St. Remy or Las Baux - Base
 

Will have two nights in this area and wondering which of these two towns offers more as a base to explore from; but with thought we'd be back in evening for dinner and relaxation in location we are staying.

I have stayed in many fine places in both locations. My favorite is La Riboto de Taven. I drive to Les Baux from the Riviera to pend some time there. I love the Alpilles and La Riboto has excellent dining.

Enjoy...........

I'm sorry I can't assist you with your question (we traveled to both from Aix), but I did want to tell you that you will love both St. Remy and LasBaux!

I'd vastly prefer St-Rémy. Les Baux is tiny and mostly touristy shops, apart from the château and the ramparts. YOu'll have far more options for cafés, restaurants, and just strolling around in the evenings in St-Rémy.

i loved st. remy. i highly recommend staying there.

St. Rémy is a real town. Les Baux is just a cute tourist trap.

I beg to differ: Lex Baux is much more than a tourist trap, assuming one knows to go up to the ruins of the old fortress. But as for staying there, going anywhere means a drive down the mountain and out of the valley; so I'd vote for St-Rémy. On the other hand, gracejoan's recommendation gets high marks.

Yes, the ruins are worth seeing. But very few people actually make the effort.

We made the effort (not much of an 'effort' was needed BTW) and were rewarded with one of the highlights of our 17 day visit to Provence.

In doubt that the reason why few people visit the ruins is that they don't want to make the effort--rather, they don't know the ruins are up there. Think of all the posts we see asking what there is to see at Les Baux.

We were in France in May/June and one of our stops was St. Remy. We loved staying there and found the market one of the nicest we'd been to (and that's a hard list to top since they were all fabulous). We did drive to Les Baux for a day. Don't miss it. Take the audio tour of the fortress -- it was fascinating. But stay in St. Remy. We stayed at Mas des Carissins and it was lovely but others have made some good suggestions here as well.

I totally agree that St. Remy is a more lively, "real" town than Les Baux (and we did spend several hours up at the ruins.)
It's a short, scenic drive to Les Baux from St. Remy, which has many upscale shops, restaurants, and beautiful, historic tree-lined squares. We absolutely loved our stay at the Mas des Carassins--we stayed four nights there this June. We also heard wonderful things about Riboto de Taven.

Have a wonderful trip!

Les Baux is not a tourist trap! You must be only talkiing about the tourist attraction up the mountain!

It is a lovely, peaceful area. I have stayed at Ch. des Alpilles in St. Remy, Oustau de Baumaniere and Cabro d'Or and Riboto de Taven in Les Baux. I much prefer the Les Baux area for lodging.

To each his own........

I agree with Grace and underhill. Remember because a place is listed as Les Baux doesn't mean it's above where the tourists go to shop ot visit the ruins, nor in town when listed as St remy. So going aboiut is easy from either plkac as you aren't in the "mess"

By all means St. Remy. No comparison.

IMO, Les Baux - ramparts, old city, etc. - is a must-see, so I agree with all posters on that score. I will also advocate for lunch at L'Oustau de Baumaniere if you have the time and resources (~ 3 hours for lunch and a bill in the stratosphere, esp. if you order wine, but worth it if you are into spending time in foodie heaven). If you like this idea, go to les Baux early and spend the AM, then repair to l'Oustau for lunch. I also agree that St. Remy is where you want to stay, and specifically at le Mas des Carassins if they have availability for your dates - breakfast by their pool with les Alpilles on the near horizon was the highlight of our most recent trip to France. Bon voyage et bonne bouffe! :-)

If you have a car, stay in St. Remy and visit Les Baux and areas in-between. There's plenty to see in St. Remy, much of which you can walk; shops and restaurants.

Just south on the way to Les Baux is the asylum where Van Gogh went to recoup after the "ear business" and the gardens are lovely. Right next door are the Roman ruins of Glanum.

Les Baux is lovely and once past the typical touristy shops and restaurants, climb to the ruins which are fascinating and magnificently lighted at night. And, do make time for lunch or dinner at some of the best restaurants in the area.

A note: Les Baux is probably the most visited site in this part of Provence, so if you can avoid a weekend, do. Or get there first thing or very latest part of the day... parking can be a horror. The road leading south out of St. Remy is twisty-turny past the bauxite hills for which Les Baux is named; believe it's a 25/miles round trip drive.

For those who stayed at Mas des Carrasins - we will be staying there too next month. There's a reference on the confiramtion to their daily dinners at full or half-board.
Can you clarify how this was handled?
Many thanks,

Wendy

We had our breakfasts there but chose to explore restaurants in town for dinners. The breakfasts were a nice buffet choice.

Hi stricky,
We stayed at the Mas des Carassins for 4 nights in June. As we had booked through Venere, they required us to eat 3 out of 4 dinners there (and all breakfasts.) When we first learned of this we were disappointed, but dinners in their lovely garden were some of our favorite moments of our trip. Don't know what your agreement with them is..you may want to inquire. But do eat at least one dinner there! They post that evening's menu in the AM, so you can see if you want to sign up (I think by noon.) I write about it in my trip report..you can click on my name to read it. Have fun!