Which markets are best in Provence and French Riviera? And what days do they fall on if you know?
We enjoyed both Arles and St-Remy
Wed and Sat
"Best" is a matter of interpretation, but L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue has a large market on Thursday and a really large market on Sunday. The Sunday market includes antiques--though much of what I saw was furniture. L'Isle is an attractive town, but it's not so easy to appreciate the architecture on market days with the vendors' stands all over the place. I imagine there are parking issues; I used public transportation.
There are worthwhile markets in Antibes and Nice as well.
Lourmarin on Friday is fabulous. Almost entirely food.
Besides the aforementioned markets, if you want "largest", then the Friday market in Carpentras is worth a mention.
It's quite the sight...but largest isn't best. After the 5th vegetable stall, you'll get the gist 😂
I had this fun book last summer "Markets of Provence"
Highlights what is best about each market, organized by day of the week, other good things.
Although I had never heard of it before the first time that I went, I loved the Apt market. I spent most of one summer in L'Isle sur la Sorgue and the Apt market was my favorite for food items. The Saint Remy market has a great vibe that feels sort of like the Hamptons in New York and the weekend L'Isle sur la Sorgue market is huge with lots of non-food vendors but it gets so crowded during its peak that I felt like I was part of a crowd surge and had a hard time stopping at any one vendor. I preferred to go about 10 minutes before it began or very late which worked for me because I stayed about a 10-minute walk away. Also, many of the vendors go from market to market. For example, I bought a lovely leather bag from a vendor in L'Isle sur a Sorgue and saw him a couple of days later at the market in Bonnieux. https://provencedays.com/explore/activities/markets/ is a very complete list of the markets. Everyone that I went to was good in its own way.
I went to a few and enjoyed them all, but definitely preferred some over others.
St Remy de Provence on Wednesday was my favorite. It was just the right size - not enormous, but just big enough to have a wide variety and choice. The products were mostly high quality, and it wasn't crazy crowded.
Bonnieux - cant remember what day of the week. Small but good quality. You can visit every booth in about an hour.
L'Isle sur la Sorgue - HUGE, crowded, and not all that pleasant. The crowds were oppressive, you could barely move around. A lot more touristy junk booths than the other markets. Expensive antiques. I was somewhat letdown by it and wish I had gone for the smaller Thursday market instead of the Sunday one.
Agree with JHK, we also loved the Apt market and visited it a couple times while staying in Rustrel. We are staying in Goult in the Vaucluse next year and have plans to revisit the Apt market. I recall a man re-caning chairs, quite a talent. There is also a wonderful table/ bed linens store in Apt that we hope to find again.