Arles to St-Remy: 8 treasures to discover along the route

Arles to St-Remy is a short route of a mere half-hour by car. However, with so much to do and see, our days were filled from sun up to sunset. We chose a hotel/auberge half way between the two towns as our home base. It was the perfect location and the restaurant served the most amazing wood-fired pizzas which we enjoyed upon our return from a day of explorations.

Our first stop was the Abbaye de Montemajour.

The Abbaye is so close to Arles that it could easily be considered a day-trip excursion from Arles. Where else can you experience 8 centuries of architecture in one place! This abbey is incredible and the views we experienced of the country side were phenominal. We arrived at opening time and virtually had the abbey to ourselves in April.

En route to the auberge we took an aqueduct side-trip.

After spending the morning exploring the Abbaye, our next destination as we toured from Arles to St-Remy was a small restaurant where we had reservations for Sunday lunch. However, I love the excitement of spotting a sign or road that invites us to explore. Who could resist checking out an aqueduct in this terrain filled with Roman antiquities!

Don’t get me wrong, we loved our visit to the Pont du Gard, but being able to clamber over and around the Barbegal Aqueduct was something quite memorable. We briefly shared our time there with a couple of hikers who were following the path which led along the aqueduct for a short way.

On to our favorite lunch destination enroute Arles to St-Remy!

Being a Sunday, I had researched places carefully in the small towns around us. (We had previously been caught-out on a Sunday with no place open in off-season in southern Burgundy.)

Our reservations were at Aux Ateliers Chez Franck et Flo on the outskirts of Mausanne-les-Alpilles. If you are ever in the area, it is a must stop place but make reservations as everyone else is of this same opinion! The terrace looked so inviting but the sky promised rain and as it turned out, it offered lots of rain before lunch was finished!

Their terrace is indeed enormous and on this particular off-season Sunday there was also live music. Off-season is an irrelevant point as this is definitely the locals choice of places to dine.

Inside, we found a table in the small dining room near the large double door which opened out to the terrace. On Sundays, the other 3 rooms overflow with tables of food ,forming our first French buffet experience.

This defined the remainder of our afternoon as we enjoyed the convivial nature of the people and the music!

An Early Start at Les Baux de Provence

The next day began with an early start,  as every site we read indicated that convenient parking  was a gift given to those who arrived early! We parked for free at Carrières des Lumières just a few meters down the  road from the entrance to the Château des Baux de Provence .

The Château perches on a rocky outcrop so be prepared for the climb regardless of where you park.

Exploring the Château was not for the feint in heart at times. The wind on this particular day pushed at our every effort when climbing. However, it was well worth it!

Les Baux de Provence village

After exploring the Château, we wandered the delightful little streets  of the village and paused for more exquisite views from Les Baux. In April, the village was peaceful as a park. We had time to explore and evaluate our options for lunch and then, this happened.

We stopped in a little shop to make a few memorable purchases when a neighboring shop owner dropped by with this magnificent provençal salad for the our shop’sd owner. It did not take long to decide that we had stumbled upon our lunch destination.

Two types of olive tapenades, roasted aubergine, goat cheese on toast, and more! We were well fortified for more explorations of the village after lunch.

An obligatory stop to learn about and buy quality olive oil.

We could not miss the opportunity to stop at Moulin Castelas to learn about provençal olive oil from harvest to table. Although they offer tours “in season” our visit did not coincide with this schedule.

However, we learned so much from the owner’s explanation of all their various types of olive oils and had the opportunity to taste every one of them. The purchases we made here brought a bit of Provence to our table at home on a daily basis.

More Archeological Wonders as we Explore Glanum as we travel from Arles to St-Remy

This area of Provence is rife with archeological wonders. Just outside of Saint-Rémy de Provence we had the opportunity to learn more about the history of this area. Before Saint-Rémy there was the oppidium of Glanum, a large fortified Iron Age settlement.

The history here is immense, as this article will explain. Vestiges of the sacred spring around which they built the settlement, the forum, triumphal arch and more enlightened our historical knowledge. This is definitely a site that children can enjoy and learn from!

Vincent Van Gogh’s Ear and the Saint Paul de Mausole Monastery

In 1889, at his own request, Van Gogh’s confinement at this then mental asylum left us a legacy of more than 200 combined paintings and drawings. As we wandered the compound we found the views that inspired his paintings.  Reproductions of these paintings along with explanations were posted along the path. Some examples found are  “Wheat Field with Cypress”, “Vase with Iris”, “Vincent’s Room in Arles” . We even saw Van Gogh’s room here at the asylum. Being too early  in the year for lavender blooms, your imagination can fill in the details in the photo.

Follow our route from Arles to St-Remy

Provençal towns we recommend (that I’ve blogged about), in no particular order!

Arles
Saint-Rémy de Provence
Uzès
Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
Aix-en-Provence
Gordes
Salon-de-Provence
Vaison-la-Romaine