isabel

I am thinking of spending about four days in Avignon in March. I would prefer not to rent a car but I'd like to see both Uzes and the Pond du Gard. I know you can take a train to Nimes and a bus from there. But how realistic is this for a day trip. Could you do both in the same day. Has anyone ever taken a taxi for one leg of this (maybe taxi from Nimes to Uzes for example or Pont du Gard, then bus back). Money is an issue but if it were not exorbitant and it would allow us to see both it might be worth it (there would be three of us). Any other suggestions? Thanks

cigalechanta

only visited by car but they were short trips.
Market day on Saturday morning in Uzes is wonderful!

tomboy

You only live once

amwosu

I can't help on the public transport but if you decide to rent a car for the day it is really easy driving the area. I did it and I'm not known for my driving skills and I'm not familiar with the area. I can only drive an automatic which costs more but did I mention I'm not the world's best driver?

In 2007 I rented a car at the Avignon TGV station. Very small, easy to get on the road from there. Pont du Gard is about 25 min from Avignon. Follow signs to Nimes, then Pont du Gard. Rive Gauche parking is off D-981 which leads from Remoulins to Uzes.

Uzes is about 30 min from Pont du Gard. The TI (tourist information) on ring road place Albert 1er has self guided walking tour brochures in English.

Near Uzes I visited St Quentin la Poterie where there are a number of small pottery shops/studios. Unfortunately, I arrived during the lunch break when many shops were closed. What I remember more than anything were huge packs of feral cats having sex in every alley while I was killing time waiting for the shops and studios to reopen. The noise was awful, like fingernails on a chalkboard awful. I drove my tiny rental car through a very narrow alley and prayed I wouldn't get the car stuck in it. I later walked through the alley and discovered I could stretch out my arms and almost touch the buildings on each side.

Tarascon is about 35 min. from Uzes. I don't remember a darn thing about this town for some reason. Probably couldn't compute after all the screeching of the cats in St. Quentin. In my notes I have written that there are narrow medieval streets, ancient walls & old fortified arched doorways, pretty arcades, lots of little shops & cafés.

St. Remy is about a 17 min. drive from Tarascon. Joel Durand is a rock star at his little chocolate shop filled with international shoppers. Oh and free samples! http://www.chocolat-durand.com/fr/ A couple doors down is Le Petit Duc where I purchased "antique" cookies, made from the same recipes used in the days of Marie Antoinette. I walked to the edge of town to visit St. Paul Monastery, the 12th C asylum where Van Gogh sought treatment & walked the footpath leading back to town with 21 panels of Van Gogh’s works located where he painted them.
http://www.cloitresaintpaul-valetudo.com/Historique.htm

From St. Remy you can head back to Avignon which is about 30 minutes away.
Ann Marie

cigalechanta

good suggestions, I bought chocolates and cookies for my hosts at those places, to their delight.

amwosu

As for other suggestions... I loved visiting Les Baux de Provence, an ancient ruined town perched high on a windy precipice less than 15 minutes from St. Remy. You could skip screeching sex kitty town (St. Quentin la Poterie) and the town I do not recall (Tarascon) and have time to drive to Les Baux after St. Remy.

cigalechanta

Gordes is another perche village worth visiing,not as crowded as Les baux, but without a car, sorry. You really need to rent one to experince the true Provence

kevin_widrow

Isabel -

I believe there is a bus line that runs directly from Avignon to Uzes (with a stop at the Pont du Gard). If you don't want to rent a car, this could be a good solution.

You should certainly check with the Tourist Office in Avignon for details and times, etc...

-Kevin

greg

The Pont du Gard site lists buses serving the Pont. Bus #205 services Uze and Avignon.

http://www.pontdugard.fr/page.php?page=345&langue=GB

Vttraveler

Tarascon is known/visited primarily for its medieval castle

Gretchen

We did it easily by car, as others have said. Uzes is a wonderful little town, and their pottery is really fun.

mpprh

Hi

I live in this area, but take visitors there by car.

The Pont du Gard website info is obsolete. The bus route is now called A15 and the current timetable is at :

http://www.edgard-transport.fr/ftp/F...s/LR%20A15.pdf

There are several buses day, and the timing is :

Avignon to Pont du Gard = 45 minutes
Pont du Gard to Uzes = 20 minutes
Avignon to Uzes = 65 minutes

It seems you could easily do this trip without needing to take the train to Nimes ?

Peter

TDudette

Another poss is to take a minibus tour. Ask your hotel about them. We used Rendez-Vous Provence out of Aix and were delighted with it.

I just looked online and there are several out of Avignon. mpprh's bus advice looks good. (If you end up having to go to Nimes, get your train tickets ahead of time-we encountered long lines at the ticket office and USA credit cards did not work in the handy ticket machines.)

isabel

Thanks. Lots of good info. I may reconsider renting a car. I've been to Provence before (but the people I'm traveling with on this trip have not) and on that trip we drove - did St Remy, Gourds, Ile sur La Sorge. Driving was easy, it was parking that was not so easy. And I wanted to make this trip as stress free as possible. And based on those links above it looks like we could do Pont du Gard and Uzes by public transportation but it might make more sense to rent a car.

I would like to wait till we got there to make the car rental decision though and have never done that. I've always reserved with autoeurope ahead of time. Has anyone any experience with renting once you get there. Is it more expensive?

ira

Hi Isabel,

>it looks like we could do Pont du Gard and Uzes by public transportation but it might make more sense to rent a car.

I would like to wait till we got there to make the car rental decision though and have never done that. I've always reserved with autoeurope ahead of time. Has anyone any experience with renting once you get there. Is it more expensive?<

2. It will cost more to rent after you arrive.
2A. AE will not charge you if you cancel. Check the details at their website.

1. I think that you all will be happier if you rent a car. The parking lots at the Pont-du-Gard are large.

Enjoy your visit.

StCirq

I have been to all those places many times, with a car. Parking was never an issue in any of them even in high season, even Ile-sur-la-Sorgue during the antiques festival. St-Remy on market day can be a challenge, but even there I've always found a space.

It will definitely cost you more, generally about twice as much, to rent once you get there. And if you don't speak French fluently, you'll have to deal with all the technical and contractual issues in French.

nametaken

You will enjoy your trip much more if you have your own transportation. You will be able to travel on your own schedule. Uzes, Avingon, Nimes area wonderful places to visit. StCirq is right on about the parking and the cost of renting after you get there. My husband and I have rented from Sixt Car Rental three times and have found them to have the lowest prices, and good service. Have a wonderful trip.