We arrive in Avignon and pick up our rental car for a two trip through Provence. Our last staop is two days in Aix. We will be staying at Le Manoir which does have parking. Does it make sense to return our rental car in Aix and take the TGV back to Paris(we will be staying in the 6th) or return the car to Avignon from whence it came and take the TGV back from there. What is travel time between Aix and Avignon by car and how easy or difficult will the route be?

Since there won't be (shouldn't be) a drop-off fee for returning the car in a different place from the one where you picked it up, I don't see any benefit to dsriving back to Avignon just to leave the car.

It's about an hour's ride (85 km) between Avignon and Aix, highway all the way.

Thank you StCirq!

PamSF,

Just in case you don't already know, the Aix TGV station is about a 15-minute drive outside the city. Like the one in Avignon, it's fairly new and well designed for returning cars and hopping on the train. I can't see any reason for driving back to Avignon if you're staying in Aix.

Underhill: Will you please give us more details about a new train station in Avignon? Location, name and ease of picking up a rental car?

The two times I took the TGV to Avignon, in 1999 and 2000, we got off at the Gare on Blvd. Saint-Roch on the south side of the city wall--what looks like Porte de la Republique on a small city map.

Picking up a rental car in that location is tricky because of required walk around the corner to the rental agency with luggage in tow, then an additional walk to the parking garage to get the car.

If there is a new and better station with more convenient rental car pickup, I would love to know about it because we are going to take the TGV to Avignon-where we will pick up a rental car-again this summer. Thanks.

Can anyone confirm that dropping off in another location does not cost significantly more? I started searching this option at Auto Europe for a possible drop off in Lyon, and it seemed to double the cost compared to drop off in Avignon. Thanks.

Pam, if you're going to be driving around Provence, you might want to take a look at this website: www.mappy.com. We're doing the same trip as you in late September, and I found it really useful to go on mappy and check distances, driving time, and cost of fuel--all of which this site will provide you with.

The new TGV station opened in Avignon at the time that the TGV Mediteranée was introduced. In November 2001 we arrived at the new Aix station, and I recall that the one in Avignon had been opened earlier. I can't tell you just where it is, as we haven't used it, but the SNCF site gives information on the various stations. And I'm sure someone else on this site will be able to help, as Avignon is a popular destination.

We've never had to pay a drop-off fee when we rented and returned a car in France.

leegull,

Here's some additional informationt that I found on the Avignon TGV station.

The new Avignon TGV station (Gare TGV) is located at the southern edge of town, between the ring-road and the Durance river. It is in (longish, 3-km) walking distance, but there's a shuttle bus (navette) every 15 minutes. The TGV navette goes to/from the bus station (gare routiere), beside the main railway station, at the southern edge of the walled old-town.

The new Avignon TGV station is built in two parts, with an arrivals terminal to the north and a departure terminal to the south. The departure terminal has shops, restaurants, the Office de Tourisme and several car rental agencies.