How to spend a week in or near Avignon

Do you need to use public transportation or will you want to rent a car?

We spent 2 nights in Avignon on our France My Way tour last September. I really think Arles is a must see. It's an easy train ride from Avignon. We spent 4 hours there and could easily have spent twice that. Check out You Tube videos for both Arles and Avignon and, of course, Rick's episodes on that area.

mcontrar2,
Avignon is not my favorite city in this area. I would choose Arles as a base. In Arles there is the wonderful Roman arena (sometimes offering entertainment), other Roman ruins and the Van Gogh connection, to name a few. Good day trips from there (with a car) are Nimes, the Pont de Gard, St Remy de Provence, Les Baux, the Camargue, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon (for a half day with maybe lunch there), visits to vinyards. (If some of these are not convenient day trips from Arles, I hope other forum members will pop in and correct me.)
I recommend renting a car for flexibility and freedom. If you don't have a car, I have read that you would have more options for guided tours or public transportation from Avignon than from Arles.

My husband and I love Avignon and have just spent a total of about nine days there over the past three months. We stayed both times at the Mercure Palais de Papes. It is not fancy, but it is very nicely located and the staff there are all engaging, helpful, polite, and very friendly.

It is very easy to walk from the train station to your hotel. We found the main street of the town to be lively and busy, with some nice boulangeries along the way.

Avignon was a good base for us to visit Arles, Nîmes, and Aix en Provence. We also visited several museums in Avignon, walked out on the half bridge, and did Rick’s two walks through the city. We particularly enjoyed the Angladon Museum.

We enjoyed tea at La Mirande, in a beautiful, light filled atrium, with some amazing cheesecake 😀. Note: there is a cat that apparently lives in the hotel and wanders about during tea time. It’s a perfectly nice cat, but my husband is severely allergic to cats, so this was an issue for us. We’d love to go back someday, but probably won’t be able to because of the cat.

Anyway, we really like Avignon a lot and would be happy to go back. The city itself is enjoyable and it is very easy to get around the area from Avignon by bus or train.

I did forget to add that I would prefer public transportation - train or bus - rather than auto.

We also loved Avignon, but only stayed three nights, at Le Horloge, right opposite the Palace of the Popes, in fact our terrace had a great view.

We had one day wandering the town and another hired a private driver to take us around the region.

Do not miss Pont du Gard!

We could have happily spent a week.

We also enjoyed Avignon and easily spent a couple days just enjoying the town, but were there for more than a week and staying in an Airbnb. From the walled old town, the train station is a very easy walk. Avignon is a rail hub. We made day trips to Arles (15 minutes on the train), Marseille (about 30 minutes on the train), Nimes (30 minutes on the train), Pont du Gard (had to take a bus), Orange (15 minutes on the train) and Isle sur la Sorgue (also about 30 minutes) Aix is a little further afield at 2 hours on the train.

The eternal Arles vs Avignon debate is reignited. I, personally, much prefer Arles to Avignon but Avignon is pretty little city and is the hub for the transportation in area so it is a good choice for a base. Avignon has some interesting areas to explore, several restaurant areas and a good permanent Les Halles market. Depending on your interests I agree that Nimes is a good day trip by train as is Pont du Gard (bus) is that is something that would interest you. You're also deep in wine country if you want to arrange a tour in the area.

My favorite town in the area is St Remy which is charming and has a fantastic market day and is surrounded by interesting things to see - Glanum, Les Baux, van Gogh asylum, etc. You would need a ~45 minute bus from either Arles or Avignon to get to St Remy.

If I was putting together a trip for a week I would look at 3 nights in Avignon, 2 nights in Arles and 2 nights in St Remy. If this is too much moving around or you're bus averse I would do 4 in Avignon and 3 in Arles exploring from both. Make sure you hit at least one good market day since it is part of the Provence experience. Arles is good and St Remy is remarkable (and busy) do check which day is market day and plan accordingly.

My $.02, have a great trip,
=Tod

In 2013 we spent 7 nights in Avignon, having chosen it has a base to visit sites in that area (before moving on to Antibes). It was an excellent base. Daily itineraries:

• Sightsee Avignon: Les Halles, Musée de Petit Palais, walked the city ramparts and many small streets
• Train to/from Orange to visit the Roman Theater and Arc de Triomphe. Once back in Avignon we visited the Palais des Papes.
• Public bus to Pont du Gard, then public bus from Pont du Gard to Nimes (visiting Maison Carrée and Temple of Diana), then train back to Avignon.
• Train to/from Arles, visiting the Arena, shops, and farmer's market.
• Rental car to Les Baux, Les Carrières de Lumières, Cloître Saint-Paul (Van Gogh) and next-door Glanum Greek/Roman ruins, and finishing with brief stop in town of St. Rémy (to visit the store Le Petit Duc for traditional sweets) before driving back to Avignon.
• Final day in Avignon: sightsee Avignon, including visiting the Avignon Musée Angladon.