Full-day private tour of the Medieval Villages Les Baux and St Remy de Provence
You will discover first the village of Les Baux de Provence, with an informal visit to the Castle after a short walking tour of the small village with time for morning coffee/refreshments at leisure. Les Baux de Provence clings precariously to an ancient rocky cliff. It is a fortified hilltop village, one of the most visited in Provence and you will easily understand its popularity, with its narrow cobbled streets, ancient houses run up to a ruined castle. Where the Baux family ruled from the 9th century 'til 1426 when it was integrated into Provence, subsequently became part of France in 1481. Later the people revolted against integration and Louis XI responded by dismantling the château. You will visit the village and the castle.
You will go then to the Carrières de Lumières, one-time 19th-century quarry Les Grand-Fonds. In the 1960s it found a new function thanks to the visionary genius of Jean Cocteau. You will visit the exhibition and have an Art and Music Immersive Experience. In 2019 it exhibits works of Vincent Van Gogh spanning 7,000 m² of the Carrières. A visual and musical production retracing the intense life of the artist, who in the last years of his life, painted more than 2,000 works.
Afterward, You will have short drive through the countryside and vineyards to the village of St Rémy de Provence, surrounded by lush valleys, ancient streets lined with old houses and built on one of the oldest archeological sites in Europe. where you will explore the village which includes a visit to the impressive Hôtel de Sade, a Renaissance hôtel Particulier built in 1513 by Balthazar de Sade. There are many museums, galleries, and shops - you will have leisure time here to enjoy, maybe do a little souvenir shopping.
You will then be driven through the hillsides of the Alpilles and through the national park returning to Aix-en-Provence or Marseille.