Hi, I have 1 spare day in-between in France to drop by a village or town before I travel to Paris (final destination) from Avignon. For a single woman traveler, accessible by train in less than a few hours from Avignon: is there a really nice village near by that represents the essence of France that I could stay and enjoy for one day. My already planned destinations are Nice (French Riviera, Avignon (Provence) & Paris (day trip excursion out to the Loire Valley to see Castles). I wanted to go to Sarlat from Avignon but by the time I get there it will be late afternoon and my day will be gone. Please advise me of the best place(s) to stay for one evening that could complete this trip. Thanks
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
"the essennce of france " in one village. Go to Disneyland. France is a big country with many very diverse areas,, is Dallas, Texas the essence of America, is Banff, Alberta the essence of Canada. You can see how what you are asking sounds a bit lame.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
The biggest problem is that trains for the most part do not go to villages, though they do go to some delightful old towns. If you do not rent a car you might investigate bus or taxi out to one of the Luberon hill towns for a day. You might also consider basing yourself in Arles or Nimes rather than Avignon for a smaller-town experience while in Provence. Visit Avignon as a day trip (easy by rail).
Posted by
Kamloops, BC, Canada
479 posts
You might consider visiting Orange which is a quick train ride from Avignon and well worth a visit, however, is not tiny. Easy day trip
Posted by
Provo, UT
175 posts
If you're open to other regions, you might consider Brittany. You'd have to take the train up to Paris and then over, I'm guessing, but that might be more of the village feel and "essence of France" you are looking for. Most of the true villages won't be accessible by trains, but you could certainly get into a smaller town than Paris or Avignon.
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
A lot of good advice here. Villages are rarely served by trains. But Avignon has very good bus service to towns throughout Provence. You can check out this link: http://provence.angloinfo.com/information/7/busses.asp