Day trips from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

[Wiess]

We have four days/five nights in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in mid-October, arriving Monday evening (from Toulouse) and departing Saturday morning (heading to Lyon). We will have a rental car. Below is a tentative plan we are considering for day trips:

• Tue: Pont du Gard and either Nîmes or Uzès. Can all three be visited in one day?
• Wed: spend the morning at the Saint-Rémy market and then visit Les Baux-de-Provence since it is a short drive, maybe add Glanum.
• Thu: Arles
• Fri: Gordes and L’Isle sur la Sorgue

We are trying not to do too much and welcome suggestions on how to improve this itinerary. We are also flexible with the towns and sites, with the exception of Nîmes and Pont du Gard which we want to see. Reading some posts earlier today and we want to keep Uzès too.

Thanks

 

[dayhiker]

We are also staying in Saint-Remy during October. We have a similar list for day trips, but since we are staying longer (9 nights), will also visit Avignon and the Camargue. We are hikers, so likely will find walks in the parks and small towns closer to Saint Remy too. Enjoy your trip - we are looking forward to ours!

 

[Parigi]

Hi.
October, marvelous time to be in France: try some of the dozen kinds of mushroom in season. Another thing not to miss is "muscat" grapes. Another thing in season is game: my favorites are pigeon and wild duck.

A day in Arles should be great.
I love Arles. Very charming, and accessible. You can walk from one end to another in less than half an hour. I love Roman ruins, and Arles is filled with them. And there are all kinds of restaurants, from temples of gastronomy to cheap delicious pizza and wonderful authentic Vietnamese.
One of my favorite secrets of Arles is the ancient Roman mills in Barbegal right outside Arles.
We like the ferme-auberge Barbegal. A ferme-auberge is a farm-restaurant. Every ingredient comes from the farm or an adjacent farm.
As for the old Roman mill, you can walk among the ruins. Pont du Gard with its sprawling parking lots and visit center has become so Disney-like.

"Pont du Gard and either Nîmes or Uzès. Can all three be visited in one day?"

Yes, if your day is 72 hours, unlike our day.
Of the three, Uzès and Nïmes are both charming and not so touristy as Pont du Gard.
They are farflung from each other. They both deserve a day. Just choose one. Whatever you choose will be enchanting.

"Wed: spend the morning at the Saint-Rémy market and then visit Les Baux-de-Provence since it is a short drive, maybe add Glanum."

Glanum is great and is right outside St Rémy. You can walk it or make a short drive (5-min drive from St Rémy old town).


"Fri: Gordes and L’Isle sur la Sorgue"

I find Gordes too touristy. There are no more local businesses like a butcher or a bakery. It's all hôtels and cafés and galleries.
The town is physically attractive.
I would take a photo of the town from afar then go on to visit Goult and Bonnieux instead.

You'll have a great time.

N

 

[Wiess]

Hi Parigi:

Thank you for the great suggestions. This is our first visit to this part of France and your insight is appreciated. Do you think the days of the week work for the places we plan to visit? I think Wednesday is good since it is market day in Saint-Rémy.

A few questions based on your feedback:

"One of my favorite secrets of Arles is the ancient Roman mills in Barbegal right outside Arles. We like the ferme-auberge Barbegal."

I think we will enjoy visiting Arles and Barbegal, it sound like a good day with a short drive from Saint-Rémy. Do you have a link or address for the ferme-auberge?​

"Pont du Gard with its sprawling parking lots and visit center has become so Disney-like."

Thank you for this insight, we will reconsider since Disney and amusement park atmospheres do not interest us. We are considering stopping in Sète for lunch on our drive from Toulouse to Saint-Rémy. If we still feel the need to see this, does it make any sense to make a short detour to Pont du Gard along the way?​

"...Uzès and Nïmes are both charming and not so touristy..."

I am leaning toward visiting Nïmes, subject to change.​

"Fri...visit Goult and Bonnieux instead."

I really like this suggestion, they both look interesting. This is our anniversary so we welcome a restaurant recommendation if you have one. It could be in Goult, Bonnieux, Saint-Rémy, or in between.​

Thanks again.

 

[Parigi]

Sorry for this late reply

Restaurants

Gpimt
La Bartavelle is a real temple of gastronomy. You must book way ahead.
La Terrasse and Le Carillon are nice and more casual options.

Bonnieux
L'Arôme is very good. Again, book ahead.
For a more casual place, my landlord swears by the pizzeria La Flambée.

Arles
I just looked up the Ferme-auberge de Barbegal. I can't find the restaurant anymore ! It seems it is maintaining the farm and not doing the restaurant anymore. How sad. Many restaurants in the countryside do not survive the covid onslaught. I have great memories of that place. Once in the dead of winter we were driving from Menton, the Italian border of the French Riviera, to Monells, near Girona, Spain. We stopped at the Barbegal for lunch. We were served a winter pistou soup. We redefined the phrase "polishing off". Afterwards, the kitchen hardly had to clean the soup tureen. It was clean clean clean.

Arles has many restaurants.
My standby bistro is La Gueule du Loup.
Les Piques ou Rien is the new star, but I have not been.
When I get French cuisine fatigue, - o yes one does reach that point, - I go for a pho noodle soup at the Vietnamese restaurant Apsara. -- It is probably not your concept of Provence.
Arles has many good "traiteurs" (meaning delicatessens). If the weather permits, you can get cooked dishes and ask the shop to heat it for you for your picnic, or just get a variety of cold cuts and pâtés and a side of salad. Plus a fresh baguette and a bottle of red, you're in business.
Also try the overwhelming Saturday morning market. It is a much more authentic market than Isle sur la Sorgue, and much more charming.
You will have a great time.

