from "THE" picture spot (you'll know when you are there), explore Gordes, then leave by 10:00 when the hoards arrive.
A day driving around in the Luberon and visiting the hill villages is the highlight of Provence for many people. You don't have to visit all the famous villages in the Luberon. Just visit as many as you have time & energy for. Personally, I enjoy driving from village to village as much as exploring the villages themselves. The countryside is beautiful.
We just returned home from a month in France - including 2 weeks in Provence. This was our 21st & 22nd week in Provence. I updated my 36 page itinerary for Provence & the Cote d'Azur that I've sent to over 3,500 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail.
Stu Dudley
Jul 6th, 2017, 07:56 AM
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Your husband doesn't want to drive more than one hour max to and from your hotel, i.e. 30 min each way or 60 min each way? Is that max of one hour of driving per day? Any problems driving hills or narrow roads?
Agree with Stu about ST Remy. Don't need more than an hour or so for the market and you can spend the rest of the day elsewhere.
Agree with Stu about ST Remy. Don't need more than an hour or so for the market and you can spend the rest of the day elsewhere.
Jul 6th, 2017, 08:44 AM
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If you don't want to drive at all, it's an odd choice of a vacation, to stay in a village without a train station.
I am not sure you understand what a village is like. YOu can't spend all day in Gordes in an interesting manner, what would you do? Unless you just want to sit around reading a book or something, of course. Villages themselves don't have walking trails in them, those are out in the countryside.
I also wonder what the 1 hr max means. Does that mean 1 hr driving all day, or just 1 hr max from point A to point B? The latter is more do-able. The Luberon of course is a large park area, not a specific place in itself, but those two villages are in that area. But that isn't too much driving unless he won't drive more than 1 hr per day. Because it is about an hour from St Remy to Roussillon, the farthest point in your list, but Gordes is sooner. YOu only have 2 towns that day to begin with, Gordes and Roussillon, which seems like a fine itinerary for a day.
If your husband will not drive more than one hour total, you could go to Les Baux for the day. IN fact, you might want to do that, anyway, and try to find some interesting villages just in that area.
I am not sure you understand what a village is like. YOu can't spend all day in Gordes in an interesting manner, what would you do? Unless you just want to sit around reading a book or something, of course. Villages themselves don't have walking trails in them, those are out in the countryside.
I also wonder what the 1 hr max means. Does that mean 1 hr driving all day, or just 1 hr max from point A to point B? The latter is more do-able. The Luberon of course is a large park area, not a specific place in itself, but those two villages are in that area. But that isn't too much driving unless he won't drive more than 1 hr per day. Because it is about an hour from St Remy to Roussillon, the farthest point in your list, but Gordes is sooner. YOu only have 2 towns that day to begin with, Gordes and Roussillon, which seems like a fine itinerary for a day.
If your husband will not drive more than one hour total, you could go to Les Baux for the day. IN fact, you might want to do that, anyway, and try to find some interesting villages just in that area.
Jul 7th, 2017, 05:50 AM
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Hi all,
Many thanks for your interesting replies!
I might have been misunderstood. We would like to avoid 1.5hrs driving trips without stopping anywhere for a break (not just 1.5hrs in a whole day)!
Unfortunately, we will not be in Provence on a Friday, we would have moved to Nice, so we will be missing the market in Eygalieres. But thanks for the suggestion!
The Chateau Des Aphilles is already fully booked during our stay in September! Pity, I would have welcomed the suggestion!
Dear Stu, I sent you an email re the itinerary. Thanks!
I updated our travel plan:
19th September 2017 - Avignon
20th September 2017 - Wednesday market in Saint Remy & Les Baux-de-Provence
21st September 2017 - Lourmarin, Roussillon, Gordes, Isle Sur La Sorgue (Thursday market)
I will also try and find a short tour starting from Avignon for 19th September.
Best regards,
Corinne
Many thanks for your interesting replies!
I might have been misunderstood. We would like to avoid 1.5hrs driving trips without stopping anywhere for a break (not just 1.5hrs in a whole day)!
Unfortunately, we will not be in Provence on a Friday, we would have moved to Nice, so we will be missing the market in Eygalieres. But thanks for the suggestion!
The Chateau Des Aphilles is already fully booked during our stay in September! Pity, I would have welcomed the suggestion!
Dear Stu, I sent you an email re the itinerary. Thanks!
I updated our travel plan:
19th September 2017 - Avignon
20th September 2017 - Wednesday market in Saint Remy & Les Baux-de-Provence
21st September 2017 - Lourmarin, Roussillon, Gordes, Isle Sur La Sorgue (Thursday market)
I will also try and find a short tour starting from Avignon for 19th September.
Best regards,
Corinne
