Saint-Remy-de-Provence
Visit Saint-Remy-de-Provence (Provence, France)
Saint-Remy-de-Provence is found at the western edge of the Provence region, where it is the capital of the Alpilles - the hills that dominate this section of the countryside of France.
Saint Remy de Provence is one of the oldest towns in France. It was founded by the Celts more than 2500 years ago and developed by both the Greeks and the Romans. It is in an attractive setting in the valleys of the Alpilles, and is a lovely town to explore.
Explore Saint-Remy-de-Provence
Enter the town through one of the imposing gateways, the Porte Saint Paul or the Port du Trou - part of the original fortifications of the town - to explore the pretty tree-lined central square, and the surrounding streets containing many lovely old town houses and little features that will catch your eye.
The town is very attractive and everything a Provencal town should be with narrow streets, sleepy squares, fountains and boulevards often shaded by centuries old plane trees. The shops here are quite good too with lots of small boutiques and art galleries and plenty of bars and restaurants to make your stay a pleasant one.
Apart from the attractions of the town itself, there are two reasons why people visit St-Remy-de-Provence.
The first reason is the towns association with Van Gogh. The painter spent the last year of his life at the asylum in the town, where among others he painted the famous 'self portrait with bandaged ear'. Whilst living in Saint Remy de Provence Van Gogh painted more than 150 paintings including many of those for which he is most famous.
There is now a guided walk around the town where you can see the locations of 21 of Van Gogh's paintings, each point marked by a reproduction of the original painting. It is also possible to visit the asylum and monastery at Saint Paul de Mausole. There is a very pretty cloister within. There is also a reproduction of Van Gogh's bedroom. Both the walk and the asylum are a very moving experience if like me you are an enthusiast of the life and paintings of this great artist.
The second big attraction at St Remy-de-Provence is the archaeological site at Glanum, next to the town. The extensive Roman ruins at Glanum have been excavated and now provide a fascinating insight into life for the Romans 2000 years ago (Glanum is a listed French national Monument.
Glanum in fact predates the Romans by several centuries, but most of what we see comes from the Roman period. Among the highlights are the triumphal arch (Arc de triomphe) and a very well preserved cenotaph featuring elaborate carvings. Less remains of the other buildings of Glanum, but there is sufficient to understand the layout of the original town. The Hotel de Sade in the centre of St Remy de Provence, has been turned into an archaeological museum and contains finds from the ruins of Glanum.
Nostradamus Fountain & Galerie Pastel Passion in St Remy de Provence
Saint Remy de Provence is also the birth place of Nostradamus and you can see his house in the town and there is an attractive fountain tucked away on the corner between Rue Nostradamus and Rue Carnot which has a bust of Nostradamus decorating it.
There is a museum, The Musée des Alpilles housed in a former Renaissance house, the Hotel Mistral de Mondragon. The house has an excellent inside courtyard. Many Provencal traditions are displayed in the museum. Another museum, the Musée Estrine, housed in an elegant 18th century house is dedicated to Van Gogh. Unfortunately there are none of his paintings on exhibit here but there are life-sized photos of them and a slide show of his work.
Market day is Wednesday in St Remy-de-Provence.
Photos of Saint-Remy-de-Provence
Click any picture to start the gallery
Address: Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Arles, Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence, 13210 || GPS: latitude 43.79, longitude 4.8325
Map of Saint-Remy-de-Provence & places nearby
Highlights close by
Baux-de-Provence 6km
Fontvieille 12km
Tarascon 14km
Beaucaire 15km
See lots more places to visit nearby and a more detailed map at places near Saint-Remy-de-Provence.
See Provence and Bouches-du-Rhone (the region and department for Saint-Remy-de-Provence) for more travel ideas...
Suggested tourist attractions to visit near Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France
- Glanum - national monument
- Baux-de-Provence - most beautiful village (6km)
- Alpilles - regional natural parc (8km)
- Jardin aquatique « Aux fleurs de l'eau - remarkable garden (8km)
- Jardin de l'Alchimiste - remarkable garden (10km)
- Beaucaire - recommended detour (15km)
- Abbaye Notre Dame de Montmajour (Arles) - religious monument (17km)
- Montmajour Abbey - national monument (17km)
- Avignon - secteur sauvegarde (17km)
- Avignon Centre - heritage site (18km)
The French version of this page is at Saint-Remy-de-Provence (Francais)
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Guest (admin)
PermalinkI contacted the owner and he sent us a fascinating story of the history of his building:
I am Pierre Risch, art painter and the owner of the 400 hundred years old building where i work and live , Pastel Passion is my Gallery, my creation and my brand name mark registred(since more 30 years now) for my design and creation on silk and painting...after a worldwide work of solo exhibitions trought galleries and art centers, we bought the house in St Remy13 years ago,we had discovered the story of the place with the native ancient owner and the historic papers of property.
The building has always had been a house of labor, different works, the oldest known in 18e was the cutter of stones, thats why we have outside a beautiful Gargouille and inside the vault gallery an old carved stone, located as a key of vault, with a head of Lion, on the top of his head 2 wings beside a phylactere, and beside the head 2 characteres giving fruits and grapes, this stone has possibly come from the old city of Glanum, because when we had rebuilt the vault we have found it was made with very old stones with the fish marks of romains' cutter of stone.
The vault room was during a long time a stable with a small forge. Since Napoleon,it seems that the house was a drugstore transmetted in the same familly since we bought it, and it is the most interesting who comes ....!!!! because during Van Gogh s' time in St Remy, it was known by the oldest natives of st Remy, that he used to come to buy his pigments , colours, papers in our house!!! (until recently the begining of 20 e painters bought their coulours in the drugstores)
Maybe that's why we had a great feeling with this old house who knows... a very old man now dead , a sort of historic caller, has told us that a man named Charloun ,who lived on the top of the house , where is my studio now, used to see Van Gogh , walk in the nature, and had a friendly relation with him. That's all i have found ,but it is the small details of an old life in this.
Pierre Risch, Gallery Pastel Passion
3 A street Estrine, 13210 St Remy de Provence - France
see http://www.pierre-risch.com
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