help provence and dordogne NO CAR
 

We would like to spend a week in provence using st remy as a base. also one week in dordogne using sarlat as a base. is it possible to see the surrounding countryside and villages by train or bus. I just dont like to drive. vic

I honestly wouldn't go to either of these places without a car. I'm not an expert on public transportation in Provence - I suspect you have SOME options, but limited ones - but in the Dordogne there is virtually none. You simply cannot access "villages" by train, and the few buses that exist are totally geared toward transporting locals to places like Périgueux so they can get to doctor's appointments or tend to practical matters, not to tourists who want to see the villages and towns.

how about avignon. i heard you can do side trips from there by bus or train.

I would agree with StCirq. In Provence most of those towns only exist because of automobiles. Have you been to Sarlat or St. Remy? One week in Sarlat without a car might be tedious unless you are in love with confit et foie gras, etc... St. Remy is more active especially in the summer but I have never stayed there without a car so I cannot discuss their public transportation.

Hi M,

It's not going to be easy to visit the Dordogne without a car.

I think it would be pretty near impossible.


((I))

If you stayed in Avignon, you could visit Arles and Aix-en-Provence by train...St Remy by bus. St. Remy would not make a convenient base without a vehicle. I don't think you'd get the most out of the area as Les Baux, Uzes, The Pont du Gard and the Luberon would not be easily accessible.

The Dordogne would be a waste of time IMO without a car. My husband does all the driving when we're on holiday. He found the Dordogne easy compared to our trip to the hilltowns of Tuscany and Umbria the year prior. We visited the Dordogne in May so it wasn't yet peak season and parking seemed plentiful. The roads are well marked..you just follow the sign to the town you want to visit.

Also, Nimes and Orange would be within easy reach by train if you based yourself in Avignon.

Trying to see the Dordogne without a car isn't quite impossible, though the area's public transport is close to useless.

Signing up with a walking tour - like those offered at www.atg-oxford.co.uk - gets you to see the area in the best possible way: on foot.

There's an excellent network of regional buses out of Avignon, as well as trains. Go to the website of its syndicat d'initiative. St Remy's got nothing like the same public transport links.