Paris to Provence in May - Totally Overwhelmed!

I’m no expert but we are headed to the South of France in two weeks too. From all of my research, Aix-en-Provence is very well located to do day trips. We are excited to visit the numerous hill towns, plus Arles, Avignon, the Verdon Canyon. Even the Riviera isn’t that far. We are spending 4 nights at Villefranche-sur-mer.

One thing I would reconsider is driving from Paris. Unless ‘by stops along the way’ you mean staying the night at on or two places. A high speed train would be so much more enjoyable. A few years ago our train was canceled and we were forced to do an 8 hour drive from Paris to San Sebastián. It was a long day and not much fun. No time to stop and sight see. The trains are great.

Have fun.

Thanks for the info. We are thinking of taking a slow drive from Paris to Provence, staying a night or two here or there, but not sure where we should stop. We love wine if anyone has any favorite wine regions and wineries that are along the way. One question on car rental is if we can rent in Paris and then return it in Nice, or is that a big surcharge to not return it at the place you rented it?

Renting a car, the day of arrival after being awake all night is a bad idea. Even if you can sleep on a plane, it’s not a good night’s sleep. Hop on the train at the airport to Avignon (4h) that requires a connection to get to the centre and make Avignon your base to explore Provence.
From the Avignon Centre station take a train to the Nice Ville station (3h 45m) that requires a connection. Nice also makes a good base to explore the riviera. You can then take a direct train from Nice Ville to the Paris Gare de Lyon station (5h 45m).

One question on car rental is if we can rent in Paris and then return it in Nice, or is that a big surcharge to not return it at the place you rented it?

Why not rent a vehicle in Avignon and return it in Nice?

We are taking the train to Avignon from Strasbourg. We pick up our rental car in Avignon. Two weeks later, we drop off the car in Lyon. Price was the same as if we returned it in Avignon. Just thought it would be easier to drive to Lyon for our last few nights before departing Lyon for US. We have a VRBO a bit southeast of Lyon. We’d rather stay in one spot for the 2 weeks and just do day trips in the area instead of hotel-hopping.

We too are taking the high speed train to Avignon and then renting a car. For 3 weeks, I would focus on one region - Provence and Nice Riviera and come back another time for Dordogne or Loire. We are flying out of Lyon - I don’t remember a drop off charge.

Everything here is so helpful - so far we think we might need to fly into London as the fares are so much cheaper, then Easy Jet to Nice. After a few days we'll rent a car and originally thought we would stay in Avignon as home base to explore before moving on but just read a previous visitor said to stay in St Remy or Maussane or Sarrians instead because he said that Avignon is surrounded by unattractive urban areas. Any thoughts on this?

Indeed, with a car, I would not stay in Avignon. The pretty city-center area is basically car-free, making it less convenient. And outside the city walls is not particularly nice...

Surrounding towns like Saint Rémy de Provence are arguably better bases with a car. Maussane is a bit too "unfocused" for me (a spread-out collection of houses), and I have never been to Sarrians. Other small towns and villages that would make for good bases are Pernes-les-Fontaines, Eygalieres, Fontvieille... L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue as well, but it is a bit larger and the center is not very car-friendly either.

You could also stay further east towards the Lubéron (Lourmarin, Gordes, Ménerbes...). The landscape is hillier and the villages are more picturesque. However, the westernmost sights (Arles, Pont du Gard, Orange) are a bit harder to reach from there.

Did you check flying into MRS (Marseille)? Did you check the cost of the one way drop off fee to pick the car up in Paris and drop off in Nice? That cost might be enough to make the flight look cheaper

For wine, Provence is loaded. Some of my favorite towns in southern Rhone are Chateauneuf du Pape and Gigondas, both within a 30- minute drive from Avignon. Not sure of your grape preference, but expect Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre. Lots of info on the internet about setting up appointments/ tastings.