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Three days in Provence in very late September

We like art, nature, and food markets. What town should we stay in and we will probably rent a car.
Also looking for a good one day tour guide.

Posted by
6713 posts

With a car, I'd suggest Arles (Van Gogh) or Aix-en-Provence (Cezanne), depending on where else you want to visit. Pick some day-trip destinations and see which base is closer to more of them. You didn't mention Roman sites, but if they interest you then Arles is the better choice.

Aurelien Clavero did a great job showing Arles to our tour group last year. I don't know how far beyond Arles he might take people.

Posted by
108 posts

If you are interested in food markets, do some research so you can be sure to be in the right town on the right day. Most markets don't happen every day.
We stayed in St Remy de Provence. The town itself has one of the best markets in Provence-food, clothing, ceramics. We found the location very central.

We had a car so we were able to visit some neighboring town. I highly recommend Roussillon for the sheer beauty of the red clay mountains and the beautiful ceramics by local artists. We also enjoyed visiting the town of Gordes, which had a lovely market as well. We spent an afternoon in Aix and found it under whelming. Have a wonderful trip.

Posted by
12313 posts

I picked Arles as a base and was happy with my choice. There are a variety of good sights in Arles (Roman, Van Gogh), it's a central base with a car (lots of parking along the river), and there is a massive market (can't recall which day(s)?).

Posted by
251 posts

I was in Provence for the month of March 2024 and the goal was a market town almost every day outside of Aix, Arles and Avignon! it was an incredible trip. S, F, 70+. solo travel, only public transpo. Aix Sat market phenomenal! All markets were great.