We stayed in Provence for two weeks last summer with our family. We rented a vacation home in Gordes. We did a daytrip to Eze from Gordes because we had honeymooned there 15 years earlier and wanted to see it again and show the kids where we had stayed. It was 2 1/2 hours of driving in each direction which I think is far more than you would want to do when you have only a few days in the area. Since we had two weeks we were able to rest up the day before and after such a long car trip.

Lisa

At AutoEurope website pickup and dropoff at Avignon station for 4 days minus 6 hours for a Citroen C4 or similar
Compact · Automatic · A/C is coming to


303.59 USD Basic rate includes VAT, liability and fire insurance and unlimited miles.

Inclusive Rates Include:

Value Added Tax (Vat)
Liability Insurance
Fire Insurance
Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)
Theft Protection (TP)
Unlimited Miles
416.73 USD Inclusive
I would opt for the Basic but that still seems high. This is the cheapest Automatic available. Seems kinda high - $300 for 4- days. Have others found similar pricing. I haven't asked for the AAA discount and haven't checked the Hertz rates yet.

Did you check the kemwel rates??

Call AutoEurope and ask about the AAA discount, and then ask for their Kemwel rate (after you determine what it is on www.kemwel.com ). For the last 2 years, I have found the Kemwel rate to be lower than the AutoEurope rate - although they are the same company.

Stu Dudley

Just got back 2 weeks ago, I agree with Stu (Hi, Stu, I'm gonna email you soon....) about Kemwel. I also think cote D'Azur is LESS amazing than Provence... Of all the places we traveled to during our 10 days there -- we will definitely remember those small, charming villages up on the mountains.... Lisa mentioned Gordes, which for us was one of the highlights of our day trips...

I would definitely rent a car, but if you're used to automatic transmission, be careful to rent one (they don't have many of them available), 'cause those very narrow, very steep, very winding roads can be dangerous, you need be fully alert, and you sure don't want to be preoccupied with a manual transmission, even if you're familiar with it....

Kemwel reserved for us an automatic "VW Passat or similar" (we ended up getting a Peugeot van which had transmission issues, so I returned it and got the Passat Diesel which was really great) for less than $600 for 9 days... that was Europcar in Nice airport. But when I made the reservation, back in February, the Dollar whad better value than today...

Europcar had all kinds of added fees (which we expected, I asked Kemwel)... I refused the insurance charges (they didn't try pressuring me like in some other places in Europe), after buying an Amex $25 extra-coverage insurance.

The value of the dollar isn't very high right now, so it's possible that rate isn't that unusual, as well as the fact that you are including insurance in the second quote. I rented from Kemwel last summer in Provence and didn't pay that much but I had my own insurance, and rented for closer to a week. It's just like the US, often a four-day rate is the same as a week rate, so amount per day isn't the best indicator always. So your $303 USD basic rate is really only about 210 euro or around 50 euro a day for an A/T when rented for four days. That isn't that unusual or high a rate. There are lots of places in the US you'd pay about that much per day for renting a small car and A/T is the only kind you can rent here.

I bet your problem is the four-day rental, and if you rented for a week it would only be about $400 or $57 a day rather than $75 a day.

Update on the car rental:

Hertz PREPAID price is $319.40 for a peugeot 307 Auto or Ford focus Auto.
Kemwel Citroen C4 with ac Automatic is $300.82. Additional charges to be paid locally are 37.4 E station surcharge and 3E/day Road tax adding another $70.

Check with Kemwel about a free GPS, which can be very useful.

Rental car reserved with National.

Still struggling with hotel choice. Has anyone stayed in Hôtel de l'Horloge 3 star hotel at 1 Rue Félicien David - Place de l'Horloge, Avignon? 4 nights are 760E at Booking.com.

Colbert's Patrice emailed me the following: One double large room with private comfort
For your son , attic room (photo of this room on the web site of the hotel) private comfort
The two rooms can will stay on the same floor and 3 meters of them.

I am not so sure about the "attic" room and haven't been able to spot it in the photos Patrice suggested. Anyone have any experience with the attic room? I get claustrophobic easily if there are no windows.

d'Europe is at 540E per night for Triple Prestige room.

No vacancy in thames-residences.com.

Any nice apartment suggestions? Or another hotel a little further away from the walled city but still having restaurant, fitness club, etc.?

