My daughter and I are staying Arles for three nights before heading to Barcelona. We're thinking of going to Gordes to see the lavender fields with a stop in St Remy. Is this doable by train? I'm not opposed to renting a car for the day, but prefer not to drive if it makes sense.
Thank you kindly!
I think you pretty much have to drive. There is no train station in Gordes. There is no bus from Arles. I know there are tours that go from Avignon or Marseille, but I doubt there are any from Arles.
To avoid driving, you would need to do the following. Take the train from Arles to Cavaillon (which requires a train change in Miramas). Then take the bus from Cavaillon to Gordes (only a few times per day). This would take significantly longer than driving.
If you go, you will love it. Gordes is one of the most beautiful villages in France. If you go, I hope you will also go to the Senanque Abbey - it's beautiful and impressive.
A car is the best for a number of reasons. First, there is no there is no train station in Saint Remy. The closest ones are in Arles and Avignon. So going by train between Arles and Saint Remy is out. You could take the bus from Arles to Saint Remy. Now on to getting to Gordes -- yikes. That town is not easy to get to with mass transit either. I am pretty sure that it has no train station (I was all over the town this past summer and did not notice any train tracks or station but I drove so I was not looking for trains). Gordes has limited bus connections and I don't think that there is a bus connection through either Arles or Saint Remy meaning that from Arles you would have to go to Avignon to catch a bus for an almost 3 hour trip to Gordes or from Saint Remy you could go to Cavaillon to catch the bus to Gordes. And then there is the fact that you may not see any lavender fields along the bus route. All that is the reason why I initially said to rent a car.
Oops, posting the same time as Steven. Sorry for the duplication. And, the Abbey is only reachable by car and well worth the trip.
