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Provence in 5 days - St.Remy and AIX

Posted by on

This forum is full of great recommendations so hoping y'all can maybe steer me in a direction.

We have 5 days for Provence in May. We are already planning on taking the train to Avignon and picking up a car. Where I am getting stuck is that I would like to cut down on the number of times we change lodging for our holistic trip (12 nts London/Paris/Provence).

Top priorities: Visit wine country, experience small towns, see some historical sights, take one day to see the sea (probably Cassis) and most importantly truly enjoy provincial style life and the surroundings.
We have conflicting desires or wanting to be walking distance to cafes and being a little removed for rest. I thought about splitting our 5 nights across 2 stays: In central AIX and then 10 min outside St. Remy.

Here is my current itinerary:
-1 night: Paris to break up the Eurostar/TGV journey from London
-2 nights: Pickup car in Avignon and drive to AIX, stay in central AIX enjoy all the things in that region.
-3 nights: Stay in St.Remy, explore that part of the region
-Depart Avignon TGV morning of day 6

Big question: Could we stay outside of St.Remy for the entire 5 nights and truly enjoy the area?

Thanks so much!

Posted by
7301 posts

You absolutely could stay around Saint Rémy and enjoy the entire region. No problem. It is a 1.5-hour drive from Saint-Rémy to Cassis and that's the furthest you would go.
Also, a car in central Aix is a hassle.

Where is your "10 min from Saint Rémy" stay located? Somewhere 10 min to the east would be ideal, but it does not really matter.

Posted by
3279 posts

Unless you have a burning desire to spend a night in Paris, I think you should bite the bullet and head straight to Avignon. I can’t see the one nighter unless there’s something quite special in Paris.

Personally, I’d fly from London to Marseille and rent the car at the Marseille airport. It might be less expense than taking the train. You’d gain a whole day.

Posted by
6 posts

Oh thank you for the note about parking in AIX!

Our AirBnB is to the east “10 min drive”

My husband really like the idea of “walking to a cafe for pastry and coffee in the AM” but I figure I could always collect pastry and fruit for the morning when we visit a town. He was really excited for our AirBnB so maybe that will put weigh distance.

@phillip I’m still leaning that way too. My concern is trying to get from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon without hassle or stress. Open to tips here too!

Posted by
3279 posts

If you do go by train, I would get a cab between stations. Least hassle, no stress!

Posted by
7301 posts

Another option is to take the Eurostar to Lille and change trains there. No change of station required!

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