There are probably lots of topics covering mine but to save me trawling through them ...
My partner and I would like to discover more of Provence after having already visited and loved Arles and the Carmargue a couple of years ago.
We'd prefer to travel fairly directly by TGV to our base and not stay in too many accommodations on this trip so thinking of using Avignon as a base for touring parts of Provence over 13 days at the beginning of September. Does Avignon provide access to enough places easily by car, local train or bus or should we realistically be thinking about 2 bases (we don't have to see everything this time)? We live and work in London so it's important for us to have rest and relaxation on this trip - will Avignon provide us with this when we're not touring?
Thanks all.
Posted by
Franklin, TN, USA
875 posts
Just returned from a 2 week trip to Provence. We trained to Avignon TGV and picked up our rental car. We stayed for the first 4 nights in Gordes-incredibly charming...and the next 5 nights in St. Remy de Provence. We wanted more than one base to use as we drove from market to market and to see the small villages in the area: Loumarin, Menerbes, Roussillon, Venasque, L’Isle de la Sorgue, to name a few. It worked out perfectly. Both Gordes and St. Remy have wonderful markets and are also quaint and fun to explore.
Hope this helps! Have a great trip.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks Jane I'll look into Gorges and St Remy - where did you stay for the rest of the 2 weeks?
Posted by
Truro, NS, Canada
3941 posts
I'd be more apt to break it up - maybe one place further east, then west, or north/south. We've been twice - stayed near Avignon first time and in Salon de Provence the second time - Salon was nicely placed for daytrips, since we wanted to go west to Nimes and area, and east to Aix/Manosque. We have an upcoming trip there in a few weeks and have 7 nights - 4 in Salon (to concentrate on spots to the west/north) and 3 in Manosque (concentrate on spots to the east).
Avignon didn't do a whole lot for me, but we didn't explore much. Sadly, we barely saw Salon either, and just used it as our base - we are going to remedy that on this trip though. Avignon would be well placed for trains/buses...
Posted by
11205 posts
We found some hassle getting in and out of Avignon for our daily excursions with our rental car. We changed our plans and added stays in Les Baux, Gordes and Eygalayes.
Posted by
1229 posts
Avignon is a bog city, relatively, so theres that to consider (I prefer staying in a village and visiting the city for day trips). Also, because Provence is so large, it would be nice to have at least two bases. We stayed in Il sur La Sorgue, and visited Roussillon, Vasion la Romaine,Arles/Le Baux , etc and even that was a lot of driving (but we were there for only 4 days). I agree with the person who suggested choosing a more easterly base and a more westerly one.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks all for the advice, I'm going to explore the two bases options.