Arles - recent trip, impressions

We hit the Sat market in Arles and were really disappointed - exactly what you said - more of a flea market, and to our eyes, most was junk. I guess if you had time to go thru stuff, you may find a gem. Mind you, we didn't go to Arles specifically for the market but wandered thru it on the way to the arena. We walked along maybe a stretch about 2-3 blocks and that was enough.

On the flip side, we hit the market in Aix and it had a bit of everything. OK, just to amend what I said above - in looking at my photos, we were in Arles on a Sunday, so maybe it was just an impromptu flea market. We were in Aix on Sat and there was a variety in the area of the market we visited - food (I rem we got cheese, bread, some fruit), crafts (I got some nice lavender sachets), antique dishes and whatnot. It was a really rainy day, so we didn't wander all over.

We did Arles and Nimes on the same day, so we only had a morning/early afternoon in Arles, but we preferred it over Nimes.

I went to Arles on Christmas Eve of 2015 on a 10-day trip based in Marseille. I got up early in the morning to take the train. I was instantly charmed by the city when the train entered. I was grateful for Rick Steve's guidebook and the little free tourist bus which made my trip all the better. Even though it was only a day trip, I was able to cross most of the monuments off of my list comfortably.

It was also a culinary higlight because I ate at the annexe of Jean-Luc Rabanel's restaurant L'Atelier, Le Bistro d' à Côté. It was so delicous.

I would like to go back one day and stay a few days just to soak up the splendors of the city. I'm someone that likes to pick a base and stay in one comfortable location. It's not too far from Marseille if you want to take a day trip from there.

I agree that Arles is somewhat "gritty", but it grew on us as our 5-day stay went on. We enjoyed the market, tat and all, since there were lots of locals rummaging around. I recall buying a dozen mini pain au chocolats -- And eating every one. We also had a great experience with some servers at a restaurant we went to more than once. We took a few day tours from Arles, including the Camargue, but always returned for dinner (our rule is the car is parked for the night by dinner, so everyone can enjoy a drink). Perhaps four nights would have sufficed, but we certainly enjoyed our five.

As a pretty much non-shopper on vacations I have a hard time getting excited about market days. I've found, more often than not, a market is about half swap meet and half food. The swap meet is like any at home, you have to wade through a lot of junk before you get to something you wouldn't mind taking home. A lot of the food is farmers market variety; the rest is food booths that will sell you a fast crepe or kabob.

On a Rick Steves TV show, all the wading has been done and the good stuff, treasures and food, are shown in less than 30 seconds.

interesting. Leaving for Paris Wednesday and will be in Provence for three days a week later based in St Remy. Aix is not on the itinerary this trip, but your post made me want to google pics. Plus, I feel better about skipping the market day in Arles which I can't squeeze into the itinerary either.

"It was also a culinary highlight because I ate at the annexe of Jean-Luc Rabanel's restaurant L'Atelier, Le Bistro d' à Côté. It was so delicous."

Alexander—Happy to hear this! I have a reservation :)

I spent seven days in Arles with a view of the river from our hotel room and we were able to walk to the restaurants which were within ten minutes of our hotel and seven minutes to the coliseum.We enjoyed Arles and day tripped to Pont du Gard,Camagrue,Avignon,Gordes,Roussillon,Loumarin,Nimes,Les Baux and Uzes and our hotel came with parking.
Mike

A minor defense about markets in France: markets in towns that cater to tourists, such as Beaune and Aix-en-Provence, have more arts-and-crafts type stuff that you've described than typical French markets. That's for the tourists.

There are massive food-only markets such as Marché Alimentaire Saint-Antoine Celestins, or more colloquially Marché du Sainte-Antoine, which stretches for what seems at least a kilometer along the bank of the Saône River in Lyon's second arrondisement.

In smaller towns, food markets commonly are mixed with stalls selling inexpensive clothing, knick knacks, cookware and the like. Some are like those you saw in Arles, which may have an air of a vide grenier (which means empty attic, and is like a communal garage or yard sale. These are an integral part of small town life in France, and are very helpful in helping the French live as inexpensively as possible. Of course, residents have more time than tourists do to pick through the dross and find the gems.

