10/10 Excellent
Bruce R.
13 May 2018
Delightful house in quiet part of old town
This house is a gem! Two double bedrooms, sitting room and dining kitchen with a small totally private shady courtyard for meals outdoors. The bathroom has a large shower, basin and toilet. It was the owner's parents house and has been very well looked after. It was extremely well equipped and the owner was very helpful explaining how things worked when we arrived. She also gave us very useful directions to the town's free car park (just 5 minutes walk away) and the nearest good sized supermarket (Intermarché). St Remy town centre, where the house is located, is a lovely old pedestrianised area (with vehicle access for loading and unloading) surrounded by a lively road round what had been the old town walls. It has a good market on Wednesdays. There is a huge choice of restaurants and lots of small shops selling good quality (if somewhat pricey) crafts and souvenirs. The boulanger was only 100 metres from the house. The town was busy in mid April but not packed. We had really pleasant warm weather (although madame said it had rained a lot the previous week). Very close to the town is the monastery/sanatorium of St Paul de Mausole where Van Gogh spent a year (you can see his room) and next to that the old Roman town of Glanum which is worth a visit. Just a few miles south is the ruined citadel Les Baux de Provence, although we were met with "route barrée" as we turned up to the village! St Remy is also a good centre for visiting the many well known attractions of Provence, with almost every one less than 50 miles drive away. We went to the Pont du Gard (amazing but a slow queue to get in); Arles (lovely and small enough to get round in a few hours); the Camargue (Saintes Marie de la Mer was busy even on a Monday in mid April, but the flamingoes made it worthwhile); Mont Ventoux (the top still closed by snow); Aix en Provence (attractive but very busy - it has a huge student population - and if you want a Cezanne experience forget his studio - it's closed 12.30-14.00- and drive out past Le Tholonet for a great view of Mont Ste Victoire); and Avignon (interesting but beware of pickpockets!) Altogether an excellent week's holiday.
Bruce R.
Stayed 7 nights in Apr 2018
