If we allot a half day each for Arles and St. Remy are we likely to feel shortchanged, or should we try to manage a whole day for each? We've included these 2 towns in our plans primarily for the Van Gogh associations and from reading online that shopping in St. Remy is good (we're more window-shoppers than actual purchasers, so if the shops are pricey it shouldn't put a damper on our enjoyment). Thanks.

I'd recommend an entire day for Arles and probably that long for what you want to do in St-Rémy. You really can't do justice to Arles in less than a day, and you'd have to dash around in St-Rémy with so little time.

What time of year will you be there?

October. I had thought Arles might be a lot more than we could handle in a half day -- I think we can probably manage a day in Arles and maybe 3/4 of a day in St. Remy.

We spent a half day in Arles (actualy, several half days in our 18 weeks of vacationing in Provence) and that was just fine. Also, a half day in St Remy was adequate for us (my wife likes to shop in St Remy too). A "half day" for us is normally 10:00 to 1, or 2:30 to 5:30. We spent more time in Avignon and Aix. St Remy isn't that big of a town.

Stu Dudley

3/4 of a day in St Remy is plenty, there isn't much to do or see there that would take very long. You can see the Van Gogh asylum in 30-60 minutes.

Depends what your interests are. I can easily spend a full day in Arles, especially if it's market day. A half to 3/4 of a day in St-Rémy is good for me, but if you want to visit Glanum, for example, or search for Nostradamus's house, or if it's market day, you might want most of a day.

Thanks for all the good advice. We'lll definitely plan a whole day for Arles. 1/2 or 3/4 day in St. Remy sounds sufficient.

St Remy also has a good flea market but forgot which day.
In September through about October 5th is the Artists festival with paintings through out the streets for sale. I have stayed in both towns and still have not seen everything.
Even if you don't buy anything, there are a few things that may entice you. Le Express has a wonderful selection of books on Provence and calendars. On the main street, Ave Victor Hugo be sue to taste Joel Durand' chocolates and next door at Le Duc, a sweet shop with exceptional products like the cookies. In Arles the Amphitheatre and the Museum Arletaten founded by Mistral. There's a statue of him looking down on
the Place du Forum

Thank you, CigaleC. We are "basing"in St Remy for an entire week (per Fodors Folks advice) so your information will come in handy!!
I think the big market day in St R is Wednesday. If we'e overwhelmed, we can just walk back to the flat.

Thanks Cigalechanta -- my husband is a major chocoholic, so we'll definitely search out the Joel Durand chocolates. Express sounds great too. And Le Duc. The art festival sounds great, but I suppose it's only on weekends, so won't work for us. We'll try to get there on Wed. for the market though.