We are 2 seniors 75+, walkers, good shape.
Want to visit above places.
Enjoy the beautiful scenery, food tours, wineries.
We would only like 1 or 2 hotels at most.
Willing to do day trips by train or tours.
( we have been to Marsaille, Aix- en provence,
Canne, Monte Carlo & Paris.
Question…
If we did 2 hotels which 2 cities to stay.?
Best place to fly into Lyon or Marseille?
Seems like Lyon cliser to Annecy..
Any guidance would be appreciated!!
Thank you!
To visit Lyon, Arles, Avignon and Annecy, you ideally need 3 hotels, because Annecy is 2 hours+ one-way from Lyon by train.
But if you are OK with a brief day-trip to Annecy, then you can use Lyon as a base for both.
And for Arles & Avignon, you can stay in either. I personally prefer Arles, as I find it more charming, but Avignon has better transportation links to other places.
Flying into Marseille, it is easy to get to Arles or Avignon (by regional train from Vitrolles, a short bus ride away from the airport), and you could fly out of Lyon. I would not do it the other way around, because if you fly out of Marseille, your flight will be very early so you will need to spend the last night near the airport.
Love Arles and Avignon. Both have an easy 30-40 minute train connection to Nimes which is worth walking around in. Avignon is more centrally located for day trips to Orange (25-30 mins by train), Pont du Gard, St-Remy, etc. The Regina Hotel in Avignon is great.
I've been to all these locations several times with the exception of Annecy.
Annecy is your outlier in this group - it's too far away for a day trip so if you commit to going there it will be one of your locations and you will not be able to (easily) visit any of the others. Lyon is 2 hours by train from Annecy and everything else is further than that. I'm not all saying that you shouldn't go but you have to understand that it is part of the trip by itself.
Lyon is sort of like a tiny Paris - it has tree lined streets with Haussmann-like buildings and the old city center is clustered on an island in the center of the river. It has a really good Roman museum next to the Roman theater and odeon, an interesting cathedral and a decent Beaux Arts museum. Lyon is also considered the food captial of France which is saying something and you only need to visit the Les Halles de Lyon to see this. Lyon is very walkable but has excellent publix transportation as well with buses and a metro system. Lyon lacks any block-buster sights and I think would get more attention if it wasn't overshadowed by the nearby Paris. I would stay on the island or every near the river(s) in the downtown area for the best visit.
Arles is a blue collar version of Provence with a strong van Gogh connection and intact Roman arena and streets of old appeal and ancient charm interspersed with more work-a-day things. I really like Arles - I prefer it as a city to Avignon - but it's a "vibe" thing that's hard to describe. Rick said you're either an Avignon person or an Arles person and I know where I land.
Avignon is pretty city with countless tucked away plazas filled with cafe tables everywhere you look, marble shopping streets and a good permanent Les Halles food and foodstuffs market place. It is the transit hub for the surrounding area and while I personally prefer Arles to Avignon if you are choosing it as a hub Avignon makes more sense. You can easily visit Nimes and Arles by train in under 30 minutes and the charming Saint Remy by bus. It is also best for taking wine or other tours and that's where they will originate from. Chateauneuf de Pape region is just up the train line and there are several different wine road tours.
The thing to know with Avignon is the TGV station is 10 minutes from town so Avignon Center is the local train station that gets you to Nimes and other areas but you need to do the Center to TGV station shuffle to switch to the fast train system so Lyon to Avignon is really Lyon > Avignon TGV > Avignon Center to get to town. (I believe Aix is similar.)
If you want to do Annecy and two stops I would do Annecy and either Lyon (city) or Avignon (smaller more rural) and surroundings.
If you drop Annecy then I would do Lyon and Avignon making time for a day in Nimes, Arles and St Remy.
Lyon is a more regional airport than Marseille and if you can fly in there then it would be convenient but is seems more likely you'll come into Marseille. Lyon is only about 2 hours from Paris but CDG is another hour outside Paris so all the steps start to become onerous. Marseille airport is close to the Aix TGV station which gets into the fast train system.
Hope that helps, have a great trip,
=Tod
