Fine tuning 2 weeks in Provence and French Riviera in spring

Posted by Laurie (Michigan) on 02/27/25 03:15 AM

Hello!
I'm planning a spring trip loosely following Rick's proposed 2 week itinerary to explore Provence and the French Riviera by train. I already know that we will skip some of his stops, because we'd like to linger longer in some of the areas, and have a slower pace of travel. We will travel for 16 days, not counting our flight days. We will not drive, so need to plan on trains and buses.

Here's his proposed itinerary:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/provence-french-riviera-itinerary

We will fly round trip in and out of Nice. Ideally, we would like to limit our overnight locations to three or four so we’re not traveling as much between locations. I know we want to be in Nice the night before our flight so I’m thinking we might as well spend several nights in Nice at the end of the trip. So I’m trying to think about how to best spend the first 12 days’ time in the loop from Nice to Provence and back.

How would you plan the overnight stays with these towns and villages as priorities? Also, am I missing something I should consider? I’m hoping for advice about three good places to stay in addition to Nice for our overnights.

Nice
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Eze
Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Arles
Nimes
Point du Gard
Aix en Provence

I realize Avignon is a good transportation hub but I think I would rather stay in Arles than Avignon from what I’ve been researching.

No desire to go to Monaco on this trip. We don’t wish to stay in Marseille. We’re leaving off the Côtes du Rhône region in Rick’s itinerary this time so that we can spend more time in other areas.

Would like to see some natural beauty regions if on a tour, like the Camargue, or the Calanques, or the Gorge du Verdon…but maybe that isn’t easy to manage if depending on a tour?

Zipping back to Nice on the TGV seems like a good idea, but not sure from Aix, or Marseille, or Avignon.
Or… maybe a short stay in Villefranche-sur-Mer on arrival, then take the TGV to Avignon to explore Provence? So many options!

Thank you for any advice you can offer for putting these pieces together in a memorable way. :-)

Laurie

Posted by ChristineH

Gettysburg PA

02/27/25 04:17 AM

7573 posts

Laurie-
From your list I would stay in Nice, Arles, Aix, Villefranche.
Do you have 16 nights?

Nice at the end
I’d want 3 nights at least in Nice and 1 night for every day trip

I think Villefranche would be a nice place to get over jet lag.
Eze and St. Paul are day trips from Nice.
Nimes and Pont du Gard are day trips from Arles.
Avignon could be paired with Pont du Gard
I think your best bet for guided tours to Calanques or Gorge du Verdon would be from Aix.

I’d figure out the order by which day of the week- check market days in Aix- pretty much every day I think. Arles Saturday market is a must.

Fly in to Nice- how long is this flight? How much travel are you up to after this flight? (Never mind I just re-read your other post)

I’d go to Villefranche- it’s the closest accessible by train or splurge on driver

Villefranche 2 nights
Train to Arles or Aix- doesn’t need to be TGV- whichever train works
Arles 4 or 5 nights- 2 or 3 day trips
Train to Aix- either thru Avignon or thru Marseilles
Aix 4 nights- 1 or 2 day trips
Train to Nice
Nice 5 or 6 nights- 2 or 3 day trips

You could take a night or 2 away from above and choose one more location for a 1-2 night stay if you want. Nimes would be my choice
Might give Avignon 1 night if it makes sense to be there night before a train.

Your previous post has some good ideas too
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/considering-rick-s-provence-and-french-riviera-itinerary-by-train-fly-rt-or-open-jaw

I'm still fine tuning our Provence trip;)