We will be arriving in Avignon by train and plan to rent a car. We were thinking, yet are open to suggestions, of staying in Avignon or Arles for 2 nights and Isle-sur-la-Sorgue or St Remy for 2 nights. Does anyone have any suggestions of where to stay or alternative locations or have an opinion about moving or not?
Posted by
Lake Oswego, Oregon
1329 posts
Jayne - I'd avoid driving in Avignon. It's a walled city and very congested inside the walls. The TGV station and rental car places are outside the walls and very accessible however. I'd consider staying all four nights in one town. Saves moving and packing etc and you can drive to most places from one location. Of the towns you mention, I favor St Remy but Isle sur la Sorgue is pretty central to much of Provence.
Posted by
Reseda, CA, USA
196 posts
I've stayed in both Arles and Avignon and I favor Arles just by a little for the number of sights right inside the town(my hotel suggestion is http://www.lecalendal.com/). Avignon is better connected from Paris and there are some large car rentals right at their new TGV train station. It is important to note that the TGV station is far from the central town in a much less desirable area. If you stay in Avignon you want to use Ricks hotel suggestions. I think it is a good idea to plant yourself in one location and branch out from there(to get the most out of 4 days). In September I arrived in Avignon, rented a car, drove to Vaison-la-Romaine. We stayed a week and visited neighboring hilltop villages. Rick has a fantastic driving tour of this area and it surpassed our expectations.
Whichever of these places you decide I'm sure you will have a great time!
Posted by
washington
837 posts
Jayne, in 2006 we took the TGV from Paris to Avignon. The Holiday Inn at the TGV station was very new and offered tremendous rates. It had very nice and large rooms and a very good breakfast was included. There is a bus that goes into Avignon and takes less than 10 minutes. If they are still offering low rates, I would recommend staying there. It is also convenient to highways to go to other parts of Provence.
Posted by
San Diego
552 posts
If you like excitement and are fully insured, driving in Avignon really serves up the high-stress, low-speed thrills.
We saw two people back into a total of three cars as they tried to squeeze out of thwarted ventures towards imaginary parking spaces.
Our "driving tour" was not enjoyed by my wife, or anyone who's too control oriented to be a relaxed passenger.
Next time we'll stay in Avignon so we can actually walk around Avignon.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
207 posts
We used St. Remy as a base for a week and it was perfect... great spots for pastis and dinner in town, easy access all over Provence, super friendly people
and one of the best one day markets in France. Les Baux and Van Gogh sites very nearby. George, Pittsburgh
Posted by
Vancouver, Canada
8 posts
We also used St. Remy for a base to tour some of Provence (too many wonderful things to see in 5 days). We tried not to drive right into the centre of town and parked in secure parking lots.