Arles – hotel and parking suggestions

We stayed at the Hotel L'amphitheatre in 2003 for five nights and absolutely loved it. Great location, affordable (we were a family of four), wonderful owners/operators. I highly recommend it. The main downside was parking. We had a rental car, and streets in Arles are very narrow. We managed to find on-street (pay) parking and every few hours had to move the car. I think this will be true regardless of where you stay in Arles. If you can find a place to park your car for the duration of your stay, I'd say go for it. You certainly won't need in car in Arles itself, though it will be handy for day trips (head to the coast!). Five nights for us was plenty. Four would have probably been okay, six would have been too long. But that's just us.

My wife and I stayed at the Regence, just inside the medieval city wall near the river, the Monoprix, and the train station. We found it to be clean and modern, with air conditioning. The staff spoke little English but were friendly and helpful. The walk into the Place du Forum was pleasant and easy. You can park in the huge municipal lot except on market days, or on the riverfront (which feels odd, since it involves driving up on the sidewalk, but it is legal and when in Arles....). I wouldn't drive in the core of Arles itself...the only sight that was a long walk was the Ancient History Museum. When we went to Les Baux or other sights by car, we found that from the Regence we were out in the countryside very quickly, so the drive was easy.

Sharon, our daughter and I stayed at the Hotel l'Amphitheatre in 2003 and then in 2006, another couple and my husband and I stayed there and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. The breakfast was also quite good. If I ever get to Arles again, I'd definitely want to stay there.

I stayed there several years ago, and it was wonderful - spotless, beautifully decorated, and the staff was quite helpful. It is within easy walking distance of most of the sights, and many great restaurants. At the time, the hotel had an arrangement with a tiny parking lot which was just around the corner. When you made reservations, you were able to reserve a parking space as well. I would look into that first - the lot was quite close to the hotel.

Sharon - I stayed at the Hotel Amphitheatre with a RS tour in 2006. My room was fine but some rooms were not. One report from a tour member was that when the shower was used in the room above, water came into their room from above. I believe Rick took the hotel out of his Provence book the following year. It may have improved since then.

Hotel du Forum gets good reviews and has parking for a fee. We stopped in to see the bar and liked the hotel. You can't get a more central location.

I second Roe's comments about le Regence. It's location on the north of town made it very convenient for parking and for getting out to Les Baux, Avignon, Pont du Gard, etc.

Have you considered renting a house? We rented an ancient 4 floor townhouse inside the walls for less than a hotel room would have cost us for 5 nights and there was only two of us. Plus we ate half of our meals at home. Shopping the markets for dinner was a highlight. Parking was an issue everywhere. We tried the street parking thing the first day and then gave up and parked the car in the parking deck next to the post office. It turned out to be a great idea as the car was secure and the walk was only a few minutes. Check out www.vrbo.com for an idea of what is available. Have a great time!

In September this year we stayed at the Hotel Regence, 60 euros per night and paid 6 euros per night to park in the hotel garage. The hotel was very clean, the fellow at the desk spoke enough English if you spoke slowly to him and was very helpful. Excellent breakfast. Very convenient to all the restaurants and easy walking to most of the sights in town, and to drive to all the surrounding sights. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat!

Thank you all so much for all your great comments and feedback. I really appreciate it. We are going to stay in Arles for 5 days and take day trips to the surrounding sights so easy access in and out of town is a consideration. I have been looking at the Hotel Regence but was thinking of something with a little more charm like the Hotel Du Musee or Hotel de la Muette – any thoughts?