Arles, Les Baux And Saint Remy De Provence From Marseille

Wonderful small group experience traveling into the heart of Provence and experiencing the countryside which inspired van Gogh’s art. We now appreciate the fact that Provence is more than just lavender fields and vineyards; it is an intersection between ancient and more modern, Spanish and Mediterranean influences with quintessential French concepts. Most importantly, our tour guide Melissa effortlessly transitioned between French and English, accommodated everyone’s interests and never rushed the group. She had an excellent background in the region which she described in detail during the tour.

I took my 13 and 17 year old sons here, to try and enthuse them about their time in Provence. It was extremely hot, and despite the beauty of the place, I failed to inspire them!. The eldest was interested in the light show though. I would have loved to have been with others who were as interested as me. When you first walk towards the entrance there is an icecream stall on the left. Don't assume this will be your only choice as the foot of the castle is literally full of little tourist shops, with plenty of things to spend your money and little places to visit. The castle itself is mostly of interest for the visual appeal and the views of the area which are gorgeous. The gardens and sculptures are lovely. I would happily go again. It was well worth the visit.

Good day! Nice towns for wandering, shopping and munching. We did not stop at the monastery in St. Remy. I would have liked less time in town with time to enter the Van Gogh exhibit and probably could have asked for that if I had understood. Tomas the guide was great.

The tour, in general, was transport to a location, with some background about the place in the car. Once there you explore and are given a limited amount of time. St Remy and Les Baux had no guided tour but instead a period of time to explore on your own. We saw a lot of beautiful sights and a cool St Remy market. Les Baux was an uphill climb on cobblestones and quite tiring but beautiful- important to know for people with disabilities or wheelchairs. In Arles, we had our tour guide along with us and they provided interesting details before allowing us to explore on our own. Arles is full of sights and monuments and may actually be worth a day trip since there’s much to see. Because it was the last part of the tour, our parties were quite tired at this point. Unfortunately communications on timing on lunch weren’t clear either. Our parties weren’t sure what time to have lunch and so we delayed eating which made the tour mistimed. Simple fix would be clearer communication of the itinerary/schedule is; when to eat, bathroom breaks etc. Long day with lots of interesting sites and places to eat and drink and buy gifts.

Very interesting trip, although the weather was torrential rain and inhibited the experience. All the places would have been beautiful in good weather.

Audrey was a wonderful guide through Provence: Aix, Arles, Saint-Remy, Le Baux. My husband and I (66) and son (28) went and the pace was perfect for us. The cities were so beautiful, and it was inspiring to see places associated with the Romans (impressive ruins!), Van Gogh and Cezanne. I squealed when Audrey pointed out Mount Saint- Victoire! Comfortable van, eight in our group. It was a perfect day!

Terrific tour, friendly knowledgeable driver. Plenty of time to explore by yourself at each destination. Highly recommended.

Great tour! Bernardo was a very knowledgeable guide and we got to experience a wide array of the area around Marseille. The marketplace in Arles was fun to see and the views in the other towns were fantastic.

The guide provided a wonderful narrative of the places we visited. Maps were helpful for the self guided aspects. Melissa, our guide shared her passion and created a friendly and engaging environment for the journey

This is a must due tour if you want a taste of these beautiful villages of Provence. Bernardo gave a running history of the area and each village we visited. We explored each place on our own and Bernardo gave good suggestions on how to spend our time efficiently and get the most out of the tour. It was a great experience facilitated by Bernardo’s in depth knowledge of each place and entertaining delivery.

Fantastic day! Our wonderful guide picked us up early by the Marseille harbor, and took us on an all day excursion into Arles, where we experienced the best the city had to offer, including the life of Van Gogh. I visited Saint Paul de Mausole Monastery, the old abbey used as an insane asylum where Van Gogh stayed, and even spoke with a few patients still there today. I visited the Saint Remy de Provence, where he lived and painted, which included the "Starry Night" location on the river and the ancient Roman amphitheater and coliseum. We even visited Les Baux-de-Provence, and saw the ancient castle fortress overlooking the entire French Riviera. Quite a lot crammed into a short day. I can't recommend this excursion enough! You must go!

My husband and I are so glad we did this. Emmanuel was an awesome guide and incredibly knowledgeable and fun to converse with. The sites are incredible and views are indescribable. Highly recommend this tour company

Our guide was super knowledgeable and definitely passionate about Van Gogh (and art in general). I learned so much during this trip!

A great tour and Ines was a great tour guide. She is simply wonderful and her knowledge is impressing.

