Aix-en-Provence, Arles or Avignon ....best location for base to tour Provence region

Kathy, my family spent a week in the same area recently. We stayed in the smaller town of Saint-Remy-de-Provence. It is centrally located to most of the sights in the area, but did not have the loads of tourists that you will find in Arles, for instance. There were many nice restaurants in the town, and lively markets once or twice a week. There are undoubtedly some advantages to staying in one of the larger cities, but we thoroughly enjoyed the small town vibe of Saint-Remy. One other place to visit I think should be mentioned is Carrieres de Lumieres, adjacent to the village of Les Baux-de-Provence. These are a short drive from Saint-Remy. Both the Carrieres de Lumieres and Pont du Gard are mind-blowing, as in "How did they DO that???" Enjoy the trip!

Kathy, with a car you should certainly consider a smaller town, such as darabothan's suggestion of St Remy (but there are other choices too).

Of your 3 I would only consider Arles because of its size, location, and charm. Aix is not convenient to many of the Rhone Valley Sights, though it is not far from the Luberon.

Thanks for all your input. I will definitely look into staying in St Remy. Staying in a small town as our base sounds lovely and relaxing. darabathan, thanks also for the suggestions of sites to visit. I will look into the carrières des lumières. I have never heard of that but it sounds interesting.

One more question, is it possible to do a day trip to vaison la romaine ? We would like to limit our packing and unpacking by staying for a full week in one place and doing day trips from there. We will already have spent 3 nights in Bayeux and 5 nights in Paris. Thanks

I second the smaller town as in St. Remy or L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.

We were visited Provence last year early July and I LOVED it. I want to go back!. We had just finished a Rhone wine river cruise in Arls, then spent 3 extra nights and had a rental car. Driving in Arls with a GPS is not easy as if you make a wrong turn you must almost go around the city again, however Arls is a great walking city.

We then moved to a small boutique hotel near Roussillon, where we could see the beautiful Ochre colored hilltop town in the morning and evening light. We spent 4 nights here to be our base.
I also recommend Les Baux and the Carrieres de Lumieres (the later we had never experienced before and was mind blowing). Get a combo ticket and do not feel that you must do both in the same day. We actually did St. Remy and the Lumieres on one day and came back early to see Les Baux when they opened. Loved Les Baux town, too. Lots of restaurants there.
Honestly, you should give this entire area 2 weeks.
Another plus with a smaller town is that parking is much easier and sometimes free. If you choose a larger city, make sure you can get parking for your rental.
Every time I look back on our trip last summer, I just want to go back and do it all again. (we started the 3 week trip in Paris, then a 7 day cruise on the Rhone and then the last bit in Provence). I hope your trip will be just as magical as our's was.

Sorry, missed your question about Vaison la Romaine. I would think you could do this drive.
We also did a day trip out of our hotel near Rousillon to the town Bedoin on their market day (LOVED IT! must go back!) then we picked up a roasted chicken, olives, cheese and some wine and drove up Mt. Ventoux (of the Tour de France) we did all this and then headed to Pont du Gard in the afternoon.

My next journey to that part of the world will have us based closer to the Alpes de Haute provence.

Thanks for the great ideas! I have traveled many times to this area but always with student groups. The trips were wonderful but rushed and always busy with kids!!! We saw the highlights of Avignon, Arles and Nime but we were only there a couple of days. This time I want to slow down and explore the area. My husband has never been to the south of France and I know he will love it!!

Sure you can see Vaison as a day trip from St Remy etc.

Plan for a bit more than an hour each way, depending on your route.

I think tgreen and I did the same day trips. If you can I'd recommend Fountaine de Vaucluse if it works out. We loved Vaison and would consider staying there if we returned to area. We stayed in Jonquieres which made day trips in all directions quite easy. The Pont du Gard was great we hit that after the market in Eze. We drove up Mont Ventoux because well I play in a "fantasy TDF" tourney every year so I had to see it. I might skip Gordes not much to see IMO but Roussillon was worth the stop for lunch. We drove from Jonquieres to Antibes.

I completely agree with the suggestions on staying in St Remy. We spent five nights there and visited the others mentioned and then stayed two nights in Vaison. Arles and Avignon are larger and I hate to admit it but I did not love either place.

