Hello,
We will be staying in St. Remy de Provence for four full days at the end of May. I am debating whether to include a tour of the Camargue as one of the days. I would love to hear opinions as to whether it is worth it. We will have stayed in Rapallo Italy for four days and then four days in Antibes and St. Remy is out last stop before returning home. Thank you in advance for your comments.
do you like wild horses, flamingos, marshland and mosquitos? A unique place - I like it quite a lot
If you were staying 6 full days I would say yes. But for four days I would prioritize other experiences. This assumes that you don’t have a particularly strong interest or disinterest in the Camargue or the other sites Provence has to offer.
Thank you Matt, noticed that we almost neighbors. Where have been your favorite places in Provence to visit?
Hi again - we were there in 2015 so my opinions might be a bit dated. Here's what we did (taking from my old trip report). Probably contains more information than you are looking for but figured I'd just cut and paste. For reference, it was 95-100 degrees every day and we were traveling with our 5 and 9 year olds. The *'d items are the things we enjoyed the most. We stayed in Tarascon because it was centrally located and the apartment we rented had a pool at a price within our budget. It was an optimal location for day trips but I do not recommend staying in Tarascon.
Saturday July 4
• Drove from Beynac to Tarascon (500 km)
• Saw the Canal du Midi at the rest stop along the way
• Settled in to our gite
• Swam in the pool
Sunday July 5 (Very Hot Day!)
• Market day in Beaucaire, toured Beaucaire in the morning
• Swimming in the pool
• Great picnic lunch included 4 tapenades (amazing!), olives, and brandade de morue
• Toured the Carrieres de Lumieres in the afternoon*
• Dinner of pork chops with Provencal veggies and Camargue rice
Monday July 6 (Very Hot Day!)
• Market day in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, toured Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the morning
• Swimming in the Mediterranean Sea*
• Toured the Reserve Naturelle de Camargue after lunch
• Swimming in the pool
• Dinner of pasta a la Provencal
Tuesday July 7
• Toured Vaison-la-Romaine in the morning
• Drove along the Cote du Rhone after lunch
• Toured the small village of Suzette
• Swimming in the pool
• Dinner of merguez sausages and Provencal veggies
Wednesday July 8
• Swimming in the pool in the morning
• Toured Arles after lunch
• Attended the Course Camarguaise bull games in the evening in Arles*
• Dinner of steak Provencal with mashed potatoes*
Thursday July 9
• Drove to Gordes and the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Senanque in the morning
o Abbaye Notre-Dame de Senanque was too crowded – no room to park – so we moved on
• Stopped at a lavender field on the side of the road en route to Joucas*
• Toured Joucas, lunch at a café*
• Kids played at the very nice playground in Joucas after lunch
• Hiked Le Sentier des Ocres in Roussillon*
• Dinner of fish and seafood soup Provencal*
• Evening walk in Tarascon
• Swimming in the pool
Friday July 10
• Toured the Pont du Gard in the morning
• Toured the Musee du Bonbon Haribo after lunch
• Swimming in the pool
• Dinner of steak Provencal with mashed potatoes
Thank you, sounds like a very nice trip, very impressed with what you accomplished with two young kids!
Just left St. Remy this morning….love it. Make certain you are there on a Wednesday to enjoy its market day…….delightful.
Hi Jane,
Unfortunately we arrive on a Thursday so will miss it. Can you tell me what day trips you did from St. Remy or any restaurants in town that you really liked. Thank you.
On our first trip there we visited the hospital where Van Gogh lived and painted….lovely place. We ate an incredible lunch at a chateau a few miles out of St. Remy called Chateau de Alpilles…..I believe they are closed on Thursday so our lunch was on Friday….best French meal I have ever had. Take a few minutes to walk it’s lovely grounds after eating. The shops in the inside circle of St. Remy-the old town-are all so scenic and have the flowers and ivy covering their fronts and doors…..you just do not see this everywhere. We had a great breakfast at Honore and had dinner at the restaurant with the red canvas awning that sits right behind the carousel…..you cannot miss the carousel…cannot remember the name! We ate at L’Aile ou la Cuisse one night on their patio and it was good. We love to see any BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES OF FRANCE towns when we are driving in the area of Provence……so make sure you see Les Baux de Provence, Gordes, Rousillon, Menerbes and Loumarin……Loumarin and Rousillon and Gordes are a must. Les Baux has a shop filled with the cute little santons that are created out of terra cotta and hand painted….and their museum is there so see it!
Gordes has become expensive and very touristy. You might be better off exploring the area around St. Remy. There’s lots to see. Don’t miss the Saint Paul monastery and hospital where van Gogh stayed. There are Roman ruins nearby in Glanum. I hope you have Rick Steve’s’ Provence travel guide. He lists plenty of options nearby.
The Carmague is a really interesting place. An amazing beach town, beautiful if the flamingos are there and if you can find the horses. One time we saw a ton of flamingos and the next time we went we saw two. The beach town was still charming and I did enjoy it. However, St. Remy and the surrounding area is so amazing and it will take a full day to go to the Carmague.
Even though you will miss the Wednesday Market I think there is still one on Saturday. It's not as big, but still fun.
We spent 5 or 6 nights in St Rémy de Provence in 2019. Favorites were the Pont du Gard, Arles, Roussillon (avoid weekends due to crowding—we tried to go to Gordes later that day and gave up on parking after searching for an hour) and one of the RS guidebook drives. Try to get tickets for the light show at nearby Les-Baux-de Provence. You might need to book that a few days in advance. It sold out the weekend we tried to go, but it was a holiday weekend.
I think you have a good opportunity to go to the Camargue on the day you drive from Antibes to Saint Remy. Just leave Antibes earlier to spend time in the Camargue. It will be a little out of your way compared to doing a day trip from Saint Remy.
This is mating season, so you will see a lot of flamingos. If there's a ranch that you can visit you really should, particularly if they offer a demonstration of horse and bull skills and a meal. It's a very different culture from the cities and villages, The office of tourism in Arles should have some information, or research around the town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-mer.
I haven't been in the Camargue on the east side of the Rhône (the side you'll be on) in decades, but I really enjoy all the trips I've made in recent years to the west side of the Rhône. Driving is very easy--flat, flat, flat.
I have to add an amusing story about Gordes here. Our hotel was Le Jas De Gordes…..loved it and its location right out of town was perfect. We were aware that Gordes parking can be a challenge so we drove in and began the search…we tried 3 different parking lots with the parking credit card machines attached…..every one said, MACHINE IS DOWN, USE ANOTHER MACHINE……finally we found a Gordes cop parking his car at his work site and asked him what to do…..he told us to ignore them and park and to not worry about it!
