Most picturesque/old worldy Provencal town & must-see Provencal towns for first-timers

we enjoyed St Remy, for its location and size. but L'isle sur la sorgue would also be on the short list. we liked both. you will be wishing you had more than a week to look around, instead of 3 days, so much to see in the surrounding area.

hope this helps

I like the St Remy location as it's close to Arles, Nimes, Orange and Pont du Gard - my favorite spots in Provence.

Remy does seem like a good choice & I understand about the short stay but given that this is just a small segment of our Europe itinerary, we are unable to add more days - might mean taking days away from Paris which I'm reluctant to do...

if you are after a most visually interesting place, l isle sur la sorgue has more to offer than St Remy, with the river.

We based out of St. Remy. We did day trips to Les Baux, Gorde, Rousillon and Isle sur la Sorgue. I have found Avignon and Aix very interesting. Each town is different with their own personalities. You will love it!

I've been checking out pictures & isle sur la sorgue looks charming. Guess I'll have to try and narrow it down by towns which seem to have stood still in time - similar to Rothenburg in Germany, any thoughts?

we have stayed in Rothenburg, so know what you mean. don't take this the wrong way , but with only three days and lots to see, you won't be long in the base town. probably the most interesting ?? are the hill top towns and the like. eg: gordes etc ( les baux) they have a different type of charm ( compared to half timbered houses) unless you are content to just 'veg' in the towns?

I think it depends on how are you going to get around? by car etc and what do you really want to see, there is so much variety, from roman ruins to lavender fields. fontaine de vaulcuse, village des bories the list goes on and on.
its more of an area to explore rather than one town.

L' isle sur la Sorgue is a charming town and it is level, which would make it easy to walk around. Market day is Wednesday, which would be a great day to explore the market that winds along the canals to and around the church. We purchased some delicious cheese with truffles and a slab of pistachio nougat. Get enough items for lunch and drive out of town for a picnic.

Driving takes its time on 2 lane roads often with road construction, but we enjoyed Fontaine de Vaucluse, Gordes, and Roussillon in a day. I really wanted to walk the Le Sentier des Ocres, which we did before it closed, but also would have liked to see the Village des Bories and Abbaye Notre Dame de Senanque in the area. We only had one full day coming in late one day and leaving at 3pm on the 3rd day for Marseille.

Fortunately we've rented a car and so getting around will be somewhat faster. Once we decide on a base, we can chalk-out a plan for the 3 days in terms of must-sees, optional and what we can skip. In his episode on Provence, Rick says his favorite is Arles...

We just came back from 12 days in France with 6 nights in Provence with L'isle sur la Sorgue as our base. We thought it was fantastic. We took day trips to Rousillon/Gordes, Aix (nice city but probably too non-central to use as base), Pont du Gard / Arles. Sunday market day is a must. We stayed at Maison sur la Sorgue, a boutique hotel right in the main part of town (you literally walk out the door on Sunday morning in you're in the market. Parking on your own is tough - we opted for the nominal valet parking at Maison. Definitely a splurge hotel - but worth it.

We really love L'Isle sur la Sorgue. Great town as a base to travel around Provence. The Sunday market is fantastic...antique dealers from all over are there.. Food etc. too. Parking is a problem but we stay at the Hotel Nevons which has its own parking lot for those that stay there. We just walk to the market.They have some lovely bigger rooms overlooking the garden that are huge.