I'm planning a first time trip to France for myself and adult daughter. We will be traveling there in May 2020. I've read so much that I'm on information overload! We would like to see Paris for half the trip and then head to Provence and fly home from Nice. We are active but also like to be leisurely if the mood strikes us. We want to see the major sites in Paris (Museums, night dinner cruise, cathedral, Versailles) and Pont du Gard, Papal Palace in Avignon, Lumieres, Isle ser la Sorgue, Eze, Monaco, and Nice. We don't want to rent a car if at all possible (not budgetary related but both do a lot of driving so we would prefer a break from it, especially on our first trip there and not knowing how heavy the traffic is) and looking at 10-12 days. Is this possible? And what mode of transportation is recommended?
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!
Posted by
Paris
7304 posts
Hi,
Your initial rough plan looks very sound. You can spend five nights in Paris, three in Avignon, three in Nice and see the sights you mention. Between these cities, best way to travel is the high-speed train (oui.sncf for times, bookings open three months ahead and sometimes more like four months, esp ahead of summer). As for Avignon and Nice, I'm singling them out because they are the best hubs for public transportation in their respective regions.
The one place that is hard to reach without a car is Les Baux de Provence and neighboring Carrières de Lumière, but I'm pretty sure that tours are available from Avignon if you really want to go... Else, you can visit the Atelier des Lumières in Paris, it's the same principle, and it will be easier - you won't have that much time in Avignon
Posted by
613 posts
For reasons beyond our control 21 days of our 200+ days of travel in France were wasted in Paris. 3 days is enough The best tourist spot in France is Colmar and the Route de Vin Alsace. Think about including it.
When outside Paris, rental car is the best way for two to travel. The cost is reasonable, but the big advantage is efficiency and flexibility. If you go by public transit, you will waste a lot of time compared to how fast you can get things done by car.
Like Paris, Monaco is a second rate sight. Better seeing Menton, Villefranch sur Mar, Cap Ferat, Cannes.
There are two Ezes. You want Eze Village, not Eze sur Mar.
Provence has a notable collection of Roman ruins-- Pont du Gard, Orange theater, Nimes, Arles and a place further north on the Rhone, maybe Valance, that has some good ruins and a top rate museum with a stunning collection of mosaics. Again, go by car.
A Michelin Green Guide is an essential for trip planning and for travel.
There is hotel/bar/restaurant at the top of Mt Ventou that has a most friendly cat.
Posted by
Washington DC
28085 posts
I don't agee that you necessarily need a car; it depends on where you want to go. I suspect that renting one for a day or two would facilitate getting to Les Baux and the Pont du Gard. In some other places--including Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Monaco and Menton--a car would be a major, and likely costly, encumbrance.
As for 3 days being enough in Paris, the mind boggles.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks for the tips, everyone!
Posted by
Vacaville, Ca
1444 posts
There are most likely local tour companies in both towns as well.
Enjoy your trip.
Posted by
Chicago
8556 posts
We spend anywhere from 6 weeks to two months in Paris most years and I cannot imagine anyone thinking 3 days was enough. In addition to the city itself, the region is filled with absolutely enchanting day trip possibiities -- small towns, chateaux, larger towns of special interest like Reims and Rouen --- I would split my time between the two. do 6 nights in Paris/5 days and then 6 in Provence and the riviera. 3 is good for Nice which connects by train to towns along the coast and 3 is plenty for Avignon if you can find some local guides or tours to get you to some of the other places you want to see. Provence is hard to do well without a car -- perhaps look for small local tours or even private guides for a couple of jaunts.
Posted by
Denver
799 posts
I went on a 10-day trip to Paris and Provence in May with my adult daughter (and my spouse). Because we had been to Paris several times, we focused on Provence, specifically historic sights and wine. We weren't interested in Monaco or Nice, so didn't go there. Because of the way the flight times worked, we spent our first night in Paris, then took the morning TGV to Aix-en-Provence, where we picked up a rental car and spent some time.
We then spent four nights at a lovely, lovely inn on the edge of the small town of Saint Remy - big enough for a good selection of restaurants and cafes, but small enough that the traffic and driving in and out of town was easy. (Note that St. Remy also hosts a large market on Wednesday am, but we weren't there on a Wed.) It was gorgeous, interesting and relaxing. (We then spent another 4 nights in northern Provence, but that's outside of the area you're interested in, and ended with two nights in Paris.)
