We want to rent a car for exploring the Provence countryside and small towns. We're considering picking up the car in Avignon and dropping it in Arles. Are these fairly easy cities to navigate in by car? We'll have GPS. (We don't like to drive in heavily populated and crowded areas.) Thanks for any advice!
Posted by
Gaston, Oregon, USA
931 posts
We took the TGV to Avignon and picked up our Europcar rental car about 1/16 mile away at a location that was easy to get in and out of, and was nowhere near town. We did not pick up in town. I think it would be a good idea for you to go to the broker "Auto Europe's" website and play with the different pick-up and drop locations offered by the various vendors/agencies that they represent. You can even call them at their headquarters in Maine if you have questions. I don't know which drop off location in Arles you plan on using, but driving thru the narrow streets in old town Arles is not for the faint of heart. Not a traffic problem; just a narrow confusing street issue. You need a map, compass, and GPS.
Posted by
Tulsa, OK
355 posts
We also took the train to Avignon and picked up a car at the train station. Very easy access from train station and right by main road. We didn't drop the car off in Arles, but did do a day trip there. Getting to the town is very easy and as long as you don't go into the very small streets of the 'inner city', you should be fine. I'm not sure where the pick up point would be for Arles. I agree with the suggestion of playing with the Auto Europe site to find the drop off site(s) in Arles.
Provence is very easy driving in all the small towns we visited.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Ray, you have many more rental car choices at the Avignon TGV train station. This is not the Avignon Centre train station. The TGV station is a bit out of town. No tracks between the two stations either. You take a bus between the two.
Posted by
Overland Park, KS
102 posts
We took the train to Arles to rent our car and then drove and parked in Avignon. We rented from Hertz. It seemed expensive so I would research another option. If you happen to go with Hertz, their location in Arles is not hard to drive to, it is just outside the wall and is a close walk from the train. (Streets inside the wall are really narrow...I wouldn't want to drive in there) Also, the clerks in Hertz didn't speak English and we didn't speak French so we just kind of "winged it" and it all worked out. The road between the 2 towns are easy to drive...lots of round-a-bouts!...and the other roads we were on we easy enough. Have fun!