travel from Provence to Paris

Stephanie, there is a very high-speed train run from the Avignon-TGV station to Paris. One stop in Lyon and that's it. 2hrs 39min. You can see and buy this ticket on www.tgv-europe.com. Great fares if you book up to 90 days out. Select Canada, Great Britain or other non-USA country as your Ticket Collection Country. If you select USA, you most often will be switched to RailEurope which you do not want. Message back if you need more assistance.

Thank you, Larry. I got on the site. I didn't understand it very well. Could there be only on train that leaves at like 6 in the morning? I specifically want to go from Avignon to Paris on June 3, but would like to have part of the day to use in Avignon as we fly home the 4th. I guess we could use it in Paris that day, too.
Also, when I tentatively put in the date, it gave me 60 euro for a price - didn't know if that was for 2 tickets or just one. How much should one expect to pay for the one-way ticket? Thank you so much! stephanie

The SNCF booking site will usually give you the price for a single direction, even if you asked initially for a return journey.

Stephanie: Be sure to double check the time as well as the date you requested. I just started to do a dummy booking to look for you, and the default day was today and the default time was now in France (i.e., six hours ahead of New York, so later in the day). So, look for an 8 AM start time to see all trains that day. And if you look carefully, you'll see a "previous trains" and "following trains" option (if you can't find it, press Control-F, then enter the phrase "previous trains" and it will be highlighted on the page). For one person, I see prices between 30 and 45 euros for the cheapest tickets; be aware these are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. I also see on some runs, first class tickets are very cheap as well; first class isn't necessary, but for only a few euros more, why not?

There are many direct TGVs from either Avignon Centre or Avignon TGV to Paris throughout the day. You can book tickets for regular TGVs up to three months in advance (3 June as of today). You can book iDTGV tickets farther in advance.

Adding to my previous post. I need to make a small correction to Larry's instructions for booking on tgv-europe.com. First, choose Great Britain or Canada as your country of residence. If you are asked if you wish to be directed to Rail Europe, choose to stick with tgv-europe. Second, choose France as your ticket collection country. That way, if you aren't able to print your own ticket, you can pick it up at any SNCF station in France. Drop your car off at Avignon TGV which is outside of the city. Direct trains from Avignon TGV to Paris depart at 06:14, 06:23, 08:14, and 10:14. Direct trains from Avignon Centre to Paris depart at 05:01 and 08:57. If you book ASAP, you can get a Prem's fare as low as €30.00. Those tickets are non-exchangeable and non-returnable so be sure you can commit before booking.

Stephanie, I see several runs for June 3 right now on www.tgv-europe.com when I orginate the journey from the Avignon-TGV train station. Here's a link to what I see. http://gyazo.com/db414055306cc03b717d592340745991 Some are in the afternoon. If you are in Avignon for the morning, you are still 30+ minutes away from the TGV train station by regional train or bus. The TGV station is not in the center of the city as is the Gare de Avignon station. The fares you see are one-way, one person fares.

I hope that when Stephanie follows this excellent advice she notices that there are several direct trains from Provence to Charles deGaulle that bypass Paris. If she and her sister's return flight is late enough they can wake up in Provence and be at the airport mid-morning.