Avignon and Paris

I spent two nights in Arles and really enjoyed the experience. I spent part of a day in Avignon en route to other places on the way out of the region, but in my case I did it opposite of you: I started in Paris and was working my way south (ultimately into Spain).

You can certainly enjoy a few days in the Avignon area before taking a train to Paris. I spent 10 days there, staying a few nights each in Marseille, Arles, Avignon, and Aix, and also saw Nimes (my favorite) and Orange. None of these places is too far from any of the others, and all are accessible without a car. So, in two days you could see a few of them easily. If you wanted to see the Riviera instead, it's a 6 hour train ride or a short flight from Nice to Paris. If you're not wedded to southern France, you can have a great trip starting in Strasbourg and spending 1-2 days there, then seeing Nancy (an under-visited gem), then going to Paris. Or you can start in Lyon for 2 days (my favorite French city besides Paris).

Avignon is a wonderful city that you can easily spend a day or two enjoying. Much of the south of France is beautiful. You might also consider Montpellier and the Languedoc region - Montpellier is on the TGV route and I have taken it from Paris to Montpellier - about 4 or 4.5 hours total - can't remember exactly but we were there by early afternoon. The area is much less touristy and there's lots to see. Beautiful villages, coastline and tons of wineries, some of which are incredibly unique! You'll need a car if you want to explore but it's well worth it.
Taking the train up to Paris will require a good part of a day but if you take the TGV it is a very efficient trip - book now though! It fills up... Having 4 days in Paris is great for an introduction and you'll also get the flavor of another part of France if you start in the south - I say go for it!

If you are flying trans-Atlantic you may be able to connect through Paris to Marseille or Nice for almost the same price as stopping in Paris. That's certainly true of the Delta-AirFrance/KLM itineraries. There is a small train station just outside the airport with regional service to Avignon's old, central station. Or there is a quick shuttle bus to the Aix-en-Provence station for the TGV, which whisks you to the Avignon TGV for the short shuttle ride into the city. The helpful airport site is here http://www.marseille-airport.com/
The dizzyingly fast trains Avignon-Paris take just over two and a half hours. Buy early for cheaper tickets and to guarantee a place.

If you are flying trans-Atlantic you may be able to connect through Paris to Marseille or Nice for almost the same price as stopping in Paris. That's certainly true of the Delta-AirFrance/KLM itineraries. There is a small train station just outside the airport with regional service to Avignon's old, central station. Or there is a quick shuttle bus to the Aix-en-Provence station for the TGV, which whisks you to the Avignon TGV for the short shuttle ride into the city. The helpful airport site is here http://www.marseille-airport.com/
The dizzyingly fast trains Avignon-Paris take just over two and a half hours. Buy early for cheaper tickets and to guarantee a place.

We recently took the IDTGV, which is sort of a subset of TGV focused on the younger crowd so tickets are online only, from Paris to Montpellier - it took 3.5 hours - and I just checked IDTGV for August and found Paris-Avignon in under 3 hours, with several trains throughout the day. We spent 3 nights in Montpellier, mostly because my daughter had spent a month there in 2012 and wanted to show me the town; we did some sightseeing in Mpl but also spent a day in Nimes, and I would have preferred to stay there. (Note for next time!) Then we moved to Avignon for 2 nights and that was also fun and walkable; we did a one-day tour with Provence Panorama to get to some of the smaller villages and hard-to-reach sights, and spent the other two sightseeing in Avignon. Paris is fabulous, of course, but I would warmly recommend seeing some other part of France as well. The south of France may be hot in August, though - be prepared.

It is defenitily worth it to spend 2 days in Arles and Avignon area. We wrote a blog about it here: http://www.thewondernuts.com/when-old-meets-van-gogh-you-get-arles-and-avignon/ The train was easy and takes a bit under 3 hours to get to Paris. If those two are not your style, you can also visit one of the oldest bridge in the world at Pont du Gard.

Thanks for all of the helpful information! I'm hoping to do this week on a budget friendly itinerary.

@Kathleen in Restondid you have to go to Marne la Vallee for the IDTVG? That is what was advertised by the SNCF when they were rolling it out as the youth-oriented low-cost alternative Paris-Provence route. If so, do you remember how long that added onto the trip both in time and RER ticket? @Frankvery nice blog. Bon voyage, Mary. Edit: the Marne-la-Vallee to Nice TGV fares begin at 10 euros, made to compete with the low-cost airlines, smaller seats-three across instead of two (what we saw on tv), no frills.

Bets, we just got the train at Gare de Lyon. It was very easy. We spent about 10 euros more per ticket to get first class so we could sit facing each other. That was nice but I wouldn't spend Amy more than that. You do need to book those tickets well in advance to get the low prices. We booked about 10 weeks ahead. When I checked a few days before our trip, the price had doubled.