Any advice for traveling solo (senior ) in Provence. I plan to fly into Nice (coming from Zurich) and taking a train from there. Based on comments in the forum, it seems like my best bet is to make Avignon home base; stay in a hotel and book daily day tours.
Viator comes up with the best day tours that I can find. I do not want to drive and would like to avoid public transportation.
Thanks for any advice; especially tours, must sees, restaurants and a hotel in Avignon.
Posted by
Bay Area SF & Uppsala Sweden 🇸🇪
1792 posts
Hi there & welcome to the Forum! Just so you're aware, Viator is a 3rd party aggregator, not an actual tour operator. If you look carefully inside each tour, you will find the name of the tour operator. I try to book directly. Nice is quite a ways from Avignon, had you looked into flying to Marseilles? Bon Voyage!
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
3245 posts
Besides Viator, I would check with the Avignoin Tourist Bureau for finding day tours.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks to the two comments about using the tourist office . I did visit their site after your suggestions and found one tour that covers a good deal of Provence in one day. That office tends to be focused on Avignon, so I am still looking for other tours of the region. I found a la francais which is a private tour company (they are hard to find) and I've put an inquiry into them.
Merci!
Posted by
10051 posts
Do not miss St. Paul de Vence near Italy. Also, Monaco and Cannes.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks very much. I've been to Monaco; I have a friend who lives in Beausoleil and works in Monaco so spent a bit of time there a few years ago. I was in Cannes, albeit for a short cruise stop and it was pouring rain this past October. But I am heading to Paris from Provence so will need to pass on Cannes.
Posted by
Washington, DC USA
972 posts
I had a good experience with A La Francaise tours and I have seen recommendations from others on this forum. I did their half day (6 hr) small group van tour of Luberon villages. The Rick Steves guidebook for Provence and the Cote d'Azur has several pages of recommendations for various types of tours and tour operators in Provence. I see that you said you want to avoid public transportation. But in case you have not ruled it out totally, I will note that the train from Avignon to Arles is only 20 minutes each way with multiple trains per day.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Hello, CD in DC
Thanks very much for the affirmation on à la Francaise. I hope they'll get back to me quickly. My Rick Steves guide book on Provence and the French Riviera arrived today so I've been researching all of his tips and recommendations. I'm a little cautious because I am a senior woman traveling solo, so getting recommendations and hearing reviews is very helpful. I athe lso checked out the tourist office in Avignon and there were several tours on there.
Good to know about the train to Arles. I definitely want to spend some time there. Thanks again for the great advice.
Gidget