Arlene

Hi! Since you live in Provence, I thought you may be able to answer my question. We are planning to spend a week in Aix in May. We do not wish to rent a car. Would you know to which towns or areas we could easily travel by bus or train...for day trips. I am having difficulty finding this information and would appreciate some help. Thanks, Merci!

Jim

Although I'm not PB,who by the way is great in replies rerovence,let me say that one without a car, Aix is perfectly situated for day trips to almost anywhere in Provence. If nothing else, I topped this for PB.

arlene

Thanks Jim for the good word...and the topping!

PB

Arlene,<BR><BR>To really get to see Provence, I have to say that you need a car. Driving here is not difficult and everything is well sign posted.<BR><BR>Personally I think that traveling by bus or train from Aix cuts down on what you can easily see in a day, primarily since Aix is farther east than most of the major sites. For example - the drive from Aix to Les Baux is about an hour, by bus it's about 2.5 hours and then it doesn't actually go right to Les Baux, but stops in a neighboring village. <BR><BR>You might want to look at the website of the Tourist Office for the Bouches-du-Rhone www.visitprovence.com<BR>for information on buses and the<BR>sncf site for train schedules (I"m sorry, but I don't have their website handy).<BR><BR>You might also consider day tours, if offered, from the Tourist Office in Aix.<BR>www.aix-en-provence.com<BR><BR>Patricia<BR>

Christina

I'm not sure if you don't want anybody but PBProvence to answer or not. You can get to Marseille and Avignon fairly easily from Aix by rail; depending on how long you are willing to travel, you can also go to Nimes and Arles (not bad, less than 2 hrs). I don't think there is anything worth seeing that much going along the sea to the east within less than two hours. The SNCF web site is www.sncf.fr where you can check times and routes. <BR><BR>By bus, you can go to Cavaillon but I wouldn't go there instead of these other places; a bus also goes to Avignon, not sure how it compares to rail time. Here is a web site that discusses bus lines to some extent: www.beyond.fr/travel/bus.html I'm not familiar with organized bus day trips from Aix, but I agree the tourist offices would be your best bet to look for them. <BR><BR>If I were doing day trips by public transportation during a week's stay, I would stay in Avignon, probably, or possibly Arles. However, within your limitations, I would spend a couple days in Aix, and also visit Avignon, Arles, and Marseille by train (Nimes if I had excess time and I'd check on buses to St-Remy, there might be some).<BR>

fiona

Sorry to intrude here, but I'm curious: how long is a train from Paris to Aix? to Avignon? Cost? Thank you!

Arlene

Hi! Of course I appreciate information from all of you...and I thank you all. It's late now (I was watching the Olympics), but tomorrow I will check out the sights you recommended. I got a little scared because some people said that a car was necessary. So, today I phoned around to inquire about renting a car for one day ...to try it out. For an automatic, I was quoted over $100 Can. for a little Geo...I don't even know what a Geo looks like! Avis wanted $225 Can for ONE DAY! To me these figures sound astronomical. Besides which my husband doesn't want to drive, and I will be the one that has to. So...back to the drawing board...and public transportation.

PB

Fiona,<BR><BR>The trip from Paris to Avignon by TGV is 2.5 hours and to Aix is 3 hours. You can find all the information on the TGV Mediterranee, including prices and discounts you might be eligible for at<BR>www.tgv.com<BR><BR>PB

PB

Arlene,<BR><BR>Yes, renting a car for a single day is probably the most expensive proposition.. have you checked to see what a 'weekend' rate would be ? <BR>I've had some guests here who paid less than US$ 250 for a week's rental.<BR><BR>I understand that AutoEurop (or is it EuropCar ?) has about the best rates.<BR>Let us know how you do with the train and bus schedules and if I find any more information about buses, I'll post it here.<BR><BR>Patricia

Arlene

Hi! Wll, I checked out the recommended websites and they didn't really answer my questions. I called Autoeurope (or whatever it is ) and they have a minimum of 3 days. What I'll do next is phone or go to the France Tourist Office and see if they have answers. I am sure there must be transportation to the towns...not everyone in Provence has a car!<BR><BR>If I get any worthwhile info, I will post it here for others who may be interested.

Gretchen

If you are going to be there for a week renting a car would be SO perfect! We spent 5 days with a car--driving is very easy and the places you can go so charming. I would say that our most "unfavorite" place with a car was Aix--parking is a nightmare! You will want to make any rental arrangements from the US--otherwise the price really skyrockets. Have a good trip.

PB

Arlene,<BR><BR>So far I've been unable to find any kind of website for buses. Because there are several different companies that run the different routes, the best I can come up with right now are telephone numbers.<BR><BR>The Train station in Aix: 04 42 27 1791<BR><BR>the bus company that serves Arles/Salon/Marseilles/ les Alpilles is CEYTE - 04 90 93 7490<BR><BR>Serving Avignon is SATAP 04 42 21 0223<BR><BR>There was no particular information on the Bouches du Rhone website on transportation, so I'll continue looking.<BR><BR>Patricia<BR><BR>

Christina

What towns do you want to go to that you haven't found out about? The URL I gave does list pretty extensive bus routes for that region, but it's not a special tourist tour bus site, that's true. I know the URL for the Aix bus system, but that is just around Aix, not very far outside the city (www.aixenbus.com).<BR><BR>Here is another URL from the tourism office of Jouques, nearby, which gives all bus lines and phone number etc, plus specific schedules and routes for some lines Aix is on: http://www.provence-jouques.com/fr/venir/venir15.html<BR><BR>I don't really know if there is anything that exciting on there, I didn't see anything. However, if it's a question of money, you might be making a mistake checking for a daily charge. I rented a car in Marseille through Autoeurope last July and it was only about $40-50 a day when rented for a week. And that charge included everything (all insurance) and was for an automatic with AC, compact size. The charge would have been the same if picked up in Aix, they told me. If you can drive stick, it would be somewhat less (and you could do without AC in May, also). It should be much less than CAD100 per day. see www.autoeurope.com