I have the same question as the OP. We will be in Provence for about 5 days in Sept. and want a central location. However, we will need a self service laundromat during that period. We also want to take the TGV to Paris from Provence. I see that Avignon has both laundromats and a TGV. Is it a pleasant place to stay and is it central enough for touring the areas that the OP mentions? Thanks!

Irene, if you stay in a vacation rental you may well have a washing machine included (no dryer -- our host in St-Rémy suggested hanging clothes on the patio of our unit to take advantage of Provence sun and fresh air.)

Thank you everyone for the wonderful recommendations. It has given me lots to think about as I plan our trip. I think we will look for a vacation rental (rather than a hotel) in or around St Remy. I am also leaning towards driving to Marseille airport for our departure. It would cost about $100 more for the flight but when I figure train cost the difference is minimal and probably worth the convenience. I really appreciate hearing about places worth visiting. I have been to Provence several times but always with student groups. We visited Arles, Nime, Avignon and Roussilon and some of the sites around there including the Pont du Gard (it is awesome!). However, I never made the logistical arrangements. We traveled with a student tour company who did all the planning and transportation by bus and occasional by train. This time I am traveling with my husband and we want to slow down and really explore the region.

To the last person who posted, I would also recommend a vacation rental. A few years ago we went to Tuscany and rented a small villa. It was more comfortable than a hotel in that we had a washer and a kitchen and a living room. While we ate most of our meals out, it was nice to have the option of preparing a simple meal of fresh food that we purchased at the market after a long day of touring. It was also nice to be able to have our coffee and breakfast there before starting our day. I usually use homeaway.com or airbnb. Happy travels!

Just returned a week ago from a 2 week trip to southern France. We spent 4 nights in Gordes and 5 nights in St. Remy. We flew into Paris, took a train to Avignon TGV and rented a car. We mapped the small towns we wanted to see in the area as to the markets on certain days and were able to see them all and enjoy market days as well. I cannot say enough good things about what an enjoyable trip it was. Like a prior poster I would go back today and do it all again! I always do extensive research before we go so I do not miss something and it was well worth my time to do so. I have mentioned this book numerous times so people may be tired of hearing about it but it was recommended by a friend that was a resident of Paris for 35 years. I ordered THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES OF FRANCE from Amazon and mapped our routes each day to the markets and towns through these charming villages cited by geographical region in the book. My husband and I were not disappointed. Each one has earned that moniker after extensive vetting. They are small villages full of charm and just the type places we love to discover as we drive our car through France. They are easy to see on the map and are well worth a visit. We saw Menerbes, Roussillon, stayed in Gordes, Loumarin, Les Baux de Provence, and Venasque. We rented Hippocketwifi for 2 weeks and had wireless service the entire time we drove for our google maps. St Remy was charming.....but we have a special place in our hearts for Gordes. It’s Tuesday market was small and manageable......and the Wednesday market at St Remy was something else! I would also suggest you google Le Chateau Des Alpilles- it is a beautiful chateau 5 minutes outside of St Remy where you can eat lunch on their terrace and enjoy the beautiful grounds. They also have 14 rooms if you want a country inn experience.

Have a wonderful trip!

PS- Keep the book if you buy it for reference......we also used it when we drove through the Normandy area and found 4 or 5 towns we stopped through on that trip. Gerberoy will always be cemented on my brain as a gorgeous postcard town!

We had the best time at a small B&B in Arles. We were there in early July and watched thousands of locals marching into the Roman Amphitheater wearing traditional clothing. It was quite the spectacle. Add to that buildings that were straight out of Van Gogh paintings, kind shopkeepers who let us sample their products, and a location that made it easy to visit the Pont du Gard, Font de Vacluse, and the spectacular hilltop towns you have on your list. You could get to those sites by bike if you have the legs, but a car makes the sightseeing easier. Also, we really enjoyed the Marquis de Sade's crumbling castle above the town of LaCoste

I agree with tgreen. We were just there last year and divided up our stays between Isle sur La Sorgue and St. Remy. Loved both of these towns. From Isle we visited Gordes and Roussillon and from St. Remy we drive to Arles and Le Baux. We would have liked to see some of Avignon but kind of busy there in terms of traffic.

A few here are suggesting staying in two towns and I'd agree. We were based in Aix (only 4 days) and it was a lot of driving around just for those days. If you did one Westernish town for half your trip and one easternish for the second half, you'd spend less time in the car, allowing more time for wandering or naps or enjoying the pool at your rental... Just a thought!