Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy is Provence exactly as most people imagine it. Stone buildings glow in the sun. Plane trees line the streets. A market spills confidently through town, fully aware it is being photographed.
To be clear, it deserves the attention. It is beautiful in a way that feels almost deliberate.
But Saint-Rémy is not pretending to be an everyday town. It knows exactly what it is. This is Provence turned up just enough that you notice.
The center of town is compact and busy in a way that can feel almost unnerving at first. Narrow streets fold into one another. Small squares appear without warning. Shops fill every gap. Linen stores, home goods, ceramics, clothing, food. There is color everywhere, and very little empty space. It feels designed to keep you wandering longer than planned.
The number of restaurants alone is impressive. For a town this size, the density borders on absurd. Cafés spill onto sidewalks. Menus compete for attention. You could eat well here every night for weeks without repeating yourself, which is part of the appeal and part of what gives the town its polished edge.
If you come, and you should, do one simple thing. Walk a few streets away from the center early in the morning, before the town fully switches on. Find the bakery the locals use, not the one with the line of cameras out front. That is where the place briefly drops the performance and shows you its working rhythm.
The market is the anchor here. It is abundant, colorful, and unapologetically Provençal. You will see everything you expected to see. Olives. Lavender. Bread. Produce. You will enjoy all of it. It is not subtle, and that is part of the point.
Saint-Rémy also carries its history lightly. Glanum sits just outside town and feels quietly impressive without demanding your day. Van Gogh’s presence is felt, but not pushed harder than necessary. It is there if you want it and easy to ignore if you do not.
For us, Saint-Rémy was perfect as a place to visit, even to linger, but not somewhere we wanted to live full time. It feels like a dream version of France, and dreams are best visited with intention rather than inhabited without question.
Come here when you want Provence to show off a little.
Do not be surprised if, after a few days, you find yourself craving a town with slightly less polish and a little more mess.
That is not a flaw.
That is how you know Saint-Rémy did its job.