Stay in St Remy or Isle Sur La Sorge?

I have been to both and prefer isle sur la sorgue as a base and consider it more provencal. I did not stay in 4 star lodging . Lots to see there imo. Wonderful sunday antique market is a plus and relaxing.

May 2016: we stayed in Sorgue, and spent a morning in St. Remy. Sorgue worked very well as a base for a week: plenty of dining options; the unusual setting with water wheels on the canals; well located for day trips in Luberon (altho we ventured as far as Cassis and the RS Cote d'Rhone wine loop); the market (great fun on Sunday); free parking just outside the Center. St. Remy was a great stop, my wife loved the shopping and cleanliness, but I think you'd find Sorgue more accommodating as a base. Awaking in Sorgue on Sunday a.m. to see how the street merchants had totally transformed the town overnight was amazing. Not sure I'd want to be searching for a parking place for the Sunday market -- another advantage of sleeping in Sorgue.

(If you haven't already, you might want to investigate the stunning Carrieres de Lumieres outside Les Baux, a short drive south of St. Remy. Hard to describe, but it was an unexpected highlight of our trip: http://carrieres-lumieres.com/en/preparing-your-visit/opening-times-and-access )

Thanks for the replies - it definitely sounds like Sorgue is a good option if we want to be there for the market on Sunday and not have to stress about parking. Are distances to Avignon and Les Baux equally as easy from both Sorgue and St Remy?
Do you have any recommendations for where to stay in Sorgue? 3 or 4 star, (although I suspect my version of 4 star is more like top of the range in France). I looked at Grand Hotel Henri, and La Prevote, not sure about either. We'd be happy to stay in the town or within easy walking distance, but want something very typically provencal, with a nice terrace area for breakfast/drinks, and a comfortable room. Happy with both larger hotel or smaller with a few rooms.

Saint Remy is closer to Les Baux than L'isle sur la Sorgue same for Avignon. From L'isle to Avignon is about 45 minutes and from Saint Remy it is about 35 minutes. From Saint Remy it is about 20 minutes to Les Baux and that is almost an hour from L'isle. We have been to both. I really like Saint Remy but I prefer L'isle because I love the spurs of the river running through town and it feels like more of a real place to me. The market is best if you get there well before 10 AM. It get's so crowded that you almost can't stop to look at things. When we were there, street entertainers worked in a plaza in town and they were quite good. I have no personal hotel recommendations in either place because we did rentals in Provence but I used to walk to a great wine bar in L'Isle and would walk past La Maison sur la Sorgue and it looked quite nice.

Good decision. We can't help with hotels; we rented a "gite" thru VRBO/HomeAway, and I think all or most of those have a 7-night minimum in Provence. We did admire LaPrevote on our walks thru town and enjoyed a fine meal at Les Terrasses du Bassin; weather permitting, a table on the bridge is particularly nice.

Sounds like both are central to everywhere we want to go. From your replies I am sold on Isle sur la sorgue, but my husband looked on google maps and thinks it's bigger than he would like to stay in and wants a more villagey atmosphere. So it looks like we may wind up staying in St Remy and drive to Sorgue for the market on Sunday (very early to ensure a parking spot!). Thanks very much for you replies. Now to find the right hotel/B&B. Hotel du Soleil looks perfect for us (price/position/nice rooms/breakfast etc), although many of the tripadvisor reviews mention unfriendly staff and a less than warm welcome. Maybe I should take that with a pinch of salt if everything else is right.

If you've decided to stay in St. Remy, please check out Hotel Sous les Figuiers ("Under the figs".) We loved it. Has a B & B feel to it. A couple blocks from town center. Has secured parking area. Has a pool. Excellent breakfasts. Has lots of character. And very nice, friendly hosts! Don't know how it compares price wise to Hotel du Soleil, I didn't check. I remember it being reasonable. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for the recommendation Kathy - I did a search through the forums as well and see many, many threads where you recommend this particular hotel - without sounding rude (that's not the intention at all :)) I was just curious whether you have a vested interest in this hotel, or just really, really, really liked it for some reason? It looks nice but not any more special than a few other places.

Carian:

I have no vested interest in this hotel. Many people recommend a particular hotel repeatedly on this forum. They (and I) just really like the place that they (I) am recommending. It's only my opinion.

Thank you all for your replies on this topic :)

We enjoyed our stay in L'Isle sur la Sorgue in June & experienced their Thursday market. We didn't stay for the Sunday market which I understand is much larger than the Thursday market & very popular.

So if you don't plan to stay in Isle, make sure you get there early on Sunday morning!

Regarding your comment:

From your replies I am sold on Isle sur la sorgue, but my husband looked on google maps and thinks it's bigger than he would like to stay in and wants a more villagey atmosphere. So it looks like we may wind up staying in St Remy and drive to Sorgue for the market on Sunday (very early to ensure a parking spot!)

FYI, St. Rémy is actually twice as large as L'Isle sur la Sorgue.

Enjoy your trip!

My husband is sold on St Remy, said it looks 'quainter'. I'm not fussed as we will be going to both either way as well as all the towns around the area. I've already warned him that there wil be no sleeping in and particularly on the Sunday morning we will be in Isle sur la sorgue by 8.30am latest!

I think that either town will be fine. Saint Remy is bit more given over to tourism than L'Isle sur la Sorgue but neither is exactly off the beaten track. I think that you will have a better range of upscale restaurants and hotels in Saint Remy than you will find in L'Isle sur la Sorgue. Here is what Fodors says about Saint Remy and I quite agree: "There are other towns as pretty as St-Rémy-de-Provence, and others in more dramatic or picturesque settings. Ruins can be found throughout the south, and so can authentic village life. Yet something felicitous has happened in this market town in the heart of the Alpilles—a steady infusion of style, of art, of imagination—all brought by people with a respect for local traditions and a love of Provençal ways. Here, more than anywhere, you can meditate quietly on antiquity, browse redolent markets with basket in hand, peer down the very row of plane trees you remember from a Van Gogh, and also enjoy urbane galleries, cosmopolitan shops, and specialty food boutiques. An abundance of chic choices in restaurants, mas, and even châteaux awaits you; the almond and olive groves conceal dozens of stone-and-terra-cotta gîtes, many with pools. In short, St-Rémy has been gentrified through and through, and is now a sort of arid, southern Martha's Vineyard or, perhaps, the Hamptons of Provence."

Ahhhh, sounds just perfect! ☺