Provençal Country - Avignon / Saint Remy / Eyragues (Sept 9-10, 2025)

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Anthony Bourdain sold me on the charm of the Provençal countryside. When deciding which town to visit, Saint Remy seemed to combine charm with convenience, as it is connected to Avignon via bus.

AVIGNON

Upon arrival to Avignon, we were met with the imposing city walls, which carried a Medieval feel (from the 14th century) that permeated the rest of the city.




There are many museums and theaters in Avignon, with the Palais des Papes as the crowning jewel.



It is a UNESCO heritage site, though it felt more like the economic powerhouse of the city than a site steeped in history. There were five tour buses parked outside - and this was the off season! It felt overrun with tourists until we finally passed a bar with locals enjoying beers after work.

One of the benefits of a touristy town are shops with lots of crafts, trinkets, records / DVDs, books, and clothes. Avignon reminded me of some New England towns in this way.

Coffee / tea shop - one of the many trinket stores in Avignon

SAINT REMY DE PROVENCE

Saint Remy de Provence had many foreigners as well, but it felt like people actually lived there - at least in their country homes. Perhaps it is more picturesque than Avignon because of the rich people in their gated residences and fancy cars / bikes. The streets were clean and well-paved and stores were filled with designer clothes and paintings for sale.


On my bucket list for Saint Remy was to visit the Wednesday market. So many different products and free samples :)

Cheese

Meat

Olives / dips

Bread

It was 10am and we had eaten breakfast not long before, but we chowed down on the goodies:

  1. Gibassier from Les Delices de Sara - sweet bread, a Christmas specialty. Classic flavor is orange blossom, but we got the pistachio. Not too sweet, chewy and lightly coated in sugar

2. Jambeau from the rotisserie - rolled ham, crispy on the outside

3. Paella bc my mom wanted rice - shrimp was very flavorful and fresh

4. Fougasse aux ognion - like a laminated brioche topped with onions, pretty different from the sourdough / olive oil one from Clear Flour in Boston. According to Wikipedia, both are valid

5. Black apricots from Turkey - super sweet!

Then the crowds came and I made my exit. We went to the outskirts of the town by following the Van Gogh Walk. Van Gogh was institutionalized for a year in Saint Remy and the walk highlights some of his works during this time. He was enamored by the nature here, painting many of the cypresses and olive trees.

Follow the "Vincent" engravings...

...to learn about the art he created here

It was very cool to see the landscape that inspired Van Gogh and admire the nature as a piece of art for yourself.


Olive trees that inspired Van Gogh


You can already see some of the seeds for his famous Starry Night.

Saint Remy is also steeped in history with ruins of Glanum from 50 BC. Apparently the Greeks also inhabited this area before the Romans. Must be the fertile land.


I spotted a lake on the map (Lac Peirou) and headed there. We started on the trail but decided to save my mom’s knees and ankles for another day. It wouldn’t be a walk in the park, as the lake is part of the Alpilles Regional Park after all.

Quick breath of nature

EYRAGUES

But the day was still young so we got back on the bus and stopped in the neighboring town / commune of Eyragues. Eyragues was much quieter than Saint Remy, reminded me of some of the towns in Armenia.

Parc des poetes

Main square

AVIGNON AGAIN

Back in Avignon, we enjoyed some Morrocan food at Tagine and Co:

Harira, Zalouk, Moroccan salad

Pastilla
  1. Harira - creamy tomato soup with tiny noodles (thought they were shreds of cheese at first), chickpeas but no lentils in this version
  2. Zalouk - warm mashed eggplant, lots of olive oil, some thyme
  3. Morrocan salad - cucumbers tomatoes onions olives with dried thyme
  4. Pastilla - crispy warqa dough (similar to filo) filled with spiced semolina (??) and pieces of chicken, topped with cinnamon powdered sugar and almonds. Cinnamon and chicken work well, savory in spite of the sugar

Of the Provençal cities and towns, Aix and Saint Remy were my favorite with their bustling markets and picturesque vibe. 

Saint-Remy

Off to Paris and back to New York / Chicago!

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