When to go to the Alpilles and Les Baux-de-Provence?
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Best time: April to June and September to October
At a glance
Why go to the Alpilles and Les Baux-de-Provence?
The Alpilles are a small range of white limestone set between the Durance and the Camargue, and that is what makes them so charming: in a week, you get to know every village, every ridge road and every mill. Protected by a regional nature park, they keep a farming landscape of olive groves, vineyards and almond trees, with mas farmhouses ringed by windbreak cypresses and pinewoods that smell of resin from April.
The heritage here is unusually dense: the ancient city of Glanum and its Antiques, the castle of the lords of Les Baux and its legends, the monastery where Van Gogh spent a year, the mansions of Saint-Rémy and the birthplace of Nostradamus. The Carrières des Lumières also offer a unique immersive show in a former stone quarry. It is a destination for couples and art lovers, and for food lovers too, with PDO olive oil, the wines of Les Baux and Provençal markets.
Hikers and cyclists will find narrow roads and waymarked trails along the ridges, open from October to June; in summer, access to the hills is regulated daily according to the fire risk. Spring and early autumn remain the best seasons: soft light, lively markets and quieter villages than in July-August, when Les Baux receives most of its million and a half visitors.
Map of the Alpilles and Les Baux-de-Provence: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Château des Baux
- Carrières des Lumières
- Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
- Glanum
- Saint-Paul-de-Mausole
- Maussane-les-Alpilles
How much does a trip to the Alpilles and Les Baux-de-Provence cost?
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €60-90 per day | campsite or a simple room out of season, market picnics, free villages, Antiques and ridges, one paid sight a day. |
| Comfort | €130-200 per day | a three-star hotel in Saint-Rémy or Maussane, one restaurant a day, the Château des Baux, the Carrières des Lumières, Glanum, Saint-Paul-de-Mausole. |
| Premium | €350 and up per day | a luxury mas hotel in Les Baux or Eygalières, a gourmet restaurant, a tasting at a wine estate, e-bike hire with a guide. Prices climb steeply in July-August. |
Bank cards are accepted almost everywhere; the Carrières des Lumières take cards only, while small market producers prefer cash.
Is the Alpilles and Les Baux-de-Provence safe?
The Alpilles are very safe. The main danger is fire: from 1 June to 30 September, access to the hills is regulated daily according to the risk level, and can be banned completely; check the map published by the prefecture late in the afternoon of the day before any hike, and never light a fire. The July-August heat regularly exceeds 35°C, so visit exposed sites such as Glanum or the Château des Baux early in the morning. The mistral can make the ridges and the Les Baux plateau dangerous, with violent gusts. In Les Baux, keep an eye on children near the cliff edges, as there are not railings everywhere. In car parks at tourist sites, leave nothing visible in the car.
What to see and do in the Alpilles and Les Baux-de-Provence
- Les Baux-de-Provence
- Château des Baux
- Carrières des Lumières
- Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
- Glanum
- Saint-Paul-de-Mausole
- Eygalières
- Maussane-les-Alpilles
Château des Baux
The Château des Baux is the former fortress of one of the most powerful families of medieval Provence. A castrum is mentioned as early as the second half of the 10th century, and the House of Baux controlled up to 79 towns and strongholds in the region. In the 14th century, Raymond de Turenne, who held the castle, ravaged the region so thoroughly that he was nicknamed the scourge of Provence. Alix des Baux, the last heiress, died in 1426; the lordship then passed to the Counts of Provence, and on the death of King René in 1480, Provence and Les Baux returned to the kingdom of France. Restored in the Renaissance by the Constable de Montmorency, the castle became a hotbed of rebellion again in 1631, and Richelieu ordered its destruction. Over 5 hectares, you explore the keep, the Saracen and Paravelle towers, the troglodyte dwellings and the castle chapel. Three siege engines have been reconstructed from medieval drawings: a battering ram, a ballista and a 17-metre-high trebuchet, powered by a quarryman's wheel. Allow 1h to 1h30 for the visit.
Carrières des Lumières
The Bringasses and Grands Fonds quarries supplied for centuries the white limestone used to build the castle and village of Les Baux. Blocks of two cubic metres were still being extracted until 1880, first with iron bars then with saws, before closure in 1935 in the face of competition from modern materials. In 1959, Jean Cocteau filmed scenes of The Testament of Orpheus here. In 1977, Albert Plécy created the Cathédrale d'Images, projecting giant photographs onto the walls; since 2012, the site has been run by Culturespaces under the name Carrières des Lumières. A great gallery runs 60 metres into the mountain and opens onto a hall divided by pillars 7 to 9 metres high left by the quarrymen: walls, pillars and floor all become the screen. In 2026, the exhibitions devoted to Picasso and Frida Kahlo alternate with a programme about the ocean on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and Intégrales evenings on Wednesdays in summer.
