I have an unplanned free day in the south of France before I depart and need help deciding!
I am torn between going to Arles for the Roman ruins and aqueducts and Van Gogh walking tour with the easels vs Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.
I can see the merits of both which is why I’m torn and would appreciate any feedback/recommendations. Thank you!
I have only done the Arles Roman ruins and aqueducts and Van Gogh tour and highly recommend it. There was a ton to see so I think you will get a lot of value for your day. I hired Christopher Curtis of Ooh Provence to pick me up from my hotel and be my tour guide. He was great and very informative. It felt like I was touring with a friend. He had a lot of insight and make it a wonderful day. He is very helpful so you can email him to ask which plan is better to do.
I just did the My Way France in May. I have to say out of the entire trip my favorite day was the day I went to Arles. I can not compare to Marseille as I have not been there but Arles was charming. I took the train early in the day from Avignon and spent the day. The ruins were amazing, I loved the Van Gogh walking tour. The size of the town made if very manageable. It was a delightful day.
Kindly, Kathleen
Where are you staying?
I was on a Road Scholar tour and spent 6 nights in Aix (day trip to Marseilles) and 6 nights in Arles.
I loved Arles and the juxtaposition of the Roman Ruins and the Van Gogh stuff in Arles and the museum there is excellent. Just walking along the river was pretty neat as well.
Aix was fine, filled with university students, a big food area. 2 nice museums. I learned a lot about Cezanne and appreciate him more now that I've been there and saw what he saw. Marseilles...hmmm...just did a day trip here, big city, not my favorite location. Cathedral was interesting but our guide didn't mention until we were leaving the relevance to WWII and I will admit to being remiss and not studying up on it first.
I guess it depends on what you think you might want to get out of each AND where you are coming from to get there.
You cannot see both Aix and Marseille in a single free day, you would have to choose one.
Of all your options, for a day, Arles is the most interesting to me but it depends where you are coming from. Arles is easily reached from points north and west (Avignon, Nîmes, Montpellier...), but if you're coming from east of Marseille (Nice for example), it is a bit more of a hassle.
We decided on Arles and enjoyed our day. Thank you for the help!
