Sept/October travel would have us fly into Paris or Nice. Presumably a car rental would be required to get around though we prefer trains. Should Lyon be second to Avignon as a choice destination? Could we combine them with Paris with time to relax? Want to avoid auto rental if possible. Any insights? Also B&Bs as we enjoy interactions with others. We've only gone to Paris before and an option also is to combine Florence , Tuscany region with Paris on back-end. Is there a case to be made for Lyon/Provence FR vs Florence/Tuscany IT?

Provence is difficult without a car. The areas in Provence that we enjoy the most, can only be reached (easily) by car. Same with Tuscany.


What is your objection to renting a car???

Stu Dudley

How much time are you allowing for this trip? I suppose one can use public transportation around the Provence but that would eat up a lot of time. The same goes for any sight-seeing in Tuscany outside the large towns. My view is that a car is necessary to see anything but cities and large towns.

<i>Also B&Bs as we enjoy interactions with others.</i>

If looking at B&Bs through Gites de France, you will find out that most are in the countryside and would require a car. The following site does list some that are in the towns:

http://www.france-voyage.com/

When it comes to interaction, how fluent is your French? I have come across few B&B hosts who really speak a foreign language, and most were unilingual. Without a fluency in their language, your interaction might be as limited as with the clerk behind the hotel desk.

A Paris/Lyon combo, with TGV as the link, would be a car-less possibility. Both have good public transit. Lyon I found to be a good place to spend 3/4 days

@Michael:
I beg to differ - there are lots and lots of English-, German-, Dutch- or Belgian-run B&B's in France and their hosts are certainly multilingual and almost always speak fluent English too.

I've been to Provence without a car, it isn't that difficult, but you just can't do the meandering around the countryside for views type of trip. You have to limit yourself to more major cities/towns, that's all. It's just a different kind of trip.

If you want Paris and Lyon, you definitely don't need a car, Lyon is a very big city. Not sure what the question about Lyon being second to Avignon means. Does it mean inferior to Avignon, or just after Avignon on the trip? they're just very different cities, depends what you want to do. Lyon isn't Provence.

B&Bs are, by definition, a rural type of accommodation -- at least in France, especially Provence. It isn't like England where people have B&Bs in cites.