Hello...We will be renting a car in Avignon in the morning for a slow and leisurely drive to Lyon, where we will return it the same evening. We have 12 hours to work with and are looking for suggestions of cities or sites to stop and see as we work our way north. For the rest of our trip we are using trains between bigger cities, but we want the car to allow us to explore places along the route that are not as accessible by public transportation. Orange is on our list already. Also, is there somewhere you would suggest along the way for a lunch stop? Thanks for the help!
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6711 posts
Google Maps tells me it will take about 2.5 hours by autoroute from Avignon to Lyon with no stops or traffic, so you really have about nine hours to play with. That should allow some good exploration, though not enough time for all the sights below. Especially considering the time you'll be spending in Orange.
I haven't been to the scenic Gorges de l'Ardeche, north of Orange and west of the Rhone, but I'd like to go. Nearby is the Chauvet Cave, much larger and older than Lascaux, with a replica site that can be visited. This area may be too far out of your way for the 12-hour timeframe, assuming that you'd want to spend some time there as well as drive in and out.
Northeast of Orange is Vaison-la-Romaine, with extensive Roman ruins and a medieval fortified town. Closer to Lyon is Vienne, with Roman ruins. Both would be worth visiting if you're into those, as I am. And if you haven't visited the Pont du Gard, west of Avignon, you might consider that also.
Posted by
Australia
1069 posts
Vienne looks lovely. We are all planning to visit it in October.
Posted by
Paris
7216 posts
For a shorter stop close to the main route, the Valrhona chocolate museum in Tain l'Hermitage is quite interesting.
For a quirky stop in the same area, the Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval is...unique, I shall say no more.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10486 posts
Good suggestions. The Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval would be first on my list, followed by several hours in Vienne, one of my favorite places to visit for its Roman ruins and a paleoChristian church turned museum. Across the Rhone from Vienne is an excellent Roman museum, but you have the amazing Gallo-Roman museum to visit in Lyon.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thank you everyone for your suggestions! There are enough options here to more than fill our travel day. We are into "quirky" stops, so the Palais Ideal will go on the list. We will be seeing Nimes earlier in the trip and Orange during our drive. So now it is a matter of choosing which towns we want to visit for more Roman ruins, or if we want to branch out for something different.