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy grew up next to Glanum, abandoned at the end of Antiquity, and has kept the layout of a medieval town ringed by plane-tree boulevards. Nostradamus was born here in 1503; a house on Rue Hoche is said to be his birthplace and a fountain bears his name. The Hôtel de Sade, a Renaissance building raised on Roman ruins, displays the collections found at Glanum: statues, stelae, votive altars. The Musée Estrine, in an 18th-century mansion bequeathed to the town, brings together modern and contemporary paintings and an interpretation centre devoted to Van Gogh, while the Musée des Alpilles, housed in the Hôtel Mistral de Mondragon, is devoted to the local area. Place Favier, called Place aux Herbes until 1849, spreads out in front of that same mansion. On Wednesday mornings, the market fills the whole centre: producers, Provençal fabrics, spices and ceramics. South of the town, Avenue Vincent-Van-Gogh leads in a quarter of an hour on foot to Saint-Paul-de-Mausole and then to Glanum.
Glanum
Glanum grew up around a spring considered sacred, at the mouth of a small valley in the Alpilles. The Glanici, members of the Salyan confederation, built a sanctuary and an oppidum here, then the town became Hellenised through contact with Marseille before entering the Roman orbit after the defeat of the Salyes at Entremont. Under Augustus, the city acquired a forum, temples, baths and wealthy houses, including the House of Epona near the entrance. Sacked during the invasions of the second half of the 3rd century, it was abandoned and forgotten until the excavations launched in 1921 by Jules Formigé and Pierre de Brun, continued by Henri Rolland until 1969. You can see the Hellenistic fountain, the bouleuterion, the temple of Cybele, the sacred well and its thirty-seven steps, and altars to Hercules. Opposite the site, the Antiques form a unique ensemble: the Mausoleum of the Julii, a cenotaph dedicated by three brothers to their ancestors between 30 and 20 BC, and the municipal arch from the end of Augustus's reign, adorned with Gaulish captives.
Saint-Paul-de-Mausole
The monastery of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, south of Saint-Rémy, is a former priory whose cloister and bell tower, masterpieces of Provençal Romanesque art, have been listed historic monuments since 1883. The north and east galleries of the cloister were built around 1140-1150, the other two at the end of the 12th century, around a medieval garden. Turned into a nursing home, the place took in Vincent van Gogh at his own request from 8 May 1889 to 16 May 1890, after his crisis in Arles. He painted a major part of his work here: the wheat field seen from his window, which he depicted fourteen times, the irises in the garden, and the olive trees and cypresses of the Alpilles. The establishment still takes in patients, and the visit also traces the history of the sisters of the Institut Saint-Joseph. The visit includes the cloister, the chapel, a reconstruction of his room, a botanical trail and, along the path leading to the chapel, twenty large-format reproductions installed where the canvases were painted.
Maussane-les-Alpilles
Maussane, population 2,347, grew up at the foot of Les Baux on a plain of olive trees that the local lords overlooked from their rock. Long attached to the parish of Le Paradou, its inhabitants obtained their own church in the 18th century, and olive growing became the town's speciality. The village once had as many as seven oil mills; the Moulin de Manville, the oldest, dates back to the 16th century. Today, two mills are still pressing: the one at the Mas des Barres, on the Route des Calans, where oil has been produced since 1720, and the Moulin Jean-Marie Cornille, a vaulted building from 1610, once owned by the lord of Manville, which became a cooperative in 1924 and brings together more than 700 members. Olive oil from the Vallée des Baux-de-Provence has been protected by an appellation since 27 August 1997 and blends the Salonenque, Aglandau (or Béruguette), Grossane and Verdale des Bouches-du-Rhône varieties. The same decree protects the cracked olives and black olives of the valley. Around the square, the fountain and café terraces make Maussane a convenient starting point for Les Baux, Le Paradou and Mouriès.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Three days let you see Les Baux, the Carrières, Saint-Rémy, Glanum and Saint-Paul-de-Mausole. A week leaves time for the villages, one or two hikes along the ridges and a day in Arles or the Camargue.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Alpilles and Les Baux-de-Provence guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of France
weekend (2 days)
Day 1: Les Baux-de-Provence early in the morning, the Château des Baux, lunch in Maussane, the Carrières des Lumières in the afternoon. Day 2: Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and its market if it is a Wednesday, otherwise a wander through the centre, then Saint-Paul-de-Mausole and Glanum in the afternoon.
