Venice to Avignon. Train or Car? Small village to relax?

Hi Jim... We like L'Isle-sur -la Sorgue. Small, but lots to do . If you do not have a car, there is a train station. You can bike to other villages, or drive. Very close to everything- including Avignon. Many places to stay, but the Hotel Nevons is nice and fairly inexpensive. The people that run it are very kind. Great bakery and cafe. Lots of brocante and antiques, and 2 super markets. Best one is on Sunday.. the other one is on Thursday.Lots of restaurants, from cheap to expensive.

I believe your train route would take you right by the Cinque Terre. If you have never been there you must make the time to go.

Where will you have toured before ending in Venice? Do you think you will have had enough of Italy and want to get to France? Will you have a car? In short, Northern Italy? The Riviera (French or Italian)? Provence?

We will have spent 9 days in Italy - from Rome to Venice on a bus group tour. After our 4 day break, we will do a 7-day river cruise from Avignon to Chalon-sur-Saone then on to Paris for 4 days and home. We were looking for something slow paced in Southern France. Just a chance to relax with relatively short day trips. Our cruise will hit Arles Avignon and points north on the Rhone river. We will be renting a car. So we can get about anywhere.

If you are art lovers, then I would recommend picking a town close to Nice. Outside of Paris, Nice and the surrounding area have the best art museums in France.

I've driven through Cassis but haven't stayed there. What I saw makes me want to go back, especially to experience the Calanques.

So I would recommend staying somewhere near Nice to experience the Riviera - I've always wanted to stay in Villefranche-sur-Mer. From there you can do short trips by train.

If you'd rather do more time in Provence, then stay in St. Remy. Great slow-paced town and close to everything.

I just got back from Southern France. We stayed just outside Isle sur la Sorgue @ Chambres Sous l'Olivier (in Rick's book). Julian will make you a WONDERFUL dinner, every night if you wish. Plus it's a favorite spot for European travelers so you get to know other travelers that are not America. We will definitely go back there. Roussillon is another town that is much smaller & super cute. You'd need a car if you went there but it might be worth it.

We are back! We ended up driving from Venice to Villefranche sur Mer. Arrived 7pm. Hotel Provencal had no record of our reservation - despite the printed email confirmation. Very upset! to say the least. Villefranche is very crowded and typical touristy reviera. Had dinner at "Cosmos". Wonderful dinner. Was able to get into our hotel in Cassis a day early so we left Villefranche early the next day. Stopped in Nice for the Chagall and Matisse museums. They were both well worth the time!
ON to Cassis. Much smaller than Villefranche. Less touristy. We really enjoyed the village. The Hotel Royal Cottage was very nice - but a 10 minute walk from the restaurant district. We would try to stay closer in next time - but perhaps the hotels are not as nice on the waterfront. After 3 days, On to Avignon and our wonderful Viking river cruise.