Provence market treasures

Wednesday is market day in St. Remy. (Maybe Saturday too? Not sure, but I'm positive about Wednesday.) We thoroughly enjoyed this experience last fall. It was amazing--such a kaleidescope of colors ! We arrived at 8:30 a.m. Some vendors were still setting up. They'll all be set up by 9 a.m., but our early arrival gave us the luck of finding a parking spot only a block off the main square. At around 12:30 the vendors start dismanteling. I assumed the market would be confined to the main square, but it spilled down all the side streets and filled further squares. Between the four of us, we bought fish, fruit, cheese, olive tapenade, foie gras, a tablecloth, a watercolor painting, a woven basket, a straw hat, a quilted jacket, some hand towels, an olive-wood Herbs de Provence grinder, and a piece of silver jewelry. We are not normally "shoppers" when we travel, so it suprises me to see this list of our purchases. A very fun day!

If you are going to be in the Provence region on a Tuesday go to Vaison la Romain. We are here now and the market day is fantastic. So is the town. We love it 😊

There's a pretty huge market in Arles (I think Saturdays).

I don't have the same romantic vision of shopping outdoor markets as you. My experience is they're more like going to a swap meet, with additional sections for produce, flowers and fast food vendors. Like a swap meet, there are prizes to be had but you have to pick through a lot of garbage to find them.

I'm not really a shopper, can you tell? For me they're more like a traffic block that my GPS doesn't recognize. ;-)

I’m not a store shopper myself but I definitely have a romantic vision of the Provençal markets, I admit. Vicki’s recommendation sounds fairly ideal, and — right in the town where we will be!

Tuesday market in Vaison la Romaine is absolutely fantastic and is what you’re looking for. It’s spread all through the town and is massive, made for wandering. There’s all sorts of things being sold. I got some delicious goodies for a hike, a lovely print, and some top notch linen pieces, and the absolute best corkscrew I’ve ever owned (the passionate sales pitch in French that came with it was even better.) You can’t beat it.

Second Tuesday market in Vaison-la_Romaine. The market takes over the town and features booths with:
-bolts and bolts of fabric
-very colorful pottery dishes and plates etc.
-clothes - both premade and handmade depending the seller
-lavender flowers dry by the scoop or kilo
-fresh fruit and vegetables (many)
-fresh meat, dried cured meats and fish (many)
-old refurbished pockets knives, farm tools and skeleton keys etc.
-places making paella in giant pans
-many different food stalls
-guys demoing tools for making fancy carved fruit and vegetable decorations (ala infomercial style - fun to watch)
-cheap or expensive hats, sunglasses, scarves

And a bunch of stuff I've forgotten to mention here. Some of it is charming, some of it is picturesque, some of it cheap crap, but pretty much all of it is interesting to wander through.

Definitely hit at least one for the experience even if you're not looking to buy,
=Tod

The Sunday market in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is epic, though I see you’re not in the area on Sunday. Isle also has a market on Thursdays that’s about half as big as Sunday but even so is bigger and more diverse than others in the region. I think you’ll find all the wares you listed and more besides. Worthy of consideration if your schedule permits.

Santons aren’t sold in markets but at shops owned by the carvers. There are several quality shops in Aubagne (near Marseille) not far from the market. The big market with clothing and household vendors is Tuesday, but it doesn’t sound as big as Vaison, which is the northern area of Provence.

Aix has a couple of well-known santon carvers and markets nearly every day.
Santon carvers are more in the southern part of Provence.

I just remembered that the owner of the property where we stayed in Provence gave us their handmade guidebook to the area, and one section focused on all the markets. Here is the day by day list, with their comments:

Sunday:
Isle-sur-la-Sorgue: A very large, sprawling market. It is very popular and can be crowded. The town is also known for having over 600 antique shops. They are open on Sunday but beware, the antiques are expensive.
Chateaurenard - nice sized
Coustellet - one of the best markets in Provence, quite large

Tuesday:
Vaison la Romaine - reputation as one of the best markets. It's in the newer part of the village, don't miss the older part across the river
Gordes
Lacoste

Wednesday:
St. Remy - spreads throughout the streets, arrive early to find a place to park, top quality, you'll find anything you might want
Arles - smaller this day than on Saturday
Cassis - not worth going there just for the market

Thursday:
Isle-sur-la-Sorgue: smaller and more local than the Sunday market here

Friday:
Eygalieres - a lovely town, the market is small and without many tourists but has top quality cuisine, pottery, tablecloths, other Provencal things
Loumarin - very nice market and the village is beautiful, full of nice shops, good restaurants, art galleries and charming streets

Saturday:
Arles - the market this day is larger than the one on Wednesday. There is nothing you can't find
Aix-en-Provence
Uzes - a gorgeous village and nice market
Apt - one of the largest markets in the Luberon, voted as one of the best markets in France

Yesssss Vicki this is exactly what I wanted to see! Thank you SO MUCH! I also read a beautiful description of Gordes and since that is closer I think we will go there Tuesday and of course since we will be staying in town, to St. Rémy on Wednesday.
Thank you Bets for the santons tip. I found a place that looks very promising in Marseille, very close to where we will be getting a boat ride around the Calanques, so I am to hit that afterwards.

I agree with Vickie.....we were doing a Provence trip May 2018 and stayed in Gordes and St. Remy....we made the local markets our goal to see as we drove around the area....it was delightful. I bought a straw purse, a big colorful market basket and a tablecloth in Gordes on Tuesday....found their market to be wonderful. We did the antique market in L’Isle on Sunday midst driving rain and still enjoyed it thoroughly. The Wednesday market in St. Remy is incredible....they have EVERYTHING. It does spread all over the town and is fun to walk through and see all they are selling.....more food and produce here and in the Saturday Aix market than the Gordes or Loumarin market. We were surprised to see that the Gordes and Loumarin markets, though smaller, did seem to offer things not seen in the others....which is fun when you are traveling around to look. We have a special place in our hearts for Gordes.....and found Loumarin to be charming......what a beautiful little village tucked away on lovely streets. If you have any opportunity to get a few miles outside of St. Remy I would suggest you ride your bikes on this old farm road to see Les Chateau des Alpilles....we happened up on it as we drove around the St. Remy area one day.......wow.......and made a reservation to eat lunch in their gardens the next day.......what an experience! It’s an old chateau that has been updated to a hotel and restaurant....those few hours there are a memory I will never forget! It’s grounds are so nice and the management welcomed us to explore and sit by their pool that afternoon after we ate.....what a day! Have fun!

We are going to Provence late August and early September this year (a week on our own) after Rick's Eastern France tour and we purchased the book Markets of Provence by Marjorie R. Williams (listen to Rick interview her on his radio show that is in the archives). The book is small but very well organized with pictures and great descriptions. I am taking it with us, even though I don't take guide books with me except for the pages I need.

The book also had restaurant and regional specialities that she recommends. Very informative book.