Do I rent a car in Nice Or Avignon

If you rent the car in Nice, you can take advantage of scenic driving routes such as the Grand Canyon du Verdon and stop to see a Luberon town on the way to Avignon. A car rental often costs the same when booking ahead for 1, 2, or 3 days, but a 4th day would add a bit to the cost. Rick's book offers advice for parking in Avignon's public garages, but accommodations outside the city center would have fewer parking hassles.

We're doing that in reverse this summer. We'll have a rental car for the region around Avignon, then for between Avignon and Nice, then will turn the car in at Nice and use public transportation to visit the area. Have a great trip!

Having a car is certainly the best-only-way to see the area effectively. As far as parking in Avignon, we had parking available at our B & B however we elected to simply park in the free, public lot just outside of the city wall on the south side. There are a couple other lots around the city; we found it far easier to park, walk across the boulevard and in the gate, and three blocks to the B & B than to hassle driving in and parking inside the wall. Occasionally we had to wait a few minutes for a car to leave for there to be room in the lot, but we always found a spot.

As for sights, we were urged by our hostess to visit Uzes, and we were glad we did. We spent a half day there then headed to the Pont du Gard, arriving about two hours before sunset, the parking lot nearly empty.
Our most memorable day was when we drove to Gordes and Roussillon. It's just a wonderful area, and it's relatively easy to drive there-the cities aside-though I'd strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with signs and rules of the road. Note that cars entering the highway have the right of way...
Les Baux was fun, though pretty crowded, and the Carrieres de Lumieres was spectacular-highly recommended. It would have been nice to have gotten to Les Baux early in the day. We were there in September-have a great trip.

Dave lists lots of excellent places to visit. If you fancy a trip north of Avignon, see Orange and its magnificent ancient Roman theater. The area east of Orange, including Gigondas, Crestet, Malaucène, and Beaumes-de-Venise, are also visit-worthy, especially if you're interested in wines of the area.