We are just beginning to plan our first trip to France in late March/early April. We are retirees. We know we will be spending the first 7 nights with friends in Nice and ending with 5 or 6 nights in Paris. We will be mostly dependent on trains and buses. Perhaps we'd rent a car for a day excursion or two. We are trying to decide how to spend the 5 or 6 nights between those two destinations. One location with great access to lots of things to see and do would be ideal, but we could break it up between 2 locations. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Posted by
California 🦋
5293 posts
Avignon makes a good "home" base, especially if you want to rely on public transportation to visit surrounding cities & towns.
Here are some examples to give you an idea:
- L'Isle-sur-la Sorgue-- 30 minute train ride.
- St. Remy -- 50 minute bus ride
- Les Baux -- 60 minute bus ride (only on weekends May & June and daily end of June-- end of August)
- Arles -- 20 minutes via direct train
- Pont du Gard-- 45 minutes via bus
- Nimes-- 30 minutes via train
- Orange-- 20 minutes via train
- Vaison la Romaine- via train to Orange then 50 minutes by bus
We spent a week in Provence this June & wanted to experience a small town & a home base for taking day trips, so we spent
3 nights in L'Isle sur la Sorgue & 4 nights in Avignon. We enjoyed both of these places & didn't take as many day trips as we had originally planned! ;-) We did make it to St. Remy & Les Baux one beautiful sunny day.
We didn't have a car & relied solely on public transportation.
If you wish to travel to smaller villages such as Gordes & Roussillon, I'd recommend you get a car, as I couldn't figure out a way to reach these places via public transportation when we were there in early June.
The buses that travel to both of these villages are only available during the summer months, July & August.
Have a wonderful trip!
EDIT to add...
- You can check schedules & book train tickets here:http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers
- Read about the most beautiful villages in France:http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/en/the-most-beautiful-villages-of-france
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
If you have 6 nights, then I would look at 4 nights in Provence and 2 nights in Lyon.
Some great suggestions above, all easy by train/bus.
Day 1. Train from Nice to Arles (4)
Day 2. Nimes & Pont du Gard
Day 3. Avignon & Orange
Day 4. Les Baux & St Remy
Day 5. Train to Lyon (2)
Day 6. Lyon
Day 7. Train to Paris
It was April when I spent time in Provence - just gorgeous.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks for the feedback! Much to ponder...