Paris to Provence TGV

"I found the SNCF website confusing and expensive too!"

I'm seeing tickets on SNCF Connect website for Paris to Aix-en-Provence on the 8:21 or 12:38 train for 99E. I also see the same train times on that Thursday 6/27 for 75E. Perhaps it's higher on the Friday as it's showing some sold out trains already for late that afternoon. How much did you think the tickets should be?

Here is the website I used for the search:

https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-en/

This is the company that actually runs the trains. Some people have good luck using https://www.thetrainline.com/en-us Be really cautious about using other companies that sell train tickets. Some of them are 3rd party resellers with shoddy practices (RailNinja comes to mind.)

I'm not one that rents a car so no answers to those questions. I also did not check the Avignon train fares as I liked Aix better than Avignon, lol.

Pam, thank you. I didn't realize that the TGV prices fluctuate based on supply and demand. I did go ahead and put two seats on hold on the sncf website while I figure out the car rental situation. Many thanks for your response

I think the TGV (fast trains/limited stops) use an airline kind of fare pricing so when the cheaper ticket buckets are gone prices only go up.

Indeed, if you can travel on a day other than Friday, you will probably pay less for your ticket.

Lots of French people heading south from Paris will travel on the Friday to be able to work most of the week before they go on vacation.

We are picking up a car at Enterprise at the train station in Aix after taking the train from Nice. After spending an hour or so in Aix we are driving through the Luberon Valley on our way to Gordes. So a very similar path! We are returning the car in Annecy before we fly home from Geneva. Enterprise was one of the few rentals that had a lot in both locations.

Avignon is a gateway into Provence with a large selection of rental agencies and cars. It's fewer kilometers from Paris, so train tickets are a bit less expensive.
With my senior discount card, that costs 50€, loaded in my app, I'm getting prices of 69€ on InOui, and it's telling me that I'm saving 62€. So if you bought senior cards, you would get a tiny savings.

BTW, the budget price train ,Ouigo, is more expensive. It appears there was a rush on the Ouigo tickets pushing the price higher than regular TGV.

Also, with respect to your specific Friday, prices for trains to Avignon may be higher and there may be more demand for seats because Le Festival d’Avignon starts on June 29th.

These are such helpful, thoughtful responses! Thanks to you all, much appreciated.