Heading there next fall. Flying into paris, hope to catch a train to Avignon the same afternoon.
Hints as to what to see ( or not to bother with), recommendations for where to stay, day trips, etc appreciated. My friend and I hope to find an apartment near the town center and do some cooking while there. Is there a farmer's market?
Posted by
Camano Island, WA, usa
1519 posts
I'm wondering if you want to be in the center of town in Avignon as it mostly caters to tourists with a lot of hotels. The market in town center is Halles d'Avignon; it a large indoor market with extended hours where you can probably find anything you want but is not the small farmer's market you might be imagining. You may want to look at the smaller towns and villages surrounding Avignon for a quieter neighborhood feel. Most villages have a farmer's market on their selected day so the farmers can rotate through the area. I'm supposing that you can find a rental with a kitchen that is affordable in the more suburban areas. Other posters may have specific leads on this. October should be a great time to be in Provence.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
We plan on being there about 5-6 days. My friend is open to renting a car for a bit, I am fine with walking the town and perhaps taking a tour. Any feedback on those?
Do we need reservations for the train?
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Kathleen, I live on Whidbey!
Posted by
Washington DC
28083 posts
The TGVs are all-reserved trains. You can potentially save a lot of money by buying TGV tickets early, before others snap up all the (quantity-limited) cheap tickets. You can go to the SNCF website and compare the cost to travel to Avignon tomorrow to the fare you see for mid-May (as far out as schedules are loaded). At the moment you won't find many fares because so many trains are being canceled, but I saw a 157-euro one-way fare for tomorrow, so they can go at least that high. For May 15, there are a couple of trains under 50 euros (TGV Inoui, with some extra rules attached) and some regular TGVs in the under-65-euro range.
However, you need to be sure of your travel date and time before buying. I think SNCF may have changed its ticketing rules recently, but at the very least it would be very expensive to have to change the ticket.
Avignon has two train stations. The Avignon Centre station will almost certainly be closer to your hotel. You can get a ticket through to that station with a change at the Avignon TGV station.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4088 posts
Or you might fly into Marseille Provence airport and take a regional train (TER service) from near the terminal to Avignon centre. If flying trans-Atllantic you may have to change planes in a gateway city. Bought as a single ticket, it should cost only a little more than getting off in Paris.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks, but already booked our flight into paris. Good to know for next time ( fingers crossed!).