Time in Larger Cities in Provence - Aix, Arles, Avignon
 

In reading many posts about Provence, it sounds like the Provence is best explored by car when you can get out into the countryside. But I wonder if the main cities there do get glossed over - how long does it take to explore the cities? If you were staying put in a Provence city for a couple days without a car, like in Aix or in Arles, how long would be too long in that one city? Before getting the rental car we'll probably be in Arles for 3 days, and I was wondering if that was too long for just Arles alone.

i'd be inclined to say Arles is the more boring between that and Aix. Arles has a lot of very interesting roman architecture, but it's not that big of a city, and the culture isn't too diverse. Aix, however, i think has more varied options. Personally i think Arles can be done in 2 days. Maybe take a full day at the Bayeux, or stop in St Gregoire and see the market.

For your third day in Arles it's a quick and easy day trip to Avignon. Or check with the tourist office in Arles for a trip to Les Baux/St Remy.

We much prefer Avignon & Aix to Arles. We've visited all these cities several times. On a return trip to both Avignon & Arles last month, we spent about 3/4 of a day in Avignon & about 2 hrs in Arles. We did not go inside any museum, Palais, Church, Roman ruins, etc - we've visited them all before. We just wandered around admiring the architecture, poking our (her) noses in shops, and then we had lunch.

Aix is by far my wife's favorite for shopping, and nothing compares to the people watching & lunch on the Cours Mirabeau in Aix. My wife only found 1 store in Arles that she was interested in (she like home decorating/cooking stores - no clothes of souvenirs).

I would plan on at least 3/4 of a day in Avignon & Aix. A full day in Aix on market day & if you have a sit-down lunch there. If you visit the Palais des Papes (which you should), in Avignon and also have a sit-down lunch - then perhaps an entire day there also.

Stu Dudley

If this is your first trip to Arles, I think you would find enough to see & do in 3 days, especially if you can coordinate your stay with its fabulous market day!

We used Arles as our homebase for our first trip to Provence, day tripping to various places by car. We found it convenient for this! Like Stu, we have subsequently returned to Arles for a quick visit & lunch since we have seen the Roman sights but would not dissuade you from staying there!

If you have the time, you can always bus or train out of Arles for the day as others have suggested.