Dear fellow travellers:
I have a few questions I%26#39;d love feedback on as I%26#39;m planning our family trip to Provence - in particular Arles.
1. Wondering if anyone can give me a little more insight into how best to spend our time in Arles. We%26#39;ll be there for 2 nights in mid-June with our two girls (ages 6 and 10). I think they would enjoy the roman ruins and tracing Van Gogh%26#39;s painterly adventures. Are there other must-do%26#39;s that would be fun for a family?
2. With just 2 nights in Arles, would you spend time in the city or take day trips to surrounding towns like les Beax or Pont du Gard? We%26#39;ll have a car. After Arles, we%26#39;ll be spending 3 nights in the Luberon (Isle-sur-la-Sorgue) and from there (hopefully) to the Coast for 2 nights (around Cassis and Bandol.
3. About car rental - is there any advantage to renting a car in Arles vs. Avignon? We%26#39;ll be arriving in Avignon by TGV (from Paris) and could rent a car there. But, I was noticing that we can easily get a 20 minute train connection to Arles from Avignon so wondered if that might be better (price? ease? time?)
4. I have made several inquiries for reservations at moderately priced (**-***) Arles hotels and am waiting on responses. I%26#39;ve looked at recent posts on Le Cloitre (good), Hotel Calendal and Hotel du Musee. Does anyone have anything particular good or bad to say about any of these (or other) B %26amp; B type accommodations?
Any comments would be most welcome.
Thanks,
galewind
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1. The Museon Arlaten is right in the center of the old town and definitely appropriate for families - lots of interesting displays and artifacts. About 6 miles south of Arles is the Museum of the Camargue that I think the kids would also enjoy. Both give you a reallly good feel for the area.
2. With just 2 nights I doubt that between visiting the Roman sites, walking around the old town, and the museum(s) I doubt if you%26#39;ll have time to visit other nearby towns. Maybe so but I wouldn%26#39;t count on it.
4. Have stayed at the Musee, Calendal, and Acacias and can recommend the latter two with the Calendal being our favorite and best value. Great location, the best deal in town for breakfast and a nice quiet patio area. But book ASAP as the word is out. The Acacias is more of an economy but was clean and seemed well run.
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We traveled in the same area last year with our 2 boys (ages 7 and 11) and had a fabulous trip.
After taking the TGV from Paris to Avignon we rented a car there, and drove the short drive to Arles. We stayed at the Hotel Calendal. I would HIGHLY recommend Hotel Calendal to anyone with school age children. They loved the big chess set in the courtyard not to mention our room over looked the ruins of the arena. They had very nice breakfast every morning too. I would recommend reserving a parking spot in the hotel%26#39;s garage if you stay there since parking is nearly impossible on the narrow streets.
We were able to see most of Arles in the evenings and mornings and ventured out to the surrounding towns for day trips. Our two favorite day trips were Les Baux and Cassis. Les Baux because it was so unique with it%26#39;s steep cobblestone steps. Cassis because it was such a quaint coastal town. This could have been also because it was the only day we saw the Mediterranean. Pond du Gard was interesting and it should be seen, but after you%26#39;ve seen it, there is not much else out there.
As for a rental car, I%26#39;d stick with the major car rental companies. We made a reservation online with some small car company to save money, but once we got there and saw the small car companies office was a trailer in the parking lot and there was no one there to working in it, we were lucky enough to walk to the other side of the train station where all the major car rental offices were and get a car there. Lesson learned.
Hope you have a wonderful trip.
Ellen
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