Staying in Arles versus Avignon

Arles is less populated than Avignon and in my opinion is more quaint and has more interesting sights. Both are walkable and have great transportation connections, although the train station in Avignon is a bit closer to town.

If you are without a car, Avignon has significantly better transportation links by bus and train to the surrounding towns and cities.

Arles is well-linked to Avignon, Marseille, Nîmes and Orange and that's about it... but that's plenty for 4 days.

Arles is certainly more charming than Avignon, with more to visit in the town IMO (although Avignon has quite a bit if you also consider Villeneuve lès Avignon across the river), and has my preference, but if you want to go to places like Pont du Gard, Isle sur la Sorgue or Aix-en-Provence, it won't be as convenient.

After debating this question, I chose Arles for 4 nights and was very happy I did for the same reasons Rachele mentions. It was very easy to do a daytrip to Avignon which included a half day (1-7 pm) Luberon villages van tour. When studying the options before my trip, there did seem to be a few more daytrip options without a car from Avignon.

If you check previous posts Arles vs Avignon is an on-going debate. The towns are just different from one another and even Rick said "You are an Arles person or an Avignon person." and really seems to break down that way. Be sure to stay inside the old town.

All the places mentioned are great - if you want to see my favorite town and are will to bus (or have a car) check out St Remy. The town is great and there are many things to do in and around town as well. Also do your best to hit up a market day in one of the towns - Provençal markets are a thing. Markets are best when you get there early and then relax and watch the late comers in the crush of activity.

Enjoy!
-Tod (firmly and Arles person)

I chose Avignon as a base this fall for two reasons and I wasn't disappointed:
1) It was more centrally located for all the day trips I wanted to do in that area of Provence without needing to change trains/buses. Even if the train is quick between the two places, you may need to rely on buses to get to some places and they only run at specific times and connections may not work out.
2) I was relying on public transportation and Avignon had good bus/train connections to all the places I wanted to visit, including Arles.

I made a list of places I wanted to visit and then checked bus/train connections from both and Avignon was a better choice for me.

Note that bus frequency reduces for some routes after summer season ends. Since you are visiting in Fall, you will want to check the fall schedule.

Thank you for the info and opinions everyone. I did search for the info, but didn't find any prior discussions on this topic: must have been long ago. Since we're relying on public transportation, I think for train and bus connections, and for our next destination of Nice, we'll go with Avignon. But as said, both are close and both seem just as well.

Here's the previous thread I was thinking of: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/arles-or-avignon-for-2-3-nights

I really prefer Arles, but Avignon has better connections. Last time I did nights in each and day tripped from Avignon. If I only had time for one location it would be Arles. It was my wife's first trip and she seemed puzzled that there was such a divide between people about the two places.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Stayed in both. Enjoyed them both.

I've been to both several times.

Avignon has a more diverse selection of hotels and restaurants.

Arles is smaller and quieter.; with the limitations that entails.

Choose whichever appeals to you.