 

[Pauline]

I love the Pont du Gard but it is touristy. A different approach is to walk there from a nearby town (see link below). If you don’t want to do the walk I would still recommend going because it is a magnificent structure.

Occitanie - Pont du Gard and the Nîmes Roman Aqueduct

The Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman bridge, is part of the Nîmes Roman Aqueduct that carried water from Uzès to Nîmes. The bridge, which crosses the River Gardon, is essentially three bridges built one on top of the other to reach the required height. The lower bridge has six arches, the next has...

www.sloweurope.com

Some other notes:

Provence - Barbegal Roman Aqueduct and Mill

The Barbegal Aqueduct and Mill (Aqueduc de Barbegal) are the remains of a Roman mill and part of the aqueduct that ran from the Alpilles to Arles. In Roman times 16 water wheels powered the mill. This is not a well marked and popular tourist attraction, but is well worth a visit if you are in...

www.sloweurope.com

Occitanie - Nimes and the Roman Amphitheater

The Nîmes Amphitheater also called the Arena of Nîmes (Arènes de Nîmes) was built in the first century AD. The Nîmes Amphitheater, along with the Arles Amphitheater and the Rome Coliseum, are the best preserved buildings of Ancient Rome. The Nimes Amphitheater is 133m long, 101m wide and 21m...

www.sloweurope.com

Provence - Glanum Archaeological Site

Glanum (Site Archéologique de Glanum) was a Roman town built at the foot of the Alpilles mountains south of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. It is a large site with remains of baths, public forum, temples, houses and a sacred spring. A beautiful Triumphal Arch that was on the edge of the town is beside...

www.sloweurope.com

 

[Parigi]

Pauline is right. There are other ways of approaching the Pont du Gard, ways that cut away all the touristy processing.
Besides walking, another way, which I had suggested to slowtraveler Roz and her husband Mike and which they enjoyed, is to go to the nearby pleasant village of Collias and rent a canoe and then canoe there by the river, picnicking and swimming under the aqueduct. It is an incomparable feeling to approach the looming Roman structure without going through some sprawling parking lot and the boring visitors' center.

But 2 things to consider:
- You are going in October. Well, weather happens. Early this October, the tamperature in the south was totally summery, close to a heatwave. Then canoe-ing is an option.
- You have only 4 days in St Rémy. This slow way of enjoying Pont du Gard will take you a good part of the day. Not sure if you have the time - let alone the stamina - to make other visits.

 

[Pauline]

Besides walking, another way, which I had suggested to slowtraveler Roz and her husband Mike and which they enjoyed, is to go to the nearby pleasant village of Collias and rent a canoe and then canoe there by the river, picnicking and swimming under the aqueduct.

Brilliant! I’ll add that option to my Travel Note.

 

[MaisonRose]

Hi.
October, marvelous time to be in France: try some of the dozen kinds of mushroom in season. Another thing not to miss is "muscat" grapes. Another thing in season is game: my favorites are pigeon and wild duck.

A day in Arles should be great.
I love Arles. Very charming, and accessible. You can walk from one end to another in less than half an hour. I love Roman ruins, and Arles is filled with them. And there are all kinds of restaurants, from temples of gastronomy to cheap delicious pizza and wonderful authentic Vietnamese.
One of my favorite secrets of Arles is the ancient Roman mills in Barbegal right outside Arles.
We like the ferme-auberge Barbegal. A ferme-auberge is a farm-restaurant. Every ingredient comes from the farm or an adjacent farm.
As for the old Roman mill, you can walk among the ruins. Pont du Gard with its sprawling parking lots and visit center has become so Disney-like.

"Pont du Gard and either Nîmes or Uzès. Can all three be visited in one day?"

Yes, if your day is 72 hours, unlike our day.
Of the three, Uzès and Nïmes are both charming and not so touristy as Pont du Gard.
They are farflung from each other. They both deserve a day. Just choose one. Whatever you choose will be enchanting.

"Wed: spend the morning at the Saint-Rémy market and then visit Les Baux-de-Provence since it is a short drive, maybe add Glanum."

Glanum is great and is right outside St Rémy. You can walk it or make a short drive (5-min drive from St Rémy old town).


"Fri: Gordes and L’Isle sur la Sorgue"

I find Gordes too touristy. There are no more local businesses like a butcher or a bakery. It's all hôtels and cafés and galleries.
The town is physically attractive.
I would take a photo of the town from afar then go on to visit Goult and Bonnieux instead.

You'll have a great time.

N

Let’s see..just addendum. Across the road from the Glanum ruins is the place where VanGogh was hospitalized after his ear event (St Paul de Mausole monastery). I prefer it to the ruins, imho.
On Friday morning Bonnieux has a cute little market which might be a substitute for Gordes.
About Gordes: it has an incredible photo op on the right going up to the village from Coustellet. stop, take pics, turn around and leave.
Don’t miss St Remy, it’s really wonderful. Expect to walk from wherever you can find parking, or stay near the centre the night before.
I personally love UZES which is charming & unique. It could combine with the Pont du Gard since you can do the latter late in the day.
Do your best to reserve restaurants…lunch is best since most things close from 12n to 2pm.

 

[chachalaca]

You've got the Resident Experts answering your questions here. Heed their advice, it never disappoints.
I've visited Pont du Gard twice: once before the huge parking lots and Disney-esque feeling, and it was pretty cool. But more recently we kayaked the river (canoes seem too tippy for me!) and it was absolutely breathtaking!
Regarding AiP's restaurant suggestions - they are non-fail. Delicious food, excellent service and the ambiance is always wonderful. From the simple to the sublime, if she says "book in advance" you really must! Otherwise you won't be dining there.

Have a great time!
Laura