Logistics help CDG to Arles
 

I have rented a place in Arles. We will have a rental car for most of our stay. My travel companion will be doing the driving and she arrives a day later than I. I would like to be in Arles for the Saturday morning market so I plan to go on the day of my arrival
a. Will I be able to get the TGV at the airport station?
b. Do I need a reservation?
c. Should I get off the train in Avignon and change to a local train or take a bus?
d. I have not decided whether to overnight in Avignon and do a little sightseeing or go straight to Arles. May I have a hotel suggestion in the under $200 per night range which would be convenient to the train station?

Thank you.

Yes, you can get the TGV right at Roissy, terminal 2. You will go through either Nîmes or Avignon and change to either a local train or a bus, depending on what day/time you travel. Schedules are at www.sncf.com or www.tgv-europe.com.

Reservations are compulsory on TGVs. Moreover, if you want the best fares (deeply discounted but not refundable or exchangeable) you need to buy starting 3 months out from your day of travel and look for the PREM fares. You can print them out at home and bypass having to pick them up in France and get them punched (composté). There are numerous threads here on Fodors explaining how to do that.

Thank you. I will search for the other threads.

A reservation is compulsory to get on a TGV run, but that doesn't mean it has to be in advance. You can buy a ticket at the train station which includes a seat reservation. The only issue is you won't get discounts on advance fares and there could be a possibility of no seats, although that isn't too likely for most runs. So it will cost quite a bit more than if you get a good advance purchase nonrefundable rate.

This books out even earlier, about 5 months.

http://ventes.idtgv.com/ScheduleSelect.aspx

I agree with Christina for a lot of destinations but beware, TGV for Avignon (and other places in the south of France) are often full next one hour before the departure and it is impossible to buy at the last time, even without seat. I travel a lot between Paris and Aix-en-Provence or Avignon, once every month and a many times, I had to wait for 2 hours for the next train because it was full and the seller don't want to sell me a ticket, even without seat !

sorry for my approximate english

<i>it was full and the seller don't want to sell me a ticket, even without seat !</i>

There is no such thing as getting on the TGV without a seat reservation.

<i>There is no such thing as getting on the TGV without a seat reservation.</i>

Actually, there is - it's called sur-réservation, and allows you to access tue train without a fixed seat assignment. They sell a limited amount of these per train, probably based on no-show statistics, and in theory at least there is always enough room to sit on the bench-style seats that are placed between carriages.

Plus there is always the option of getting on without any ticket at all ;-)

thank you so much.

Any suggestions on the hotel in Avignon or Arles?

This was way back in 2005, but I stayed at Le Calendal in Arles and really enjoyed it. However, although I walked to and from the train station with my luggage, I wouldn't classify it as very close. Manageable for me.

Sounds like a fun trip.

I agree, it does sound like a fun trip and I am very excited about it.

Thank you for the suggestion. I am fit and a light packer so I will check it out.

If you're landing at CDG, why not consider flying into Nimes or Avignon. It's a short flight and gets you out of Paris quickly. You can then rent your car at either airport.

The problem with Avignon is that you would be at the TGV station if you got off there, not in-town. That's probably about 5 km outside town. There are some shuttle buses, etc., of course, but you cannot stay at a hotel close to the TGV station and walk around Avignon from there. YOu probably wouldn't even walk from the nearby hotels to the TGV station, it's an industrial area and surrounded by large highways, and even the closest hotel isn't that close. SO while I could suggest some hotels close to the regular old train station, that won't do you any good if the goal is to walk.

Arles is a regular train station right on the edge of town, a short walk to the center but I don't know how far you really want to walk with luggage. The Hotel Rodin is one of the closest to the gare. http://www.hotel-lerodin.fr/ It is a 4* hotel (officially, doesn't wow me) but the rates are pretty reasonable except for unusual holiday periods.

Arles' Hotel REGENCE is very close to Arles' train station:
http://www.hotel-regence.com/

I read good reviews about it, but I stayed at Hotel Calendal myself, which is a longer walk from the train station.

Also, to answer your question (c), there will be shuttle buses meeting TGV trains at Avignon TGV station to shuttle passengers to the Avignon regular train station. (Very inexpensive, buy ticket from the driver.)

From this Avignon regular train station I took a local train to Arles.

Than is most helpful. Merci beaucoup!