Arriving in May, we have leaned towards flying Paris to Marseille and picking up car rental for short drive to Avignon, where we will be staying for 3 weeks as home base. It seems many folks take TGV from Paris. I'd love some opinions....cost and ease of flight vs. train, access to car rental from Avignon TGV station, etc. We'll have a fair amount of luggage so ease and comfort is a factor for us...
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
Avignon TGV has a massive auto rental area just across from the station. Lots of automatics, too.
Posted by
Massachusetts
404 posts
I would fly to Paris and take the TGV from there. You can book a direct train from CDG to the Avignon TGV (make sure you book to the Avignon TGV and not Avignon Central). It's about a 3 hour journey. And as the previous commenter noted, you can easily rent a car at the Avignon TGV station. Those train tickets can be as cheap as about 33 euros round trip (of course the prices can go up too). But I suspect it will be much cheaper than flying to/from Marseille as an extra leg, and you won't have to sit around CDG for a layover (which can add a lot of time). You'll have no problem with your luggage on the TGV either.
Posted by
World
138 posts
Hi!
As other's advised go with TGV train from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Avignon
SNCF is the official train provider in France https://www.sncf.com/en - check there to find out about options. I can't find a page where you can buy tickets for some reason...Last time I visited the website it had a different design.
Posted by
World
138 posts
Oh there it is https://en.oui.sncf/en/train-ticket - the cheapest on May 1st is 45 Euro - non refundable option :)
Posted by
OP
Chapel Hill, NC
102 posts
Thank you. Is it preferable/ necessary to buy advance tix for the TGV? Also, will we need to change trains at any point?
Posted by
Paris
10210 posts
Preferable to buy tickets in advance if you are sensitive to price.
Not usually necessary, but there are several holidays in May that mean French people will have bought large numbers of tickets. So it's possible (I don't know how likely) that tickets would sell out.
Posted by
Queens, NYC
571 posts
TGV tickets are cheaper ahead of time, but cheaper tickets are also inflexible. In other words if you miss the original train that those tickets were for, you're out of luck. So if you plan to take the TGV to Avignon the same day your flight gets into CDG, you should allot a conservative amount of time to land and clear passport control and get to the station, or be prepared to pay the walk-up fare (which can be several times the cheapest fare).
In terms of changing trains or not, there are 3 main options in order of convenience:
- Direct trains from CDG to Avignon TGV: there are a couple, but mostly at the beginning or the end of the day so may not work with your schedule
- Changing trains at Lyon Part-Dieu or Aix-en-Provence TGV: most tickets from CDG to Avignon TGV require you to change trains at one of those two stations. This isn't so bad, as you don't have to leave the station and it's possible your second train may even pull up on the opposite/same track which would make transferring trivial.
- Going into Paris city and then getting a direct train from Paris Gare de Lyon to Avignon TGV: unless you need to go to Paris for some other reason, this is the worst option since getting into the city from the airport and then to Gare de Lyon can be time-consuming. (If you're starting from Paris city, then this is the best option, but not if you're at the airport.)
I suggest trainline.com for buying tickets or checking schedules -- there is no fee or additional charge for buying tickets, and I find the interface very easy to use.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Are you visiting Paris first or just trying to connect from a flight arriving in Paris? That makes a difference to most of the advice above, especially about pre-purchasing any nonrefundable, nonchangeable train or air ticket (most of them) that is not tied to the original flight.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
My preference would be Marseilles.
The train takes 3 hours, requires reservations, and involves a guessing game about which train you will be able to make. (Most people prudently go for a later train, which delays things further.) It's not as easy a choice as it may seem.
Posted by
World
138 posts
Also, remember that SNCF can be affected by STRIKES. It was like that last spring and summer. So don't forget to check everything before your travel
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10633 posts
I’d fly to Marseille as a second choice, but first choice would be an air+train combo ticket direct to Avignon available with an Air France ticket. The second leg of the trip is simply a train but since it’s part of the air ticket, your second leg is protected in case of delay. Delta, being an AF partner, may sell the combo, too, but I’v never looked. I believe luggage is transfered, too. Air France has its own waiting room in the CDG train station.