Salut!
My wife and I will be picking up a car in Nice and then dropping it off in Avignon. I see that there are two locations to pick up a rental car in Nice - the airport and the train station. We will be staying in Villefranche-sur-mer the night before so I'm assuming it'll be easier for us to get to the train station, but I figured I'd see if anyone has experience with this. Thanks!
Is the cost the same? If you aren't flying into Nice right before you pick up the car, it seems it would be easier to pick up the car at the rail station in Nice. Presumably you will be stopping between Nice and Avignon, hence the need for the car?
Is the cost the same? If you aren't flying into Nice right before you pick up the car, it seems it would be easier to pick up the car at the rail station in Nice. Presumably you will be stopping between Nice and Avignon, hence the need for the car?
The airport pick-up is ~$100 cheaper - so not a huge deal. And yes, we will be spending 4 nights in a small home outside of Gordes that has a parking space.
I've never driven in France before either so honestly whichever location has the easiest roads to navigate, I probably would want to go with that. I noticed that the airport is on our route to Gordes so that's why I thought it may have an advantage even if it is further out than the train station. Speaking of route, I wonder if anyone has opinions on a scenic, somewhat meandering route from Nice to Gordes. We would certainly like to prioritize the scenic route!
Thanks for your reply.
I have driven in France but not in the south, so sorry, I can't help you with driving routes. I took the train from Nice to Arles and Avignon.
Saving $100 isn't enough to detour much I guess, but if the airport is on your driving route anyway, maybe it doesn't save you any time getting the car at the train station anyway. Sometimes driving away from an airport is easier than driving away from an urban train station, but again, I haven't driven in Nice, so can't say.
The airport. The tram will take you there directly. The airport is very close, but the real advantage is that when you drive out of the airport, you get right onto the autoroute and you are on the west side of the city.
The airport. The tram will take you there directly. The airport is very close, but the real advantage is that when you drive out of the airport, you get right onto the autoroute and you are on the west side of the city.
Aha, I thought this may be the case. Thanks for your experience.
Just to second (and supplement) Bets response, it is a bit easier to navigate out of the airport, with reduced traffic. You can take the train from Villefranche-sur-Mer to theNice San Augustin Station and then connect to the Tram line 2 below from the Grand Arenas stop, and take it two spots Terminal 2. This will be free to the airport, I believe. From the arrival point there you can head straight to the Rental Car center.
The airport is really close to Nice, so I would definitely head there to save $100. Even if you don't use public transport and spend $25 in extra taxi fares for the longer ride. Plus, as others have said, navigation out of the city will be a bit easier from the airport.
As Bets, Gooster, and Balso have said, save $100 and head to the airport on the tram to get your car there. Easy !
