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Base Town for First Time Provence Visit - No Car

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Will be traveling with husband to Provence in mid-May 2015 - coming from a two or three night stay in Beaune to visit wineries there. This is our first trip to Provence - and to France. We will not have a rental car. Our focus is history and wine.

Looking at a base for Provence segment of the trip - 3 or 4 nights. Here is the first "rough draft":
Day One: Train travel from Beaune to Arles - check in to hotel and do walking exploration of Arles on our own - if time, walk Van Gogh tour
Day Two: Trip to Port du Gard via Avignon or Nimes - Would like to canoe under aquaduct so realize we must leave Arles early. If time permits, stop in Avignon or Nimes for some sightseeing
Day Three: Tour of surrounding towns and perhaps a couple wineries - Either via private tour or small group tour - include stop at Les Baux if possible
Day Four: Walking tour of Van Gogh sites (if not completed earlier), Roman Arena, and Ancient History Museum
We are planning for one of our days there to be a Market Day so will try in incorporate that as well..

Does Arles make a good base for this trip? It seems that Avignon is another option - larger, more restaurants, etc. - but we are not sure which is best/makes most sense for us.
From Provence we head to Italy for return visit to Florence and Siena with a stop in Cinque Terre.
Any comments, suggestions, etc. about the places we have listed to visit, the choice of a "base", etc. are much appreciated.

Posted by
255 posts

I have stayed in both and I recommend Arles. The Hotel Calendal is great and we had a nice room, #43, overlooking the Roman Arena. Amazing to wake to that and to see it lit up at night. A real WOW!! There are 6 or 7 good restaurants within 100 feet of the arena.
Arles also has a grittier character IMHO that makes it special. Avignon is a must for a day trip and is larger, more sophisticated, neater, with better shopping but to me Arles is more Provencal. We were there in May this year as well and the weather was great and there were NO crowds anywhere.

Posted by
4132 posts

Avignon has marginally better transpiration connections—it's more of a hub—but you'll be fine in Arles. In your place that is where I would stay.

Posted by
11294 posts

Avignon does have better connections, so you may end up going through there if you stay in Arles. On the other hand, I preferred Arles to Avignon (I stayed a few nights in each). I'm not sure of the current schedules for trains and buses.

Don't miss Nimes if you can help it. I actually preferred it to both Arles and Avignon.

Posted by
7937 posts

For me, Avignon feels like a home away from home, and I would recommend it to anyone. We've usually had a car, but the bus and train connections are great. The indoor Les Halles market is not to be missed!

Avignon is a shorter distance to some wine areas, like Gigondas. Arles is closer to Nimes/Pont du Gard, as well as to Les Baux-de-Provence. The history museum in Arles is outstanding. Either place should work, although Avignon still gets my nod.

Posted by
23 posts

Thanks for the responses! Looks like Arles is a good choice for us. Appreciate the information about the hotel there and also will research Nimes more to see if we can work in a little more time there as well!

Posted by
255 posts

If you choose Arles try to stay a Friday night so you are there for the huge and interesting Saturday market 2 blocks from Hotel Calendal. Arles and Nimes both have Roman arenas and I have attended bullfights in both. If that interests you( I loved them) see if any are scheduled.

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