getting around provence?
 

hi,
i was wondering if a car is essential for a week in provence or if it would be bearable to take trains from town to town. we don't speak french and are a bit nervous about renting a car. thanks.

If you want to move around little villages and enjoy the local country side hotels I think you have no other option unless you restrict your trip to bigger towns like ,avignon, arles, aix en provence,...
Drive during daylight and rent from a reputable company that will provide 24 hours assistance.

thanks

I don't think there is any other way to actually see Provence without a car. Driving is not difficult. Be sure to get the Michelin map specific for Provence and remember that in France you don't follow a road number but you go in the "direction" of your next village/city.

If two women from NYC who neither own a car or have a need for one could do a 2-wk drive through Provence and Languedoc - anyone can.

While you can take trains and/or buses, you're dependent on schedules and many don't go to small towns.

Get a Micheline #245 Yellow map and along with a good guidebook decide where you want to go and what to see - you'll realize the car works to your advantageous. We managed to put on 1,000 miles in two weeks and never a ding or dent in the car and lost only once in the vineyards of the Chateauneuf du Pape north of Avignon - so not too terrible.

The superhighways (Peage) can be daunting as the speeds are hi (80mph and above), but the National Roads are easy and oh so beautiful.

The amount of French either of us spoke is negligible and we did fine. So consider are car to get the best of your time in the area.

There are some threads on here about people getting around just fine in Provence w/o car, something I would have previously thought impossible, too. Maybe Cigalechanta will see this and respond and/or you can try a search.

If I didn't speak any French, I think, however, that I would be more comfortable driving a car than taking public transportation!

Can you visit Provence and get around without a car? Sure. And you may really enjoy yourself and have some nice memories.
Can you really explore the small rural towns of Provence, the highlight of the area (to me)without a car? I don't really think so. Will you be able to hop around at will, stopping in one village to stroll for a half hour, then moving on to have lunch in another village, stopping in the middle of the countryside to just "smell the lavander", then relaxing in yet another village in the middle of the afternoon at a small cafe. NO WAY.

You will miss much in Provence without a car. We just returned from 12 days driving and staying in B&Bs and it was wonderful. We rented from AutoEurope on the web picking up at the Marseille airport. It couldn't have been easier. We didn't need French to negotiate renting a car. Many Fodorites recommended this company. It was a good deal with full insurance coverage.

About driving: did we ever get lost? Yes, a time or two we had to turn around and go the other way, but it was no big deal. The roads are pretty easy to negotiate once you get the hang of it.

We got directions (through had signals and map pointing from French speaking locals)and it made the whole experience quite amusing. Its part of the adventure.

We learned that you can go around and around and around on the traffic circles until you finally figure out with exit you need. No hurry.

We learned that country roads have "very tiny" little marker numbers on posts in the weeds, but if you look hard you'll be able to figure out what road you're on.

We learned that Michelin no longer makes map #245, but you do need a very good map. Look for another number. I bought "Provence, Illustrated Regional Map and Guide" for $5E at a gift shop in Provence and it worked swell.

Don't worry about your French. Get a good guide book (Michelin Green Guide), a little French translation book, a map, a big adventuresome spirit, a slow paced time frame, and enjoy. It was one of the most beautiful trips we've made.

It is much easier to get around Provence if you have a car. You'll find the drivers calm and courteous relative to the big cities. Most of the traffic signs use symbols instead of words (no parking, no entry, one-way, etc.), which makes it a little easier. The best piece of advice is to know which towns you will need to pass to get to your destination. The signs don't use East/West or route #'s(very often). You need to know which towns are either before or after your destination to determine which direction to go.

We enjoyed being able to drive from town to town enjoying the daily markets. It's also nice to be able to savor the countryside at your own pace. I would highly recommend St. Remy, Roussillon, Gordes, and Seguret. The markets in St. Remy and Gordes are especially fun and huge!

I have done it without a car and so have many others. No, it is not essential.

There was at least one thread on here on that subject with many ideas, and perhaps more. It really depends what you want to do in Provence. If this is your first trip and mainly want to see some of the main cities like Avignon or Aix or Arles, you can do it very easily. I'd recommend staying in Avignon for good rail/bus public transportation.

Train travel is so inviting, we really must try it someday...but we love to drive. It's fun to have your own schedule and to change your mind to take advantage of a change in weather, etc to change your itinerary. As others have said, driving in Provence is easy and very enjoyable. You will probably see much more than if you didn't have a car.

TC -

Since when is the Michelin #245 yellow no longer made?

My local bookstore was out, but received shipment two days ago (about 1-dz.) - I was getting one for a friend.I just picked one up for a friend.

Regardless, you do need a good detailed map for driving, and having done the drive once, am ready to discover other areas.