Lourdes to Marseille

I would drive the whole way and consider stops at Albi, Carcassonne, Caunes-Minervois, Nimes, Arles, Avignon, and surrounding historic sites. On the east side of to Marseille, Cassis is a great stop to visit the Calenques by boat or hiking. See more at http://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france. Rick Steves' France book covers much of this, but Marseille and Cassis are only in the Provence/Riviera book; meanwhile the Provence/Riviera book does not cover the first three towns I named. A car gives you much more flexibility to connect small towns and rural sites; by train, Albi would be not be convenient to the rest of the route.