Avignon or Nimes?

I think you should take the group to Avignon. We have visited both cities. I think there is a contrast for your fellow travelers to the ruins and you will be nearer to Arles which I consider a must see, ore ruins and the Van Gogh history.. The Palace of the Popes is an interesting historical footnote. Good restaurants.

I was going to suggest Nimes until I read this:

We will have seen many romain ruins during our stay in Provence so the maison carree and the arena in Nimes are not a “must see “ for us.

I'm not a big fan of Avignon, but for a short visit I think it would be fine, although I think Arles would be a better choice.

I love Arles and we will be spending a day there. What is it about Avignon that you do not like? I was only there for a few hours on a tour with high school kids ( I’m a retired French teacher) but I loved the Palais du Pope and found the square around it charming. We did not have time to venture further.

Thanks Suki for your input. I am leaning towards Avignon.

I found Avignon easier to navigate from the highway to the main parking lots. Nimes does have a new Roman history museum, just opened.

The new museum looks interesting. I may have to reconsider Nimes. Thanks for the link

We spent several days in Avignon last September. Would highly recommend it. There is plenty to do for a few days.

I liked Nimes for about a half day of sight-seeing. Stayed in Arles and liked the choice. I only went to the castle across the river from Avignon then decided I didn't really need to go into Avignon. The description of sights there didn't inspire.

I liked Arles better than Avignon, but preferred Nimes to either one. As you see from the other responses, everyone has a different take.

Even though you'll have seen other Roman ruins, don't discount the arena in Nimes. It's not a "ruin," but is almost completely intact (far more than then one in Arles, or for that matter Rome itself). In addition, the audioguide is excellent, and really made it interesting; I probably spent almost 2 hours there. The Maison Carree was less impressive and to me can be skipped. But I just enjoyed the vibe of the town in general.

I loved the Palais du Pope and found the square around it charming.

That's really all I liked about Avignon.

I think we will go to Nimes rather than Avignon. The new museum there looks interesting and we will visit the arena and at least walk by the Maison Carree. The connection to the Pont du Gard which we will visit first is helping to sway my decision too. In doing my research I found out that we will be there during the Feria de Pentecost which is the only time the arena is not open for tours!!!! Fortunately we can go earlier in the week, the day before the Feria begins. That should work ok for us. Timing is everything! We will be in Normandy before we go to Provence. When I had difficulty booking a hotel I realized that we will be there the week of the 75th anniversary of D-Day! Again, I had to make sure that I booked our tour on a day when there are no ceremonies that would close some of the sites! Thanks everyone for your suggestions and insights!