Provence for 5-ish days in July

St-Paul de Vence is filled with art galleries, high end shopping. Charming yes,nice, but if it happens to be crowded, give it a pass. Easy to get to car return at Nice airport, right off of the autoroute.

I just want to mention re: crowds - we did Provence at lavender time last year (2nd week of July) and I was expecting lots of crowds - but many places were sleepy. Bigger spots like Arles and Aix were a bit more crowded, but other than maybe having issues parking, it really wasn't bad. Many of the smaller villages on the trail were quiet.

We dropped our car at the Nice airport - pretty easy to do...just gotta watch that you take the correct little road into the parking structure, or you'll have to circle around again.

I found having a car was great - it was so hot at that time of year, being able to get into a nice air conditioned car felt like heaven. The temp display on the car in a few places showed 40C (that was in a parking lot - but many days were 30-35C - but at least it's a dry heat) Make sure to have water with you! We'd freeze bottles to take in the car with us.

For the TGV train from Paris to Avignon, the earlier you buy the cheaper it will be (unlike regional TER trains in France that are always the same price), though keep in mind that the trade off of cheap tickets are that they’re nonflexible/non-refundable and can’t be used on other trains if you miss yours. (In your case this is unlikely to be an issue because you will already be in Paris — where this normally crops up is with people who are trying to transfer from a transatlantic flight to a TGV the same day, which carries risks of delays).

I would check on Trainline and the SNCF website and see if there is any difference in cost. I like Trainline’s interface better myself but check both.

I have also rented a car at the Avignon TGV station, where it’s very easy to do. However, if you plan to do some touring in Avignon I would recommend picking up the car on the way out: that is, take the shuttle train from Avignon TGV to Avignon Centre (~5 min), from where the Avignon city center is fully walkable. Then after exploring Avignon city and when you’re ready to head to the countryside, take the shuttle train back to Avignon TGV station, pick up the car and head straight out to St Rémy or wherever. (Check the hours of the car rental places of course).

That way you don’t have to deal with a car in Avignon city center where it’s completely unnecessary or pay for parking there.

Thank you Suki, Nicole, and Andrewesque for your replies...

I am happy to hear that mid-July is lavender season; I had thought it was earlier, but I will look forward to seeing lavender fields...and that the crowds were not as bad as expected.

Definitely renting a car. I knew it got warm in Provence in summer, but didn't realize it was that warm! AC in the car will definitely help...

And yes, andrewesque, I had thought about not renting the car immediately, if we intend to tour Avignon in the afternoon. However, according to RS' book, there is no baggage storage at the TGV station, so that will have to be dealt with. And yes, I will check both those sites for the best price for train. I think and hope you are right; missing the train should not be an issue.

Does anyone have a recommendation for car rental, best price, etc.? It would be a pick up in Avignon, drop off in Nice situation...

Merci encore!
R

Momorichel,

I think this is an intelligent plan. You will want to secure July accommodations in St Remy now, I think.

Thank you, Adam!
I have booked Hotel du Soleil in St. Remy. It looks nice and has AC and a pool :)

Rachel

We’ve used Europcar for our 3 rentals in France. Never had any issues dealing with them. Our trip in 2015 we rented in Avignon at the TGV and dropped in Nice. But we thought we’d try and save some money and drop it downtown at the Gustav V ave office...what a headache. Mid afternoon traffic on the Promenade is horrid. Dropping at the airport was pretty simple (we did that last year...pick up and drop).

Last year I did comparisons with Hertz, Sixt, Europcar, Avis and whoever else what at the airport. Europcar and Hertz were fairly close in cost...Hertz would’ve been cheaper if we wanted to pay for the rental ahead, but hubby wanted to wait until we were done with the rental to pay. I was comparing compact automatics. We ended up with a brand spanking new Fiat 500x...it had all of 3km on it and still had some plastic on the back door handles...imagine the pressure!

Thank you, Nicole. I have used Europcar before and found them reasonable and reliable, so I will take your advice on that.

And thanks for the tip about dropping at the airport. I wouldn't have thought to drop it downtown, but I have tried that in the past and always regret it. Getting to the airport for a plane is hard enough!

Now I need to start a new thread about where to stay near the airport in Nice...let me know if you have an idea about that :).

Thanks again,
Rachel

We've stayed at two different hotels by the airport - these were both one night stays as we were either arriving in the afternoon by plane and heading out the next day...or getting there the evening before for a flight out.

We used the Campanile Nice hotel in 2015 and last year I guess it was the Radisson Park Inn (I thought it was the Novotel, but looking at google maps, it had to have been the Park Inn). Both were fine. I just want clean and comfy, don't need a lot, since we're only there to sleep. Walking distance to the airport, and lots of bus connections to the old town. The only bad thing was we were trying to get back to our room and started waiting for a bus around 10:40pm along the Prom - it was almost 30 min before the bus we needed came along.

(A little later, if you like, I'll private message you some of the places we saw on the lavender trail that we really enjoyed, if you'd like...I have a puppy demanding my attention right now)

Dear Nicole,
Thanks so much, I will def check out those hotels! RS book also recommends both of those, along with Hotel Ibis Budget Nice, so will do a price comparison. Like you, for a pre-flight night, I only need clean and comfy, nothing fancy.

Would love your favorite spots on the lavender trail when you have a chance also.

Thanks,
Rachel