For Provence, where should we fly into?
 

We are flying from the US to Provence. Should we fly to Paris and then fly or train or should we fly to Marseilles? Thank you.

What about Nice? It's not the hugest area in the world. I'd say go with best price and longest connection times! Marseilles or Nice. What cities/towns do you have in mind?

It's several-hour train trip from Paris and you have to get from airport to train station-a time factor to be compared with your layover times in other cities.

Nice Airport would be good. The airport is nice and not crowded at all. I love Nice, it is such a beautiful city.

We've flown into both Nice and Marseilles in several trips to Provence. It really depends on your itinerary. We prefer the Luberon and Alpilles as opposed to the Cote d' Azur and Riviera.
That being the case, Marseilles is easier and quicker to our destinations, usually starting near Arles or St. Remy. The drive from Nice to those locations after the long flight from the US is wearisome and a challenge. Much easier from the Marseilles airport which is north of the city and outside of the traffic.

It does depend where you are staying. One year we went by car to Provence and returned our auto at Avignon where we flew baCK to Paris. This is great for visiting the Les Alpilles and Luberon. Nice and Marseille is ideal for visiting the Haute Provence and the Cote D' Azur.

We will be somewhere around St. Remy and the Luberon. So should we fly to Paris and then Avignon?

Better to rent a car in advance at the airport in Paris, a small car is the way to enjoy the small villages where there is no public transportation.

So not take the train from paris to Avignon and then rent a car? How far is the drive from Paris?

We always stopped overnight in Burgundy, usually Avallon.
The drive is lovely. Sorry I can't tell you hours as I don't drive. My late husband was one loved driving through the countryside of Provence and any other place in France. either way rent the car but before you leave. Diesel is less expensive.

We've spent over 16 weeks vacationing in Provence - plus another 16 weeks on the Cote d'Azur. Best thing to do is to fly into CDG, and then take the TGV to Avignon. The train is very relaxing after a long flight. Try to get PREM first class tickets and enjoy the snooze and the sights out the window of the train.

On June 18, we'll be taking the TGV from CDG to Nimes (been to Avignon many times). We'll be snoozing on the train after flying from San Francisco.

Don't drive from CDG, unless you have about 4 nights to stop at places along the way.

If a flight to Marseilles works out, then that's fine. But about 5 years ago we established a "rule" - no more than 2 airplane legs.

Stu Dudley

Thank you so much for this information. Now the only problem I am having is finding a nice B&B to stay in. I will probably have to move around every couple days as we are booking this so late. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Check out B&Bs in the Luberon on Tripadvisor.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g1...ce-Hotels.html

If you really want to rent a car at Avignon, the train makes the most sense to me, also. However, there isn't any reason you can't fly to Marseille and rent a car there, also. I've done both. I usually fly Air France to France, though, and going to Marseille as an add-on usually costs me nothing extra, and because they are the national airline, I know if my bag gets delayed in connection, there are many more flights out that day it will be on and they know how to deliver it.

Cost? MOre to fly to Nice or Marseilles? Going only to Provence? Easy to fly into Paris and take the TGV to Avignon.

If the Bouches-du-Rhône is your destination I would fly into CDG and take the TGV directly to Avignon and pick up a car there. No way I would drive from Paris unless I had a week or so to meander along the route. Flying into Marseilles would be the second-best option.

We will only be visiting Provence and will not drive from Paris. Any idea how long the drive is from Avigon versus Marseille to the Luberon area?

I believe Avignon is much closer to the Luberon than Marseilles. Check the driving directions online at Michelin, Google Maps or Mapquest.

Use www.viamichelin.com to deternine driving times.

The TGV station in Avignon is outside of town to the south a bit. The TGV complex is huge with lots of car rental offices. It is about a 45-50 min drive from the TGV station to about Bonnieux in the Luberon - shorter time to Gordes.

The Marseille airport is northwest of Marseille - about 1 1/2 hrs. away

Stu Dudley

Is it possible to fly non-stop to Marseilles? That would eliminate changing planes in Paris. We'll be doing that next week and then driving one hour to our gite in Lourmarin in the Luberon. It's a wonderful village with all the amenities ... arguably just as lovely as St. Remy.

I'm pretty sure that there are no non-stop flights from the US to Marseille.

Stu Dudley