Are planning on basing ourselves in Avignon for several days, exploring the town and also visiting Arles, Pont du Gard, Nimes etc. Have read you can train/bus to these sites,but wondered about actual logistics of doing so. If staying in main part of Avignon, can you get to the correct station in a short walk? Or do you have to first transport yourself to whichever station?
Upon arriving in those places, are you centrally located? Or do you then need to schlep yourselves to main areas? We don't mind some walking but need to preserve husbands energy for the actual destinations, not use it up on getting there!
Day Trips from Avignon via train/bus
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I would use Google maps to help you out.
In Avignon, the central station is on the edge of the old town. If you're going to be using the train a lot, then obviously choose a hotel close to the station. Central Avignon is not that big but you'll get a feel for it from looking at the map. When using Google make sure to choose travel by foot when getting directions from A to B. You can normally ignore the messages telling you there are no footpaths.
From Avignon, there are also buses to places like Isle sur la Sorgue, St Remy and so on. Bus timetables are online and the main bus station in Avignon is located next to the train station. Buses on Sundays are often a bit sketchy.
I assume you've got the French train website but if not it's www.voyages-sncf.com.
I've never done one but I assume that there would be day tours run from Avignon which could be organised via a local travel agent or the tourist office (which is located on the main street a short distance from the train station).
The Avignon municipal tourism authority has plenty of information http://www.avignon-tourisme.com/home-1-2.html
You can also search for regional tourism offices; France has an abundance of official tourism promoters.
We took the bus from Avignon to San Remy -- as I remember there are pretty frequent buses and it's a pleasant, not too long trip. St. Remy is an easy day trip -- if you're a Van Gogh fan be sure to visit Clinique St. Paul, which was an asylum where Van Gogh admitted himself for a year toward the end of his life. This was a very productive period for him artistically and you can see the locations where he painted and his room. This is on the outskirt; we walked -- it's doable if your party can handle moderate excercise. We walked around the town, had lunch, and visited the clinic in one day.
We were staying near the Pope's Palace; it was all the way across town to the bus station, so if you plan on several bus trips, I would recommend staying in a hotel that is either in the center of town or even closer.
Here's the bus schedule from between Avignon and the Pont du Gard. It continues on to Uzes which I recommend having spent a great week there.
https://www.edgard-transport.fr/ftp/FR_lignes/LIGNE%20A15%20HIVER.pdf
There are markets on Wednesday and Saturday.
http://www.creme-de-languedoc.com/Languedoc/sightseeing/uzes-shop.php
Sorry, here's a better link for the Avignon-Ales bus which includes the Pont du Gard and Uzes. Just noticed the one above is outdated.
https://www.edgard-transport.fr/horaires_ligne/?rub_code=6&sens=1&date=16/02/2013&lign_id=6
thanks so much, love the first-hand knowledge of fodorites. And yes, we're definitely Van Gogh fans!
Shame not renting a car is that you'll miss the villages of the luberon dasy tours which is a must.....
http://saintremydeprovencetourism.blogspot.fr/2013/02/a-day-in-luberon.html
And if you are van gogh's fan, stop at the tourist to get the free Van Gogh path and visit St Paul de Mausole
http://saintremydeprovencetourism.blogspot.fr/2013/02/van-gogh-in-st-remy-saint-paul-de.html
Hope this will help
We were in Provence last June. We spent 2 days in Aix, 8 days in Avignon and the trained to Paris for 4 days.
We did not rent a car.
We bessed to St Remy and Pont du Gard / Uzes.
We trained to Isle sur la Sorgue, Montpellier, Arles.
You really can't bus to Les Baux, Gordes & Roussillon so we took an afternoon mini-van tour of those three hill towns.
The only issue is Pont-du-Gard bus as it makes slightly different stops at Pont du Gard depending upon the season. In winter it doesn't stop at PdG. In spring & fall it stops there on weekends and in summer every day.
When it doesn't stop there it stops at the traffic circle (15 minute walk).
We stayed at the hotel Bristol that's located inside the walls in the historic section but only a 2 minute walk to the train station and about 5-6 minute walk to the dumpy bus station. They are both on the same street but the train station (spotless) is in a direct line with the main street into the town while the bus station is a block to the left.
If you have to take a TGV train there's a shuttle that leaves from the town bus terminal that's just inside the walls and less than 2 minutes from the hotel.
I found that Avignon doesn't have that much to keep you busy so I planned day trips almost every day. We did the same thing a couple of years ago in Tuscany where we based in Florence. Florence of couse has a lot to do so I planned daytrips every second day there.
You can click on my name and find my detailed trip report and/or see my photos at: www.travelwalks.com
Renting a car is a decision. There are pros (more freedom to see towns) and cons (expense, driving, parking, theft).