Carrieres de Luminaries-Les Baux

[123kitties]

We will be in Marseilles this year and we would like to go to Les Baux and spend some time to see the city and we would also like to see Carrieres de luminaries which is very near Les Baux. THe ship excursion only gives you 2 hours in Les Baux which would not be enough to see both the city and the attraction. Does any one have any ideas of how we could accomplish this? Thanks.

[realent]

We will be in Marseilles this year and we would like to go to Les Baux and spend some time to see the city and we would also like to see Carrieres de luminaries which is very near Les Baux. THe ship excursion only gives you 2 hours in Les Baux which would not be enough to see both the city and the attraction. Does any one have any ideas of how we could accomplish this? Thanks.

 

I am currently working on this as well. This is from the Museum director.

 

Bonjour,

Thank you for the interest you are taking in our site.

The train would be the easiest way to travel from Marseilles to Arles (20 km away from Les Baux).

But going from Arles to Les Baux is more complicated. You can take bus from Arles and stop in Maussane (5 km from Les Baux) but I would advise to take a taxi as you might lose time waiting for a bus .

I hope you will find a way to come and see our show, as you say, it’s amazing…

Best regards.

Cordialement.

Marie-Alix DAVEY

tel: 04 90 54 55 59

[Hlitner]

Well, its easy to accomplish if you simply rent a car and drive. Otherwise you will have to find some kind of private tour that is within your budget. When it comes to Les Baux and/or the Carrieres de Luminaries...the train is totally useless. Keep in mind that its often possible to get a decent rental car for the entire day for about $100. Of course most of the rental cars (at least the ones that have a reasonable fee) are manual shift. If you need an automatic make sure that is clear in your reservation.

 

Hank

[realent]

Well, its easy to accomplish if you simply rent a car and drive. Otherwise you will have to find some kind of private tour that is within your budget. When it comes to Les Baux and/or the Carrieres de Luminaries...the train is totally useless. Keep in mind that its often possible to get a decent rental car for the entire day for about $100. Of course most of the rental cars (at least the ones that have a reasonable fee) are manual shift. If you need an automatic make sure that is clear in your reservation.

 

Hank

 

Thank you so much. I was thinking the same thing.

Do you have a location you recommend?

Also, our Azamara ship is spending the night. I would like to keep it for the following day. Do you think at is wise and is parking an issue?

 

I really appreciate all of your info and sharing!

 

Nancy

[Hlitner]

In Marseille, just about all the major rental car companies (Hertz, Avis, Europcar, etc) have offices located near the main St Charles Train Station. The best way would be to book a car in advance (you usually can get better prices on the internet) and then simply use a taxi to get from the port to your agency. An alternative is to use a shuttle bus to get into town from where you will have about a 15-20 min walk to get to most of the agencies. To be the best of my knowledge there are no rental car companies delivering cars at the port (if this has changed we hope somebody posts the info).

 

As to keeping a car overnight, we have never done it at this port (we have done it Bordeaux and elsewhere) and I am not sure if there is anywhere at or near the port where you can park. Unless you get lucky and there is another poster who has good info you might try to e-mail the local tourist office at info@marseille-tourisme.com and ask for help. They may or may not help...but it only costs you a few minutes to find out.

 

I can tell you that there is some parking right outside the entrance of Les Baux. There are several parking areas located right along the main road...although you do need some luck to find an empty spot on a busy day. You might also want to stop in St Remy de Provence (this is where we have rented an apartment) to take a quick look see in this delightful Provencial community. One reason we enjoyed staying in St Remy was that it was not a tourist city (although tourists visit the place) and we felt like we were in a true French community.

 

Hank

[realent]

Merci Hank.

 

Today I reserved a hertz car at the train station and pre-purchase tickets to the show. We plan to also go to Les Baux and St Remy as you suggest.

 

We may or may not keep the car for the following day or take the train to Aix.

 

We have some strange times that are available to us to tour due to some seminars on board and we also have our Azamazing evening to get back to on our second day in Marseille.

 

I will report back on how it all goes when we get back.