This was an interesting trip to visit areas within Provence. Our guide Sébastien had lots of historical information that he shared with us. I appreciate that these tours take us to areas that might be challenging to visit on our own so it's very convenient to go on a tour. I also appreciated that the group is kept small. Overall, I had a wonderful day and wouldn't hesitate to recommend this tour.

Best tour ever!!! Florance was amazing! She was so informative about the areas, the art, and pretty much anything I had questions about! she was training Jen, and she chimed in on quite a few details as well. You can tell Florance loves her job! If I could give this tour more stars, I would! The 3 towns we went to was amazing. Such history, and the scenery was something out of a painting (litterly was in some areas). I recommend you go on a Wednesday to go to the market. Thank you for a wonderful day!

Brilliant tour with our guide Alex. So knowledgeable, entertaining and personable. Highly recommended. So much history, so little time. Loved it!

The tour started off with a hitch. We were told we had to meet in Marseilles so we got up at 6am to take a taxi from Aix-en-Provence only to find out that we would be heading back to Aix-en-Provence to pickup another couple. This was very surprising because we looked for a tour starting in Aix-en-Provence and couldn't find anything. Once we got past the rush hour traffic, we had a phenomenal time with Alex. He gave us a lot of history as he drove and had a good microphone so we could hear him well. He spoke English well thanks to his time in Ohio and Canada. He told some jokes and tried to make the stories relatable. Les Baux was small but pretty. Cute shops and restaurants with nice views of the hillside. We had about 45 minutes which was enough time to walk the town and take pictures. We drove to Arles and Alex had a tough time finding parking with our small van but he found a way to fit somewhere. We saw the coliseum, grabbed lunch at a local spot, saw a church and cloister, and were given lots of information as Alex walked us around. There were plenty of Van Gogh stories for those interested including passing by the famous cafe he painted After a quick trip to the mental hospital where Van Gogh stayed at St Paul du Vence and painted "starry night", we strolled through the town, grabbed a gelato and admired the architecture. We saw the birthplace of Nostradamus and the house of Sade (Sadochism). Alex was nice enough to drop us off in Aix-en-Provence and give everyone restaurant and hiking recommendations. He has travelled the world and seen a lot so it's worth listening to his unique perspective. Would definitely tour with Alex again. He was a great tour guide and driver, who was always looking to please the group.

The Tour Guide and driver was excellent and totally made the trip. He was informative and quite helpful with my slow walking

Such a great tour, excellent guide Pepe. Highlight was visiting the asylum that Van Gogh stayed in and where he painted some of his most famous works. We got to see his bedroom, kept as it was. The cafe in Arles that he painted was also a highlight

This tour takes you all over Van Gough’s life amidst all the other history of the Provence region. Our day was very hot, so appreciated the stops where we could enjoy the shade and a breeze.

It was wonderful to get away from the big cities and see what life is like in the smaller communities. Our guide was very knowledgeable of the area. We were basically left alone to explore each location with clear directions on where to look and what to expect. It is a long day with lots of time spent driving but the van was air conditioned and comfortable.

Bucket list day trip! Could not have been better!! A prompt easy pick up in marseille and we were off to Provence. Beautiful weather, and our guide spoke fluent English and French. Our guide Pepe was extremely knowledgeable about the area, history, and bounced easily back and forth in both languages to help all of the group understand 1000s of years of regional history to set the stage for our day. He deeply loves the Provence region and that came through in all he shared. He is steeped in impressionist and post impressionist Art history time period, and this enhanced the trip so much. We were able to see in one day SO much more than we expected—and to walk in the steps of Van High’s most prolific art years at the St Remy Asylum is something I’ll never forget. As my husband said “I always thought his art was pure madness but there is much more realism of the landscape and what he was seeing day to day that is captured in VanGogh’s work”. We also luckily got to see a street and food market with stunning produce, loved the unexpected time at Les Beaux which we had never heard of prior to this trip, and to wander the medieval streets of Arles was just magical. But the linchpin of the day was our guide Pepe—an old soul in his 20s who made the region come to life through his words and perspective. We will always remember him and this amazing tour!

This was the first time I have taken such a tour, I am very glad I did it. It was a very full day, our excellent guide Virginie very generously put in about ninety minutes (unpaid!) overtime so we had time to visit both the "Quarries of Light" near Baux-en-Provence and the Saint-Paul Asylum near Saint-Rémy, two very different but excellent experience. HIghtly Recommended.

Victorine was the perfect hostess. A beautiful drive and a most informative guide. This was the highlite of our visit. Ask for Victorine. She was the best!

