Traveling to France mid-July

Try the budget airlines too.

Do you want time in Paris before heading to Provence?

If you want to head straight to Provence, you can get to Avignon (randomly-selected destination) from CDG in 3 to about 4-1/2 hours. There's a great no-transfer departure from the CDG TGV station at 1:58 PM on weekdays. Most of the trains will require you to change in Paris or Lyon; Lyon is easier but not necessarily faster. What time is your flight scheduled to reach CDG? Lyon is a very interesting city, very much worth a stop if you aren't planning to include time in Paris on this trip.

Driving is much slower than the train--probably at least 7 hours to Avignon without any stops. So I'd favor taking the train down to the most suitable Provencal city (if no desire to see Lyon) and renting the car when you're ready to head out to explore the smaller towns and lavender fields. If you want to spend a few days in Paris first, I suspect you'll decide you don't have time to stop off for sightseeing on the way to Provence; you'll find a lot things you want to see in that area.

Thank you for your suggestions. We don’t plan on staying in Paris. Our plane arrives around 7 am. I had thought about the train and actually thought about taking it to Lyon. Lyon looks interesting. I am just beginning to plan. A little late for me. We might stay there a day or two and explore and then on to the lavender fields. We don’t mind the driving but I do agree it can take longer and we don’t have as much time as we normally do. We have to be in Beaune on July 28th so we will probably have two hotel stops. I don’t like to change every day. Prefer a few nights in each spot and then Time to explore surrounds.

Thank you for your suggestions. We don’t plan on staying in Paris. Our plane arrives around 7 am. I had thought about the train and actually thought about taking it to Lyon. Lyon looks interesting. I am just beginning to plan. A little late for me. We might stay there a day or two and explore and then on to the lavender fields. We don’t mind the driving but I do agree it can take longer and we don’t have as much time as we normally do. We have to be in Beaune on July 28th so we will probably have two hotel stops. I don’t like to change every day. Prefer a few nights in each spot and then Time to explore surrounds.

I think Lyon is a great idea, especially since you're not doing Paris on this trip.

bahn.com shows trains from CDG to Marseilles, both direct and with 1 change, 4-5 hours, with stops in Lyon, Avignon and Aix.