Kim

I'm going to Lyon and probably Avignon for a week with my mum in the spring. I like history and cities, but she would like to visit villages and do some walking/hiking. Can someone please recommend some good day trips form these two towns which we could do and advise the best way to travel- train, bus, or we could hire a car??? Thanks in advance.

mimi

My favorite near Lyon is Peruges, very different than any other village in that area.(23 miles south of Lyon)It's a gov. protected fortified medieval village. I always advise a small car to visit the villages because the roads are very narrow and take the D roads which are scenic. Take the autoroute(very expensive) only when you are in a hurry, as we usually are at the end of our trip. I love all the villages around avignon. One tip: It's less expensive to rent the car from the states.

Chris

Guessing the rental tip won't work for the poster -- sounds like she's from Great Britain... <BR><BR>You might try to hire a cab for a few hours and go to Perouges -- parking can be a real problem unless you get there bright and early. <BR><BR>Nimes is nice too -- not a village, but great for walking (there's a beautiful, huge park there) and lots of Roman history (colossium, etc.) Lyon also has a big park for walking (however not as big as Nimes, I don't think). <BR><BR>There is also an area outside of Lyon that is a park and has swimming (in season). I don't recall the name, sorry -- the tourist office should be able to help you.<BR><BR>You can also pick up a Satobus (it's on the web, and I believe there's a link from the St Exupery airport web site) and go to the mountains -- the Satobus is popular in the ski season and has pick ups in several locations in Lyon (it's not too expensive either -- I think it was only $7 US from the airport to Lyon a couple of years ago). <BR><BR>

Christina

I don't know the area around Lyon as well, but I think Perouges would be the top recommendation (it is not south of Lyon, but to the NE). They have a good web site www.perouges.org<BR><BR>One place I liked not too far from Avignon was Pernes-les-Fontaines. There are a couple of outstanding web sites with information on the villages in Provence, with maps, and I'd recommend you look at them. They give complete details on location, sites and facts about all the villages and towns (even cities) and I think one has hiking trails and specific information on that. That is www.beyond.fr (Provence &amp; Beyond) and this is their page with all the village information<BR>http://www.provencebeyond.com/villages/index.html<BR>The other good site is www.provenceweb.fr<BR><BR>Train would be very good for larger towns and cities, but won't do for villages as they won't have train stations (even St-Remy de Provence which is also a wonderful town to visit does not have a train station, that population is about 10K perhaps). The bus routes exist to some places (and beyond.fr has complete transportation information for the area) but it's not very convenient or complete. I think you'd want to rent a car if that is possible for you.<BR><BR>As for Avignon, you could take a bus day trip tour to Perouges if you wanted.

mimi

We have stayed in the heart of the village several times at the &quot;Hostellerie De Peruges&quot;. The room are in several buildings. I dug out my brochure in case you are interested to fax for a brochure.<BR>04 74 34 77 90<BR>The Auberge(XIV seicle) there is famous for the Galette Perougienne.

mpprh

Hi<BR><BR>If in Avignon, a trip to Uzes is worthwhile<BR><BR>Peter<BR>http://tlp.netfirms.com<BR>