What do you think? We will be taking the train from Nice. We have 5 days and want to see Avignon, Arles, Lourdes, Carcassonne and some smaller towns by these places. Would it be a good idea to rent a car and stay in Montpellier and take day trips to these places or get a rail pail? Would another town be a better central location? Then we would need to take the train back to Paris on day 6.
Posted by
Reston, VA, USA
810 posts
We spent 3 nights in Montpellier in June 2013 and got around by train before moving to Avignon. It was easy to get to Nimes and Avignon. I think Carcassonne might work by car but Lourdes is 3.5-5 hours drive from Montpellier - too long for a day trip IMHO.
Do you plan to spend any time seeing Montpellier or is it just your home base? Not sure you can see all the places you list - 4 towns plus smaller nearby villages - in 5 days. And Lourdes is significantly out of the way. I would drop it and add the time to seeing the sights closer to home.
It's always hard to prune that list but I think you will have a better trip if you are not rushing around so much.
Posted by
OP
60 posts
Do you think it would work if we spent 2 nights in Avignon and then onto Lourdes for a few days. Not sure where to head back to Paris from. I found a site where you can see Pout du Gard, Les Baux de Provence, St. Remy de Provence, Gordes, and Roussillion in one day.
Posted by
Reston, VA, USA
810 posts
Two nights in Avignon might work well. Then you could pick the car up after your stay to drive to Lourdes. Maybe stop in Carcassonne on the way – it's about 2 1/2 hours from Carcassonne to Lourdes.
You mentioned a day trip – is that with Provence Panorama? We had a great one-day trip with them. Saw about eight different sites and loved them all. It was a very good way to pack a lot of sightseeing into one day.
I checked the Rome2Rio.com website. It looks like there's a TGV from Lourdes to Paris--it takes about six hours.
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3398 posts
Montpellier is a great small city and there is lots to see - it has a great vibe about it.
From there I would visit Avignon and Arles about 1 1/2 and 1 hour away respectively.
That said, if you are coming from Nice and stay in Montpellier you'll be backtracking to see both Avignon and Arles. Perhaps stay in Avignon two nights, stop in Arles on the way to Montpellier, stay in Montpellier and then make your way to Carcassonne and Lourdes after that?
If it were me, I would get an early start from Montpellier, stop at Carcassonne and spend the day, and then drive to Lourdes and stay for at least two nights.
The train from Toulouse to Paris is about 5 1/2 hours. I often suggest taking a plane for long distances in France but I think by the time you give back a rental car, go through security and navigate airports and transportation into Paris, it will be about the same amount of time.