I haven't stayed at that hotel, but the location is certainly central. Maybe a little too central, but I don't know (about church bells). That seems a high price for Avignon to me, for a 3* hotel (almost 200 euro a night?). But for three people, maybe not. But then I guess you are looking for top end hotels if you want a firtness club and restaurant, there aren't many choices there. I am surprised a 3* hotel has those.

There aren't very many 4* hotels in that area, so there won't be that many to check out with fitness clubs and restaurants. Of course I think the Mirande is the best, but I imagine it is pretty pricey. There is the CLoitre St Louis, another one of the top places.

Check out the Auberge de Cassagne http://www.aubergedecassagne.fr/
I considered it once as you get more for your money outside Avignon proper, I think (it is a suburb, Pontet). And it may be easier with a car, actually, which is why I considered it. Also, it has a pool.

I stayed at the Hotel Palais du Papes three years ago. Slightly quirky but we really liked it. Terrific location; the hotel is just opposite the palais. We parked the car in the huge car park under the place/square in front of hotel. It's a fairly easy in and out of the town from the car park. www.hotel-avignon.com

Auberge de Cassagne for Chambre Parc is coming in at 344 E per night.

Cloitre St. Louis for Superior room with extra bed is $409 US. Disturbing reviews on Tripadvisor about no air conditioning making me concerned; otherwise could be a good choice.

Palais du Papes has no vacancy.

Just booked Hotel Cezanne in Aix-en-Provence. According to the Michelin website, from Avignon TGV, 12.84 EUR in Toll 5.00 EUR | Petrol 7.84 EUR. Time is 58 minutes of wich 34 minutes on motorways and Distance is 84 km with 67 km on motorways

Has anyone stayed at this hotel and/or done this drive before? Comments?

Would it have been better to book the TGV tickets all the way to Aix?

On our return to Paris we will spend the night near CDG. Does the TGV terminate at the Gare de Lyon or does it continue on to CDG? If it does continue on, will it be possible to add on to the tickets to get to the CDG stop?

I would book the TGV to Aix, use the rest of the day to explore Aix, then pick the car up next morning.

From Aix there are many trains daily to CDG, some which require transfers in Avignon or Lyon (city, not the gare in Paris) but a good selection of direct trains.

If your aim is CDG, don't go via Paris.

I am not sure if I can change the TGV tickets now. I bought them and printed them out and they are REMS i.e. non-refundable, not changeable I suppose.

We may just have to contend with driving the 60 miles from Avignon to Aix.

On the return though if there was a way to continue on the TGV beyond the Gare du Lyon station to the CDG station that would be ideal and we could pay for the difference on the train or at the station. Otherwise, we will have to take a cab from the Gare du Lyon to the Hyatt CDG which is where we are staying the night before our flight back to the US.

The trains to Gare de Lyon don't continue to CDG. Am 99% sure of this but if I am wrong, someone will catch it. You would need to get to Gare du Nord by Metro or taxi then take the RER to CDG.

Given the extra hassle, cost to get to Gare du Nord then three RER tickets to CDG, I would taxi from Gare de Lyon to your hotel. But, I am lazy and cranky not to mention older than you are!

PREMs are nonrefundable and only changeable, I think, for a fee.

TGV trains do terminate at Gare de Lyon. You will then have to travel to CDG via taxi, metro or Air France bus.

PREMs are nonrefundable and nonchangeable, that is why they are a special fare. It is prepaid and that's that.

Someone who returned from France last month told me that as of 1-1-11 France requires all drivers to have French/International license.

Did anyone else come across this law while trying to rent a car with a US driver's license in Paris or Provence?

National Car Rentalcould not provide any clarification - I am renting from them with a US DL - hope the rental desk in Avignon doesn't demand to see a local license.

There is no such think as an "international license". I suppose you mean one of those international permit things that is just a translation of your national license. I'd say there is zero chance that a car rental agency in France will require only a French license from their renters.

ANyway, I haven't heard of that law, but if you are so worried about it, go to AAA and get one of the IDPs, they don't cost that much and you get it on the spot, I think.

It wouldn't be a law, but probably a regulation if it were true.

This is what the french embassy says: http://www.ambafrance-us.org/spip.php?article376

They say it is advisable to have an IDP, but not required. Europcar's website says an IDP is only required if your native license is in a language they can't understand. I know French anyway so have answered a few questions when they asked them when I rented (although a DL is basic clear info), but English isn't that difficult for them to comprehend, not to mention all the UK drivers.