Bonjour! My husband and i want to visit the provence-alpes-côte d'azur region of France. We aren't into fine dining and shopping. We like to cycle, hike and just explore cities. Which cities would you recommend for us? We will be taking a train from Paris to this region. We won't have a car; we'll be renting bikes or walking. Anything you can recommend would be helpful. We looked at Avignon because it looked like you can rent bikes and bike that area, but we are open to anything in that region.

Nice is the obvious choice. A very long history and tons to see and do. And easy rail connections with many of the towns along the coast or up the hills - charming villages with small museums and lovely places to walk/bike and explore the countryside.

You don't say how far you want to bike each day. From Avignon you could visit Ile-sur-la-Sorgue or Uzes but they're not cities, they're small towns but charming.

If you're looking for cities in this area you are limited. Perhaps Orange or Nimes. But they might be too far for you to cycle.

If you want a city I agree with Nice - lots to do there and good train/bus connections to other towns. Again, the area is filled with smaller towns, not cities.

I think the beauty of this area lies in, and between, the smaller towns, wandering around, stopping in cafes, seeing the sights each town offers.

Thank you for your replies! We would bike maybe 50 miles a day? And yes, we've been looking at Nice and it looks wonderful to explore!

If I were you, I'd get a guidebook. It will give you lots of information, and, unless you're very different from me, you'll enjoy reading it.