Suggestions for Provence without a car

Hi Cory - great choice for a destination, but without a rental car, you may want to consider your itinerary carefully. We've been in Nice for a week with no car, but stuck fairly close to Nice, going each to Monaco and Saint Paul de Vence for a day by bus, and visiting Antibes (great outdoor market and Picasso Museum) by train.

On my first Provence trip without a car, I stayed in Avignon, which allowed me to visit Arles by train, and Luberon towns by bus. There's not exactly a bus every 20 minutes though, so you'd want to check what times buses go to which towns on what days of the week, especially if you're planning to visit a town on a market day. From Avignon, heading any farther east than Aix-en-Provence via public transportation in a day would make for a long, long day for me, so unless you based yourself in Nice for a 2-3 days, then another town like Avignon for 2 or 3 days, that would be a lot of running around (for me). Or stick to a smaller section of southern France for your full 6 days this trip, and then see another section of the area on your next trip? Bon voyage!

Without a car, visiting towns in western Provence is not easy. I would base myself in Avignon if I did not have a car. At least from there you can get buses to some locations. I agree with the idea of 2-3 days in Nice and 2-3 in Avignon. Forget about going to Gordes by mass transit unless you are really committed to it. There is one bus that runs four times per day from Cavaillon and you have to take a bus from Avignon to Cavaillon to get it. Here is a thread on the topic that you may find useful: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/new-bus-route-to-gordes-roussillon
I don't recommend using Nice as a base for trips to western Provence. It's too long a drive or train trip for a day trip. I have heard of van tours from Nice to see lavender fields but do not have any details. Same for Avignon. You may want to Google that because without a car, I suggest going on day tours. The bus schedules are not designed with tourists in mind. As to being in Nice without a car, I actually highly recommend that. We used to drive to Nice and then we would park our car and take mass transit.

One time we visited Provence w/o a car, staying in St. Remy. It's not something I would recommend. While we did see a lot, we also wasted a lot of time waiting for bus connections (a lot of the waiting was in Avignon). As others have said, Avignon is probably the best place to stay to see the area w/o a car, and even then some places will be out of reach.

I've just come from a week in Avignon and found it a good base for trips to a lot of places by train or bus. For the smallest places (Gordes, Roussillon, lavender fields, etc.), I recommend that you consider a half-day or full-day bus tour. There are at least 6 different companies whose brochures are displayed in racks at the tourist office, and I'm sure you can find most if not all of them by Googling. I think evey one of them does Gordes + Roussillon + either lavender fields or lavender museum (depending on the season).

Attempting to get to one of the small places on your own will probably doom you to seeing just one small village that day, which I imagine is not what you want to do with only 6 days available.

Trains and/or buses will get you to Arles, Nimes, L'Isle sur la Sorgue, St. Remy, and Villeneuve lez Avignon. In mid-summer Les Baux becomes possible. Aix-en-Provence is a longish bus trip but perhaps doable. The train seems to be slower.

I agree about [edited] splitting your time between Nice and Avignon. It's time-consumjng to change hotels so I wouldn't want to do it twice.

Cory,

My brain keep bopping around bewteen two scenarios. One is the best way you could achieve your Luberon goals without a car, and the other is the best trip you could have in Provence without a car. They are very different.

For the former, you would basically plant yourself in the sticks, perhaps in Gordes or maybe in Cavaillon or Roussillon. Downside is you would not be very mobile. It will be quiet after dinner, but you won't be there long.

The Provence plan that makes the most sense without a car is on the transit triangle between Arles, Avignon, and NImes. These towns are connected by regular trains about 25 minutes apart. Both Arles and Nimes are the sites of some great Roman antiquities. The Roman theater in Orange is also right on the rail line.

I personally prefer Arles as a base, and there are buses from there to St Remy, the Camargue, and (in season, I think) Les Baux. Plenty to see in the time you have.

The idea of a bus or van tour into the hills is inspired. If you can make that work for you it may be your best bet.