Nice airport car rental and then drive to Arles

Driving from Nice to Arles is about a two- or maybe three-hour project. Driving from Avignon to Arles will take a bit more than an hour late in the day. I don't know where you catch the train in Nice if it's not from Nice Ville. If that's the case, you have to go east to eventually head west. I don't know how long it takes the train to make the run, but I'd guess at least a couple of hours. If there were a train station right at the airport and you could hop on it without waiting, the time might be a wash - - otherwise driving will be faster. If you use the interior freeway for the whole trip (the two hour time) the scenery is blah. Aix is a good place to eat, but it's hard as heck to get in and out of. Cannes is fairly easy, but it might be too early. Salon-de-Provence is easy and it might fit the timing better. It's also fairly interesting.

Viamichelin.com makes the drive 2:19 but is usually optimistic. If the drive is in July or August it could take considerably longer. You won't need to make a stop but if you want to Aix will have cafes open in the afternoon.

Thank you for your replies. So it is clear by the length of the drive, I won't NEED to grab dinner en route to Arles. That said, should I make a stop at Aix or Salon de Provence or Cannes, to take in the sights? As the one poster said, Aix en Provence may be time consuming to get in and out of. We are travelling April 21, a Saturday. We have Sunday and most of Monday in Provence before returning the car to Avignon at 4p and training into Paris. What will Sunday in Arles be like? Most shops closed? Would this be an ideal day for the drive through the country for which we have troubled ourselves w/ renting a car? Staying at Hotel du Forum in Arles and I have read on Tripadvisor that folks have been challenged finding their lodgings in Arles and then parking. Did either of you have this experience as well?

We visited the hotel but didn't stay there. I believe it has its own parking garage. I would have a detailed map of Arles, GPS or both to find it. We stopped in Aix one March. It wasn't a problem getting into or out of. Can't speak to what is open in Arles on a Sunday. If you want to take a drive, you have good choices in all directions. It would be worth the money to get a Michelin Green guidebook and read through to see what looks interesting. One suggestion: you could tour through St. Remy over to the perched villages of the Luberon--Gordes, Roussillion, Bonnieux. That's maybe 1:15-20 each way plus looking around time. Closer is the Camargue. But it depends upon what interests you and of course how much time you have for it.

I love that drive along the coast and I think its beautiful. I also found Aix to be a pain, especially during a busy workday and did not find it all that charming compared to other places. Cannes is also a bit busy, and for a small beach town to stop along the way I love St. Maximes... beautiful small beach town with great restaurants and lovely shopping. They have a park with a carousel on the beach.

If you stick to the autoroutes (freeways), driving will definitely be faster than taking the train. You would have to go into Nice and the earliest train you could catch is the TGV that leaves Nice Ville at 15:34 and arrives at Aix-en-Provence TGV at 18:12. Connect there to a TGV that leaves at 18:29 and arrives at Avignon TGV at 18:49. There also is a direct TGV from Nice Ville to Avignon TGV that departs at 16:34 and arrives at 19:28.