Here's an example. In the last month my wife and I bought two solid oak bedside tables with marble tops and carved decoration in very good condition, for 30€ (15€ each). These were at a church participating in the community's vide grenier sale. Two weeks ago, we found an oak curved-front chest of drawers made about 15 kilometers from where we live (based on the woodworker's name stamped on the back) for 60€. This thing is stout -- the crosspiece in the chest's frame below the bottom drawer is solid oak and is about 4 inches top to bottom and 3 to 5 inches in depth, depending on where you measure. They're quality pieces -- good finish, dovetailed drawers, and no particle board or MDF (medium density fiberboard).

So, for 90€ we were able to fill in the final pieces of furniture for our downstairs guest room, with solid oak French-made furniture in very good condition. These pieces would probably have cost us $600 or so in the U.S. if we had found them in an import furniture shop. A quick vacuum, a wipe down with savon noir, and a little furniture oil was all they needed.

We shop markets in France primarily for food -- it is a great way to see lots of cool things we don't have even in Chicago which has better than average farmers markets and food options. The vide grenier are like garage sale markets. I bought a really nice watch at one with a kind of art deco design that was about 45 years old for 10 Euro; I have worn it for the last 7 or 8 years every day and it keeps perfect time and gets lots of good comments. I also bought two necklaces, one also for 10 Euro that was a weird antique bakelight number with fruits and leaves and another more classic bulgari type item that is a gold colored choker that looks really good with turtlenecks. That cost a bit more but has been terrific and worth it.

There is a lot of trash at these things. I once shopped for toys for a visiting grandchild; the stuff was very expensive plastic usually broken junk. I ended up going to Tati where I got a stroller/doll set, a tea set, a knock off toddler leggo type building set and a bunch of plastic animals for about 25 Euro. It get her happy and busy for the ten days she visited.

In small rural areas, the markets are good for local specialties and in the Dordogne there are night markets which are basically evening dancing under the stars with food booths and tables set up. People bring their own utensils and plates . We didn't know we had to do that and were welcomed by locals and the food booths provided us with plastic cups for the wine we bought and paper plates with the food we bought and plastic forks, so we did fine if not as elegantly as our neighbors. Dancing under the stars in the picturesque town square was a treat.

In the day market we bought wines of the region, walnut liquor, and local sausages and cheeses. In Paris we sometimes get choucrout garnie as well as meats, cheeses, smoked mackerel and really great vegetables and fruit.

I visited Arles for two nights last month. Although I enjoyed the sites in town, I didn't enjoy the evenings there. I was there on a Sunday and Monday night, and the town was almost dead. There were restaurants open but not all of them. I day tripped to Avignon and really wished I'd based there instead, even though it seemed less interesting than Arles in some ways. But I do know some people who have liked Arles more than I did - clearly some people in this thread do. Not everyone does.

Interesting. We spent a night in Arles last fall in transit to Roquebrune Cap Martin from Cadouin. We loved it at night and ended up eating paella under the stars at a huge table where locals welcomed us and gave us good suggestions about ordering. We ended up ordering one paella plat for the two of us and then a couple of interesting side dishes to share and it was incredibly tasty and plenty of food. It is a beautiful town to walk around in the moonlight. We toured the Roman sites the next morning before being on our way.

Mondays are the deadest days in most smallish towns with a tourist base so I can imagine being there on a Monday was not all that great; we were there on a Saturday night.

Janet - Do you remember the name of the restaurant? Did you blog it? If so can you post the address? I'm pretty sure I ran across your travel
Blog when I was planning our Spain trip and it was supper helpful!

I'm sorry I don't recall the name of the restaurant. They had set up for some festival in the alley between their restaurant and the next building. It was lovely. Wish I could recall.

It's funny, but I had a different perspective on Arles. I was staying in Avignon, which I felt was totally run-down and mostly sketchy, and found Arles to more charming. I also walked through the market in the opposite direction, starting far around the main drag which had a lot of fresh vegetables and flowers. the flea market part was the end for me and I just turned around. I thought the market was great and bought a lot of different things for lunch there. I'd definitely have preferred to stay in Arles that trip.

Often these memories are very unique to the specific moment. We stayed a night in Avignon once and loathed the place; I am sure it was more us and the weather and the exhaustion and the disappointment in the barren Papal Palace and can imagine other people loving it. Arles on the other hand was a delight and so picturesque. And we met such lovely locals there including a couple who got in our car and guided us around back streets to our hotel since main streets were blocked off for a festival.