Best place in South or France for a week long visit

Arles is a nice home base to operate from. The train station is just on the northern edge of the city with plenty of hotels to choose from. However, would make sure air conditioning is available. Huge and diverse street market on Saturday morning and a smaller version on Wednesday. Plenty of Roman ruins to see. Other nearby cities like Avignon and Nimes are accessible by train. Additionally, am sure a tour bus option is available to visit the Pont de Gard aqueduct.

thankyou!! I am from New Zealand and NOT very well travelled , which is why I probably sound vague and naïve. These forums are a great start for me, and such a bonus hearing from a French citizen. Thankyou very much - your English is great by the way!

Hi, we enjoyed staying in Avignon. It's a direct fast-train from Paris (if you're coming from that area), and the train station is handy to visit surrounding towns such as Nimes. We also took one of the mini-van tours to the Luberon villages & lavender fields (in June). Avignon has some great affordable shopping in a pedestrian friendly area, the Popes Palace area, the famous Avignon bridge piece, and some of the old surrounding walls. You should also take the public transportation bus one day to the Pont du Gard. Enjoy your trip!

My one-word answer would be "Provence," though you might run out of steam without a car in a week.

Languedoc and French Catalonia are pretty great, but not without a car.

The above advice is great...my add would be that it will be very, very hot no matter where you are in the south during the month of August. Be prepared! Air con is not something you should expect so make sure to ask before making lodging reservations. Bring very light clothing and drink lots of water...the heat really can be oppressive. In some towns, things simply close up in the middle of the day so you may want to follow suit, retire to your air conditioned room for a couple of hours, and then come out again in late afternoon/early evening.

@Alex, fair enough! However I was thinking of places like Peyrpertuse and some of the smaller towns away from the coast. Not much rail service there!

I still think Provence has probably got the most to see closest by rail (Avignon, Nimes, Arles, Orange) and bus, at least in season (Les Baux, Sts Maries de la Mere), plus of course convenient to Paris.

Villafranche Sur Mer

I have enjoyed Arles and Nice as home bases for a few days each, but other towns mentioned also work and have good public transport options. If you have more than a week, then I would use more than one home base. If you can get your hands on Rick Steves' Provence & French Riviera guidebook, that would be a good fit for your trip. You can see an online overview of these towns at http://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france.

Alex, I agree with your thoughts about local buses. Our favorite stories of connecting with people have occurred from our local buses in France & Italy. You live in a beautiful area!