Train through the south of France

We're interested in repeating the process traveling across the south this time, but train service doesn't seem to be as accommodating. For various reasons, renting a car is a non starter.

Which towns were you looking to go to where you are not finding train service?

Can you clarify what you mean by "the south of France?" There is train service running near the coast all the way from Italy to Spain, so I imagine you're interested in a different part of the south.

I spent a lot of time in southern France last year, traveling exclusively by train and bus. (Well, I took a ship to Porquerolles and a boat excursion to view the Calanques.) This is a list of my overnight stops, followed by side-trips I made. To the extent that I remember, I've marked the destinations to which I used buses for at least part of the trip.

You might like to take one or two bus tours if you plan to visit Provence. There are some places that are tough to reach by public transportation: Roussillon, Gordes, Les Baux, etc.

• Nice (2 weeks of language lessons): Biot/bus, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Entrevaux, Digne, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Antibes, St.-Paul-de-Vence/bus, Vence/bus, Menton, Vallauris/bus
• Hyeres (2): Porquerolles/bus & boat
• Marseille (5): Cassis, Calanques/excursion boat
• Avignon (7): Arles, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Villeneuve-les-Avignon/bus, St. Remy/bus, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse/bus
• Aigues Mortes (1)
• Montpellier (4): Sete, Narbonne, Pezenas/bus
• Perpignan (4): Collioure/bus, Banyuls/bus, Ceret, Mont-Louis/bus. (You can also connect to the SNCF Yellow Train running all the way to Latour de Carol--a beautiful trip through the Pyrenees.)
• Toulouse (4): Albi
• Lyon (5)

And then I moved north. However, you can certainly travel through places like Pau to the Basque Country.

acaravan, thanx, that's the sort of answer I was looking for. Apologies for spelling your name incorrectly, but after the 3rd attempt to defeat spellcheck I'm giving in :)

I like "acaravan"; wish I'd thought of that myself!

There are a number of sources for railway network maps, with this one coming from SNCF. You have to zoom in and out a bunch to get to the names of smaller stops. Google Maps or Viamichelin.com also show railways and train stations, again with some zooming. So that gives you one marker. But since not all lines have frequent service and you can't always guess at the best connection points, a train schedule fills in those details, whether through SNCF or www.bahn.com. Rick's guidebooks will summarize public transport between any towns he covers and so may some other brands.

Provence is an area where a car is quite helpful. No doubt about it. Without a car there will have to be itinerary compromises made.