In terms of renting a car, don't do so if it would make your holidays stressed. We almost always rent a car; I drive, and husband or daughter navigates. But I can tell you that places in Provence are quite close together, and I found the driving scenic and easy (note that we didn't go to Monaco or Nice). For the large towns (Aix, Avignon, Arles, Nimes), I took time before the trip to locate a couple of parking garages, so I had a mental idea of where they were (I have a bad sense of direction, so that really helps me in new locations). That, coupled with my navigator's instruction and the copious signs on the signs showing where the parking was available, made it easy to locate parking. Use Youtube, I'm sure you can find videos of driving through Provence, so you can see what it's like.
Also, unless you really don't care about what you eat, do not take a dinner cruise on the Seine. The food will be your typical corporate venue food. Instead, have dinner at a nice Paris restaurant or cafe, and take an evening cruise before or after dinner. We prefer the bateaux vedettes pont neuf, because the boats are smaller and (depending on where in Paris you stay) the embarkation point is more centrally located. Another piece of advice - if you go to Pont du Gard any time around lunch, pick up some picnic food (including wine) and have a picnic lunch on the shore of the river next to Pont du Gard. The museum there, by the way, is very good (though a bit overly detailed).
Enjoy!
Posted by
1038 posts
I think a roughly even split is right. You won’t run out of things to see and do in Paris, and you can also just enjoy doing next to nothing there!
For Provence, take the TGV train to Avignon then work from there. Avignon has good transport options, but personally I did not love the place. If you’re dead set on not driving, there are a number of minivan tours you can book at the Avignon TI. These are good for seeing Pont du Garde and some other far flung sites. However, I really think having a car in this area would make it more rewarding. You’ll be able to see what you want for as long as you want. It will also let you stay somewhere more local, quaint and appealing than Avignon or Arles. The driving around there seemed pretty easy. I managed to see a lot via public transportation, but really wished I had a car at times. Even just doing that for a day or two would be a benefit. Oh, and be advised things really tend to shut down on Sundays in Provence.
Posted by
231 posts
My husband and I are doing a similar plan this September. We are flying into Nice, staying for three nights at Villefranche-sur-Mer, then taking the train from Nice to Avignon. I booked train tickets through the oui.sncf website; https://en.oui.sncf/en/ and it was quite easy. When we arrive in the Avignon TVG station, we have a automatic transmission car reserved with GPS through AutoEurope. The company we rented from is Hertz though. We are staying at a bed and breakfast cottage in St. Remy for three nights. The Avignon train station is only about 30 minutes from St. Remy so we plan to go there first, check in then drive to Le Baux (20-25 min. drive from St. Remy) to walk around the town and go to the Carrieres de Lumiere. Then we will hang out in St. Remy that evening. The next two days while we have the car we plan to go to Arles, Pont du Gard, a day in the Luberon towns. We are checking out of the bed and breakfast on the 4th day and driving back to Avignon TVG station, late morning to return the car. You can then connect from the Avignon TVG station to the Avignon Centre station in just a few minutes and walk into Avignon to see the sights there. We are staying in a hotel just outside the Avignon wall closest to the Centre train station that night since we are taking an early train to Paris the next morning so we will be able to check in there and at least store our bags until our room is available. Then we are on foot for everything we will do in Avignon the rest of that day. We will take the train from Avignon TVG to Paris Gare de Lyon the next morning arriving by 10:30. We are staying in Paris for 4 nights before flying home from there. This is our first time in France so I am sure we will not scratch the surface but I think we will have a great time with what we do have planned. My husband doesn't do too well with longer than 12 days! I hope to go back to see other areas of France and more time in the ones we like this time. We are not museum fans, but we love walking, eating at cafes, churches, palaces, gardens and the usual big monuments. I will post a lengthy most likely three or four part trip report sometime at the end of September or beginning of October so watch for it and see how everything turned out in detail. I am no expert compared to many of the people on these forums ( who I thank from the bottom of my heart because I couldn't plan all of this myself without them!!!) but I spend unlimited hours researching and I have planned all of our trips for years. They have all gone very well due to the planning which I find very enjoyable! If you have specific questions, you can post on your thread or private message me!