4-5 days
Day 1: Saint-Rémy, the Hôtel de Sade and the Musée Estrine. Day 2: Glanum at opening time, Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, a walk to the Antiques. Day 3: the village and Château des Baux, the Carrières des Lumières. Day 4: Maussane and its mills, Le Paradou, Fontvieille. Day 5: Eygalières and the Chapelle Saint-Sixte, dinner in the village.
one week
Days 1 to 5: as above. Day 6: a hike along the ridges of the Alpilles from Saint-Rémy or Les Baux, if the fire regulations allow, or a bike ride along the back roads. Day 7: Arles, its arena and Roman theatre, or Tarascon and its castle, before heading to Avignon TGV.
Getting there and getting around
The TGV from Paris-Gare de Lyon reaches Avignon TGV in about 2h40; from there, Saint-Rémy is half an hour's drive. Arles, served by regional TER trains, is 20 km from Les Baux. Zou regional coaches serve the area, including line 707 Avignon-Saint-Rémy-Les Baux-Arles in summer, line 702 Arles-Salon via Maussane and line 704 Cavaillon-Arles via Saint-Rémy.
A car remains the most flexible way to string the villages together in a day. In Les Baux, car parks are pay-and-display and fill up quickly; in Saint-Rémy, leave the car on the outer boulevards.
A bike, preferably electric, is a good choice in spring and autumn: the distances between villages are short, but the roads that cross the range climb steeply and the mistral can blow hard in your face.
Where to stay in the Alpilles and Les Baux-de-Provence?
Budget: the small hotels of Saint-Rémy and Maussane stay under €100 a night out of season, a little more in July-August. The campsites of Saint-Rémy and Maussane are the cheapest option in the warmer months.
Comfort: the three-star hotels of Saint-Rémy, often in former town houses with garden and pool, and those of Maussane charge €130 to €200 a night in season. B&Bs in the mas farmhouses around Eygalières and Le Paradou offer a similar range.
Our favourite: the Alpilles have some of the most renowned addresses in Provence, in Les Baux, Eygalières and Saint-Rémy, in mas farmhouses among the olive trees. Even if you do not stay there, book a table in the evening for the terrace at sunset over the range.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in the Alpilles and Les Baux-de-Provence?
PDO Vallée des Baux-de-Provence olive oil can be tasted at the mills of Maussane, Mouriès or Fontvieille; the green-fruity oil and the gentler matured oil are not used in the same way. The cracked olives, prepared with fennel, and the black Grossane olives carry the same appellation.
The wines of Les Baux-de-Provence, mainly reds and rosés, can be tasted at the estates at the foot of the range, many of them organic. In restaurants, Alpilles lamb, daube, stuffed vegetables and anchoïade cost €20 to €35 a dish in village bistros.
The Saint-Rémy market on Wednesday mornings is the largest in the range, with goat's cheeses, fruit, tapenades, spices and Provençal fabrics. The other villages have their own weekly market, smaller and more peaceful.
Entry requirements
Schengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about the Alpilles and Les Baux-de-Provence
When should you visit the Alpilles?
From April to June and in September-October: soft light, lively markets, hiking possible and less crowded villages. In July-August, it is very hot, Les Baux is overrun and access to the hills may be closed because of the fire risk.
Do you need to book the Carrières des Lumières?
It is advisable in summer and during the school holidays. The programmes change depending on the day: in 2026, Picasso and Frida Kahlo on some days, a show about the ocean on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Can you visit the Alpilles without a car?
Partly. Zou coaches link Avignon, Arles, Saint-Rémy, Maussane and Les Baux, and Saint-Rémy can be explored on foot along with Glanum and Saint-Paul-de-Mausole. For Eygalières and the mills, an e-bike or a car is more practical.
Where can you see Van Gogh in the Alpilles?
At the monastery of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, where he lived from May 1889 to May 1890, and at the Musée Estrine in Saint-Rémy, which devotes an interpretation centre to him with screenings and documentation.
How many days should you allow?
Three days for Les Baux, Saint-Rémy and Glanum, a week to add the villages, the mills, a hike and a day in Arles.
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