Hi, I'm planning a trip in May travelling by Eurostar to Lyon and back from Marseilles. I've had a look at highlights around that route and come up with the below itinerary. Could anyone help me out with thoughts on whether I've selected the best places/ anywhere you think I've missed? I have 2 weeks and I won't have a car. I wanted to see small towns as well as the bigger cities so if anyone has suggestions that would be great.

Also, is there a stand out place to stay in the Provence region? I'd love to stay somewhere outside town for a couple of nights, e.g. a chateaux.

London – Lyon: Eurostar, spend 3 days
Lyon - Arles: Train, 2.5 hours, spend 2 days
Arles – Aix-en-Provence: Bus, 1 hr 45, spend 3 days
Aix-en-Provence – Nice: 2 trains, 45 mins then 2.5 hours, spend 3 days
Nice – Marseilles: Train, 2.5 hours, spend 2 days
Marseilles – London: Eurostar

Thanks, Kezia

Gems south of Lyon (up to the Mediterranean):
Vienne: Roman theatres, etc.
St-Romain en Gal: Museum of the old Roman town (in building and open air)
Orange: Roman amphitheatre
Avignon: Pope Palace, historic town centre
Pont du Gard: Roman aqueduct
Glanum/Les Antiques: Roman ruins
Les Baux de Provence: scenic (former mining) village
Tarascon: fortress
Nimes: Roman temple
Arles: Roman amphitheatre
Aigues Mortes: old fortified town
Le Grau du Roi, Camargue
Marseille
Cassis and the Calanques
etc. etc.....

People with no car often stay at Avignon because it's a good public transport hub.

Gems around Nice:
St. Raphael
Antibes
St-Tropez
Grasse
Vence
small train to Digne
Monte Carlo (Aquarium)
Gorbio and Ste-Agnese
Tenda mountain railway
Parc des Merveilles
Villa Hanbury Park
San Remo

Sounds like you won't have a car. Some folks will tell you you can't travel in Provence without one, but you can.

I think your itinerary is fine, basically. ALthough I don't understand your quest for a place outside a town, you can't do that if you don't have a car, you know. YOu won't have any way of getting there or around from there. If you using trains/bus you really should stay in town. There aren't a lot of chateaux in Provence to begin with. So for one to turn into a hotel would be hard to find on top of that. Of course there are some deluxe villas (mas, bastide, etc), but they will be expensive. There are a few chateaux, though, here is one near Avignon (althoguh it's really more a grand manor house)

http://www.chateaux-france.com/chateau-de-varenne

If you just want to stay outside town, there are cheaper ways to do it than staying in a chateau, there are other types of properties but don't know how you could do that. Cheaply, a B&B (chambres d'hotes) would be best. see https://www.chambresdhotesdecharme.com/

But, as I said, I don't know how you could stay there without a car.

I think Avignon has the best public transportation options in Provence. It is not on your list, however. Arles is kinda small - so I suggest staying in Avignon instead of Arles. The TGV destination for Avignon is "Avignon TGV". It is a bit out of town, but I believe there are connection buses into Avignon Center. There are a few TGVs that arrive at "Avignon Centre" also.

There are about 10 trains daily from Avignon to l'Isle sur la Sorgue - which would be a nice town to visit, with a popular Sunday morning antique/Farmer's/Crafts market. The station is called L'Isle-Fontaine-d-V on the German train site
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
Like Christina stated, there are very few Chateau in Provence. We stayed in one near Aix about 20 years ago, but it is hard to get to, and is now quite expensive.

Lots of bus/train options in Nice.

Stu Dudley

I agree that without a car, Avignon is the best hub. YOu can easily visit Arles for the day from there by train, if you wish, I did.

Thanks so much everyone! I'll replace Arles with Avignon then, and use that as a base to explore some of the smaller towns around it.

Christina, thank you for your accommodation suggestions, they look great.

Kezia