My daughter and I will be arriving late afternoon to Avignon for 3 nights on September 4th. We will arrive by train and will rely on public transportation while there. We want to spend a little time in Avignon just enjoying the area. My plan was to enjoy the late afternoon/evening in Avignon on the 4th. On the 5th or 6th my plan was to visit Pont du Gard and Orange and enjoy the remaining evening in Avignon. I know we can take a short train ride to Orange, but there is no direct transport to/from Orange to Pont du Gard. I still thought this was doable, as we really only just want to “see” the Roman theater in Orange and the arch. So, it shouldn’t take that long, as we don’t really care about the town that much. However, if I’ve read the bus schedule correctly from Avg to Pont du Gard, there is only one bus that leaves at 12:30 and only ride back is 5:30? This kind’ve shoots the day, as it’s going to be hard to work Orange in either before or after, with this schedule. I’m asking for help to confirm the bus schedule, and other suggestions for accomplishing this without rental car. I was thinking about taking train to Orange, then getting a ride/driver somehow from Orange to Pont du Gard, and then catching the 5;30 bus back? Any idea of the cost and possibility of this?
For the other day, and I know this is a lot, we want to visit Arles and then see the Carrieres light show at Les Baux. In Arles, we just want to see some of the points where Van Gogh painted and look around the town - not trying to make time for the hospital in St. Remy. We can start either direction to do this (i.e. Avignon to Arles by train and then over) or Avignon to Les Baux and then over to Arles. Again, I know the bus is an issue. It doesn’t look like there is bus transportation at all from St. Remy to Les Baux at this time, so I know I’ll have to taxi or figure a way over there. However, during September on weekdays, is there a daily bus from Avignon to St. Remy/Arles St. Remy? Can anyone help me find/understand bus schedules for this time?
I really appreciate anyone with knowledge or experience to help me understand and prepare. Thank you!
Posted by
Paris
6916 posts
For the "Les Baux" bit: there is no public transport between St Rémy and Arles, unfortunately, and the bus between St Rémy and les Baux is summer-only.
The light show is nice, but frankly you won't miss that much - Arles deserves the best part of a day anyway.
Cannot confirm schedules to/from Pont du Gard, but I know that you can easily combine it with Nîmes, if Orange does not work out. Nîmes is more interesting than Orange in my opinion.
Posted by
OP
North Carolina
21 posts
Thank you. Nimes may be a good idea. I will research that as a possibility.
Posted by
Chicago, IL, USA
397 posts
You might look into a private or small group day or 1/2 day tour from Avignon. Many use that city as a base. Or get the train to Nimes or Arles and do one from there. That would solve your transportation issue. You can find them on sites like viator.com or getyourguide.com. On those sites you can either book through them or see who is offering and book with them directly.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2716 posts
I was in Provence in April, also with no car. I stayed in Arles, which I loved. As you know it’s a quick and easy train ride to Avignon, and you could easily spend a day there. Plan on half a day at least. It has a very good history museum as well as the Roman Arena and theatre (not as good as the one at Orange though). It’s a fun town to wander around in too.
For your second full day, I would consider a tour. We took one with Time 4 Provence. It was long - around ten hours - and covered a lot of ground. We went to Les Baux, Pont du Gard, and St Remy, among other places. Our guide was excellent, and we loved it. It leaves from Avignon, which would be convenient for you. Just something to consider.