5 weekdays in Arles: how best to hit market days without a car?

Janalla,
I also love market days but sometimes they are not what you envision but most times they are great. I just went to one that I was expecting to be wonderful and it was not but then I just did other things. My point is I don't know if I would use my days to travel to markets. But you may just love them so follow your passion but have another reason to go to the city.
I also plan to be in Arles for their Saturday market but in the first week of November so once I find my place to stay, I always book directly with the B&B or hotel and I ask them. Especially for me going the first week of November in the non prime season.

I am going to Arles to be based by the Roman Ruins and want to travel to Nimes. Avignon is a larger city but good train access so it would be good to visit.

If I find out more on great markets in these cities, I will let you know. Send me a PM on where you are staying or considering and I will do the same.

Kathy

I love going to the markets but do realize that many vendors move from market to market so you may end up seeing the same things repeatedly. That being said, Arles is an excellent spot to base yourself if you will not have a car. There are bus connections to many of the market towns from Arles. Here is the timetable for the bus that connects Saint Remy to Arles: http://www.lepilote.com/fr/horaires-des-lignes/6/LineTimeTable/cavaillon-arles/649/arles/1?KeywordsLine=054%20CAVAILLON%20%20%20ARLES&PartnerId=0. My suggestion is that you stop using Rome2Rio and just do a Google search that has "Arles and getting to" followed by the name of the town that you want to see. That is how I found out about the bus that connects Arles to Saint Remy in 2014.

JHK: The Lepilote.com site appears to only be in French, I couldn't find a way to change to English and unfortunately my high school French is very rusty. I've used Rome2Rio in multiple European locations and have found in very helpful and accurate (both for preparation and then once in-country compared to actual time tables and fares) but haven't used in France yet. Perhaps your experience is different. I will try to Google as well. Thanks.

I've found (though I haven't tried France yet) that Rome2Rio sometimes doesn't know about a particular bus line, so it's good to use both techniques.

Are you using Chrome? It usually auto translates. In any event, rusty high school French will probably get you through the site.

It's been awhile, but if I remember correctly, the Wednesday market in Sat. Remy is terrific, and apparently there is a bus between Arles and St. Remy. I know there is decent bus service between St. Remy and Avignon, but I'm not a big fan of Avignon.

Since markets are usually only in the morning, you should choose between Arles and St. Remy on Wednesday (that's also one of the bigger market days in Aix-en-Provence). I'd choose Arles for convenience, and since I had a good market experience there years ago. See the bus transport summary at the ends of Rick's chapters on Arles and Avignon; many destinations closer to Avignon would require a connection there. Avignon has an indoor market hall that's not the same but also fun.

Tuesday is a market day in Cassis. Unfortunately for you, the larger market is on Friday morning.

We enjoyed the outdoor street market on Thursday morning in L'Isle sur la Sorgue.
Since you're using Arles as your home base, it may take you longer to get there than if you'd stay in Avignon.

You may consider visiting L'Isle even if it's not a market day. It's a charming town to visit, however, most of it's antique shops are only open on the weekend.

How will you be getting to Geneva?

You may consider visiting Annecy (en route to Geneva), a beautiful town with a crystal clear lake, surrounded by mountains & canals running through the old town.

Enjoy your trip!

Edit to add... I forgot to mention that the best markets we visited were in Annecy. Their Saturday market is like a flea market with antiques & collectibles. Sunday & Tuesday are food markets with the best fresh produce, cheese, olives, & sausages galore!

Thank you everyone for your replies. I have also found a book that others may find helpful called "Markets of Provence: Food, Antiques, Crafts and More" by Marjorie Williams. She has also written a book on the markets of Paris too. (Available on Amazon)