Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

The Provence is so full of beautiful places, no way you will get bored around here. Take the gorgeous little town Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, situated about an hour drive of Aix-en-Provence. Right in the heart of the Alpilles mountains. Over here you experience the typical Provence feeling, though it is also very “mondaine” with its beauties of boutiques and art shops. Apparently Saint-Rémy is very popular among the famous French, a place to see and be seen. Well, as we are just a plain family, we didn’t have to worry about that haha! We did find that Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is also a great place for a kid friendly provençal day trip.

Oh that playground!

We randomly parked our car and it happened to be next to one of the most beautiful playgrounds I have seen. At the Square Joseph Mauron, next to the Tourism office, you find the most kid friendly place of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The playground is made of natural objects that are references to animals and insects living in the Alpilles. The philosophy behind this is to get kids more in touch with the local fauna. I love it!

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You can easily spend some time here with your kid, afterwards you have enough leverage to stroll into the pretty centre. There are lots of beautiful shops to do some local window or (when your kid is in a good mood) real shopping.

We only had the chance to drink a cup of café in town, but that was definitely a place I can recommend to take your kid to. It is called Chez Mamine, were they serve drinks, lunch and home made cakes. It has a perfect terrace on the square of the City Hall. Lucky us, drinking our coffee and have a glance at two newly weds being showered with lavender. So Provence! The kids could just run around the square and play at the fountain. But there are heaps of restaurants to try another time!

Full of art and history

As Dutchies we are very proud of ‘our’ Vincent Van Gogh. By chance we happen to end up in places were he painted. From Nuenen (The Netherlands) to Arles to now in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Here he made (my favorite!) La Nuit Étoilée, The Starry Night. The painting is of course not only beautiful and intriguing, it also represents the troubles Van Gogh was facing. He had himself admitted in the psychiatrical clinic in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, so a lot of elements of his mental state can be seen in this painting. Van Gogh painted many paintings while he was here, including his Amandier en fleurs, Almond Blossom. You can download the Van Gogh Natures app to guide you through a one hour walk on a path full of Van Gogh reproductions.

If you and your kid are more into antiquity, you can visit the archeological site ‘Glanum’, just outside of town. Do you speak some French? Then you can download a little booklet to guide your kid through the roman discoveries.

A place to stay

So much to discover in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence with your family, so this is for sure a good place for a kid friendly provençal day trip. If you are interested in spending some more time around here and you are of the camping type, I could really recommend camping Mon Plaisir. Located just one kilometer from town, you are very warmly welcomed by the sweet family that has put its heart into their camping site. Every detail is done with style. The camping has a small playground, a heated pool, chickens running around and perfect paths for kids to cycle around. You could check this article for more kid-friendly activities in the surroundings.

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