Hi, we are a party of 4 adults spending approx. 4 days in Provence early October. Any suggestions on the best town to use as a base to tour the area generally? Was thinking of Aix en Provence but had conflicting comments, any suggestions? Thanks.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Will you have a car?
With no car, pick Avignon or Arles. With a car, you'll want a smaller town or village. I had no car so I can't make specific recommendations, but if you search on this Forum you'll see several options.
Aix is not central so it's not convenient logistically, and in my opinion, it's not that worthwhile either (I know some love it, but I was not so impressed).
Posted by
Camano Island, WA, usa
1519 posts
Aix is a great place for students and street life. Avignon is for tourist attractions and seems to have more shady activity because of this. Arles seemed more relaxed and a comfortable place to stay over, plus good restaurants. I am not that up to date to supply specific references. These are just my impressions.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Thank you for the feedback. Yes we will have a car.
Posted by
English but living in Melbourne, Australia
432 posts
St Remy, but don't stay at the Hotel du Soleil.
Posted by
Truro, NS, Canada
3941 posts
I'm going to copy and paste a reply I made to someone else asking about where to stay...
We stayed in Salon de Provence last year - mostly because it was in the middle of everything - Nimes (~ 1 hr drive) and Arles (~ 30 min) to the west, Aix (~ 30 min) to the east, Avignon (~ 1 hr) to the north, Marseilles (~40 min) to the south (but we didn't go south)...and I found a really nice airbnb.
We also had a car. We stayed four nights and did day trips - we actually didn't explore Salon itself as there were too many other places we wanted to see...
Between Nimes and Arles - even tho we only visited both for 3-4 hrs, we liked Nimes better - hmmmm...smaller and more...character, I guess
Posted by
Florida
1450 posts
St Remy, but don't stay at Le Castelet des Alpilles.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Thanks for all the input.
Posted by
San Carlos, CA, USA
393 posts
St. Remy, but DO stay at Hotel Sous les Figuiers. We loved it. Feels like a B&B, lovely grounds, close to center of town, secure parking.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Thanks again.
Posted by
Massachusetts
404 posts
I'm consistently surprised by the negativity towards Avignon I've read in these forums. I lived there, albeit about 10 years ago, and absolutely loved it. If you stay "intramuros," or inside the town walls, you've got a manageable small city with great museums, restaurants, parks, and ample hotels. Without a car, I think it is the best place to stay in Provence to be able to tour from. You've got both the local SNCF train station (just across the street from the southern point of the walls), and the TGV station just a little further outside the city walls (I believe there is a free shuttle). And there are buses to get you out to some of the smaller towns too.
With a car, I'd recommend staying in a smaller town/village, like those suggested here. And make a day trip to Avignon.