A Monday in Provence: Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Les Baux-de-Provence, & the Camargue

This itinerary includes visiting Van Gogh’s asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, fortress ruins in Les Baux-de-Provence, & flamingos in the Camargue!

A monday in provence visiting the french villages of St-Remy-de-Provence, Les Baux-de-provence and La Camargue

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Road trip Map

Click on the locations below for a brief summary!

For more information about how I would recommend getting here, check out A Tuesday in Provence linked at the end of this post. For many people this will be a long Monday of travel, but we are a little crazy and made it work. If I would do it again, I would make the Camargue into it’s own day of exploration.

Saint-Remy-de-Provence france — Charming country roads

Birthplace of Nostradamus

First stop on this road trip is Saint-Rémy-de-Provence! Since it was not Wednesday, aka market day, it was very peaceful. We didn’t stick around too much because we wanted to visit the Van Gogh sites. But before we left, we made sure to visit the home where Nostradamus was born. THE NOSTRADAMUS! The French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, best known for his book Les Prophéties (published in 1555), predicting future events. Many of the eerily accurate predictions were Hitler’s rise to power, the French Revolution, JFK’s assassination, and the 9/11 terror attacks in New York City. He even predicted the most intense inflation (which doesn’t surprise everyone alive in 2023). He states, “So high will the bushel of wheat rise, that man will be eating his fellow man.” There has been good evidence that he even predicted the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

Nostradamus birth place — On our way to Nostradamus’ home where he was born

Nostradamus birth place in Saint-Remy-de-Provence — Nostradamus was born here and went to university at age 15 in Avignon. The university had to close down because of the Plague outbreak and he traveled France for years, studying medicines and herbal remedies. He even was summoned by Queen of France, Catherine de’ Medici, to come to Paris and explain his predictions and draw up horoscopes for her children.

Nostradamus fountain in Saint-Remy-de-Provence

Vincent van Gogh’s Asylum

Vincent Van Gogh arrived in Saint-Rémy de Provence in 1889 to be “confined” by his wishes in the Saint-Paul de Mausolée Asylum. It really is a beautiful and peaceful place.

As beautiful as the grounds were, the inside was an unsettling place to visit. If you are someone who can feel energy, the energy in Van Gogh’s bedroom while staying here was melancholic. The museum was very informative and I highly recommend going! Just beware the vibe in his old bedroom lol.

Van Gogh's bedroom at the Asylum — This room was melancholic. He painted about 143+ paintings while he was here, including A Starry Night – which is not based on a real place, but based on his emotions. He painted his emotions so that people would understand him better.

The Monastery was converted into an asylum in the late 1800s and now, a museum giving us insight into psychiatric treatments and routines during that time.
“His existence was characterized by the distress of a man who wanted to love humanity but was not able to communicate with men, who was misunderstood, ignored, and despised by everybody….”
“…bipolar disorder, combined with epileptic fits…”

Fascinated by the quality of the light and the beauty of the landscapes that he discovered in Saint-Rémy, very inspired, happy and relieved to find a serene and understanding atmosphere amongst the nuns and nurses who received him, Van Gogh carried out 143 oil paintings and more than 100 drawings in the space of 53 weeks. This time in Saint Rémy is considered a major period in the works of Van Gogh.

Monastery Saint-Paul de Mausole in Saint-Remy-de-Provence

Château des Baux-de-Provence

Ready for a little more adventure? Make sure you wear something a little better for climbing rocks than I did. Highly don’t recommend cute sandals and a dress, but I made it out without a Marilyn moment! You can see old weapons and climb through the entire castle, all the way up to the top. The wind was so strong at the top that we had to hold our phones so tightly!

ruined fortress in Les Baux-de-Provence — The Baux family established the first fortified town in the 10th century. They also ordered the building of the imposing 13th century castle, with its dungeon that still proudly dominates the village.

Les-Baux-de-Provence — A touristy little town, but worth it to walk through and see the chateau.

Chateau des Baux-de-provence — Don’t want to end up locked in these.

Chateau ruins — People lived here 900 years ago

views of Provence on top of ruined fortress in Les Baux-de-Provence — …and the views from the tippy top!

views of Provence on top of ruined fortress and chateau in Les Baux-de-Provence — The small village we walked through to get here. The village fell into decay in the 19th century due to lack of water. In 1821, the French geologist Pierre Berthier discovered a red rock rich in alumina that he called bauxite, the main ore for the production of aluminum.
Around the same time, the quarrying of limestone was expanding throughout the local area for use in building the new towns and cities. Many abandoned buildings were re-used or dismantled to reclaim the stone.

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, The Camargue

Attention all nature-lovers! Head to western Europe’s largest delta, where the Rhône River meets the Mediterranean Sea. The Camargue is a wonderful place for you to explore any time of year. Just south of Arles, the national park lies in the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur and Languedoc regions of France.

The camargue and Sainte Maries de la Mer — Sainte Maries de la Mer is a beach town with some cowboy and gypsy influence. The vibe is all of those things haha

I can comfortably say that I have never visited a place similar to here. The Camargue is most known for the wild white horses, a special breed that are reputedly one of the oldest horse breeds in the world, and bird-watching! It is the largest nesting area for pink flamingoes.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to explore this area to it’s fullest. We did not have the chance to visit areas with the wild horses, but we did see a couple on our drive home!