<p>We were picked up at the Marseille tourist office by our driver/guide Lucy. She spoke very good English and was an excellent driver. Once we left the city of Marseille the landscape changed to a beautiful meandering meadows with rocks and grass and trees. Many cypresses and olive trees. Arles was everything we expected in an artist's places and Les Beaux was very beautiful. St. Remy added to the enjoyment of traveling in these beautiful and historic villages. We had lunch if Les Baux which was OK. There were many good restaurants in this tourist place and I am sure if we had some more time we would have found a better place to eat. The small winding pedestrian roads are lined up with touristy stuff and eating places. I don't see how anybody could have a bad experience in this town.</p>

<p>Very disappointed that our driver skipped both the Abbey and the Mill. Important sites that we paid to see but we were short of time as two passengers were picked up over and hour out of the way. I thought this was a tour out of Marseille, not Aix-en-Provence!!!!</p>

<p>After a bit of confusion about the pick up we met our driver and found that we were the only two people on the tour that day. An excellent tour, particularly St Remy and Les Baux and one I would recommend to anyone</p>

<p>Fantastic tour! It takes you to many wonderful and exciting places that are not as well known as the coastal towns. To spend time in the area where Van Gogh painted many of his famous paintings, wander through Roman theaters and ruins, walk through castles and enjoy fabulous vistas makes this a very memorable excursion. The guide, Gail, though somewhat inexperienced, made up by being very helpful, enthusiastic and pleasant. I would highly recommend the tour.</p>

<p>Great tour guide, personal attention and tailoring of trip to suit us. Loved the places visited and the ease of travel!</p>

<p>Virginia is very good and thoroughly enjoyed. The downside is Provence Tour was bought by another company and the phone number was disconnected. I suggest Viator should provide the update phone number. I wasted two days trying to contact the tour company on the number indicated on the voucher.</p>

Our guide and driver made our trip to Provence very special. A full day out with lots to see, I would recommend this trip to all.

Excellent tour; guide very knowledgeable of area. She customized the tour as day went on to meet our needs and requests. Showed us many places 'off the beaten path' that most tourists do not get to see. Would highly recommend this tour for visiting Provence. Absolutely delightful day.

It was Easter Saturday and the guide was unable to find a parking spot in Arles. So onto Les Baux which we enjoyed immensely. Unable to get into olive farm so onto Saint Remy. Unfortunately Roman Arch, etc. unable to be seen because being repaired. Did manage to see bridge which Van Gogh painted and the mental hospital where he stayed. Trip should not have been planned for that day. Previous day with same guide to Avignon fantastic.

The tour guide was very informative and interesting. Not only did the day pack in all three towns of Provence, we also were on the trail of Van Gogh and saw sites of his paintings. It was thoroughly enjoyable.

Notre guide Sébastien est excellent. Bonne humeur, sympathique et commentaires plus que pertinent. Une journée de découvertes extraordinaires!

Pepe el guia de este tour conoce bien la historia no solo de estos tres sitios sino en general del sur de Francia. Ameno el tour con datos interesantes de toda la recion

Région très belle à visiter et félicitation à notre chauffeur guide qui, quoique espagnol, a été remarquable de culture et d'explications pour chaque endroit visité. Il a été ponctuel pour chaque rendez-vous déterminé pour la suite des nouveaux sites.

Toll war die Kombination zwischen mit Informationen während der Fahrt versorgt zu werden und in den jeweiligen Stopps selbst auf Entdeckungen gehen zu können. Auch die kleine Gruppe hat uns sehr zugesagt und nicht zu vergessen „Florence“ unsere Begleitung die äußerst kompetent und super freundlich war.

Well organized tour, all day. Initially we arrived in Saint Remy and it was Wednesday market day downtown. Very picturesque, varied and assorted. Beautiful little streets to get lost in. Very close to there, we also went to St. Louis. Paul de Mausole, to visit the room at the hospice where Van Gogh painted the Starry Night and others. Exciting. Then we visit Baux de Provence rocky mountain with stunning views of Italian Tuscany valley below. We finish in Arles with a visit to the Arenas, a very well preserved Roman Colosseum, the old theatre and the cafe that Van Gogh painted in Place Forum. Punctual, careful and friendly driver in good vehicle.

ideally located in saint remy 2 minutes walk from the center warm welcome the owners are available and very good advice hotel very clean Recommend

At least an overview in group travel, in other words a general overview of the sites in advance taste of a more in-depth stay to admire the beauty of the Alpilles and its Provencal villages!