Vaison-la-Romaine

I may have to stand corrected, but I think you can take the train to Carpentras and then a bus to Vaison-la-Romaine. Perhaps others can give you some specifics.

Please provide the outline of your entire trip. Hard to advise otherwise. I spent 4 hours there and thought it was enough.

More frequent schedules connect from train to bus at Avignon or Orange. (From Arles, Carpentras itself also tends to require a connection at Avignon.)

From Vaison to explore the wine route, you'd probably go with a private van tour, hire a car for one day, or check bus schedules at http://cars-lieutaud.fr/en/ to see if they get you to a wide enough sampling.

I found Vaison-la-Romaine immensely charming and worth a couple days. The Roman ruins are a solid day (get the great audio guide.) Try like hell to be there for a market day, it's better than Arles.' Getting there wound up being fairly easy, even though bus connections are limited. Orange is a bit of a hub. You can train there from Arles, then bus to Vaison. You pick up the bus by the Roman theater (also a great excuse to stop here) but be warned it doesn't pull up to a bus station, just kind of at the intersection by what looks like a station. Stay sharp! I found schedules online (check RS guidebook) and kept them saved on my phone. The bus itself is comfortable, cheap, and pretty on schedule. Seems like it mostly operates to get kids in these small towns to school and back. It will take a little time, but well worth the effort.

Thank you all for the information. Much appreciated!

We made 2 half-day trips to Vaison this May while spending a week in Nyons. One trip was just to go to the market (it was fantastic), and one to explore the city and the ruins. I'd suggest an overnighter, or a full-day trip if you'll be staying nearby.

We stayed 4 delightful nights in Vaison-la-Romaine. From Avignon, we took a bus to Orange where we were conveniently dropped off right next to the bus leaving for Vaison-la-Romaine. The TI in Avignon helped us with the bus schedule. On our return trip, we took a bus to Orange and then the train to Arles. Plan to arrive on a Monday night so you can enjoy Vaison-la-Romaine's amazing Tues morning market.

I was introduced to Vason on a RS tour about 10 years ago, 2 nights there. I loved it and plan to return. I too use only public transport. We did arrive on Monday to go to the Tuesday market which was another trip highlight. I could have stayed longer to see more of the Roman ruins.