Provence WITHOUT a car

Old May 26th, 2008, 09:24 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Provence WITHOUT a car

I'm wondering if you can share your wisdom with me about being in Provence WITHOUT a car. My husband is adamant about not wanting a driving vacation. Unless, I can convince him otherwise, no luck so far. We will be traveling to Provence the second week of September for about 8-9 days. After some reading, we thought we might like to go to these areas. Would either of these lend themselves to being without a car? Are trains easily available. I would welcome any recommendations you have to share. Our plan is to take in the scenery, food, art & wine scene and the quaint towns and people.

Option 1: Aix, Nice, Villefranche and surrounding areas, St. Paul Vence, Eze, Antibes, Cannes (maybe)

OR

Option 2: St. Remy, Avignon, Bonnieux, Roussilon, Lourmarin, Gordes, I'isle la Sorgue

What are we missing? What shouldn't we miss.

Thank you very much.
bons_voyages is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 09:53 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Bon, I especially love Nice area, went by myself last Fall after my friend cancelled. Love Antiques/markets so stayed in Comfort Inn by old Port, walked 3 blks. to bus station doing different city each day inc. all your choices. Bus is 1.3E each way to anywhere inc. Menton. Train not as convenient in Nice, more $$.Aix outside Marseille, not close.Good basic info in Lonely Planet/ R. Steves/Frommers. Bon Voyage!
nicelady is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 10:02 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I was also without a car (by choice) last July in Provence. While I lost some flexibility, trains and buses (and one all- day mini bus tour) got me to all of the places on your list- with two bases.
I stayed in Arles (rather than Avignon- but either is a perfect train/bus hub)for your Option 2. We combined St. Remy and Les Baux (don't miss that!) in a nice long easy day trip via bus from the Arles station. (I also believe that once the fire season has passed you can hike- the trail was closed for the season when we were there.)
Isle sur la Sorgue was also easy via train from Arles, although it feels like you are backtracking south- only about 20 minutes.
If you don't opt to rent a car for the hill towns, I did an all- day tour out of Avignon. ViaTour..they have a website- except they only picked up from Avignon for the one I wanted.
Caveat: Avignon has two train stations- the TGV outside of the city center and the one you want just outside the walls. The bus station was next door and can get you to Pont du Gard, etc (I didn't; time constraints). Also- service is greatly reduced on the weekends and holidays and in some cases runs not at all on Sundays. I planned very carefully for that with museums, etc.
This was true in my second base, Villefranche. I chose it over Nice for the quiet and quaint. Yet it is a suburb of Nice- really only 5-10 minutes away. The bus and train stations are not together, and each is a steep climb up or down, if you have any mobility issues. But from either station, I was able to easily get to the Vences and Monaco and some other dream locations. Except on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!! You can walk from Villefranche to the Rothschild Gardens- I did that on a Sunday- glorious.
So, yes, it can be done without a car- just plan your days carefully. For me the adventure of successfully navigating trains and buses is part of the adventure of travel and I love the freedom from worry about a car.
sglass is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 10:15 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,287
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
The Lubéron villages without a car will be difficult, as buses are few and far between. The Nice option would work best, as you can go by train to Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes, and Cannes, then the bus to the other spots you want to see.
Underhill is online now  
Old May 26th, 2008, 10:23 AM
  #5  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Now I'm getting excited! My husband's preference is to be near the ocean and based on the comments below, it sounds like the areas around Nice, Antibe, VilleFranche might lend themselves more to that. Although, as sglass and nice lady point out they successfully navigated without a car.

I will start reading up on Nice, Antibe, Villefranche, Eze, the Vences, and more.

I would love get more real world, first hand experience. Do you have recommendations for an itineray as far as home base, sight seeing order, distances between towns and transportion. What are your favorite towns, what should I add or remove? Favorite hotels (approx 250-300 U.S, restaurants)

Very much appreciated
bons_voyages is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 10:33 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 16,392
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
>>Bonnieux, Roussilon, Lourmarin, Gordes, I'isle la Sorgue>

l'Isle sur la Sorgue to Gordes - 20 min drive
Gordes to Roussillon - 15 mins
Roussillon to Bonnieux - 15 mins
Bonnieux to Lourmarin - 20 mins
Lourmarin back to l'Isle sur la Sorgue - 40 mins.

Is that a "driving vacation??? This entire route is very scenic also.

You could split it up into 2 days,
& stay in Roussillon.

Rousillon to Gordes - 15 mins
Gordes to l'Isle sur la Sorgue - 20 mins
l'Isle back to Roussillon - 30 mins.
That's only abut 1 hr of driving for then entire day.

About the same amount of driving for the Roussillon, Bonnieux, Lourmarin day.

Roussillon to St Remy - 45 mins
St Remy to Les Baux - 20 mins
Les Baux to Arles - 20 mins
Arles back to Roussillon - 1 hr

You could break this up into 2 days & stay in St Remy.
St Remy to Les Baux & back - total 30 mins driving - perhaps 1 hr if you stop for the sights along the way.

St Remy to Arles - 60 mins there & back

Plus
St Remy to Avignon - 1 1/4 hrs there & back.

This 5 day itinerary consists of 4 1/2 hrs of driving. That's less driving then when I drove 30 mins to work each day.

Now - if you really want to experience Provence - visit the Alps, some magnificent gorges, spend more time in the Alpillies (around les Baux), over to the Pont du Gard & Uzes, the winegrowing region in the Cote du Rhone and the scenic Dentelles range, and more.

Stu Dudley
StuDudley is online now  
Old May 26th, 2008, 11:55 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I know the Fodor's guides are best, of course, as is this Website- but I was helped enormously by the Rick Steves "Provence and the French Riviera" book. He has suggestions for mapping out itineraries based on length of stay and with and without a car, especially for what constitutes a day trip.

Flying back to the US from Nice is what I did- open jaw- although you don't say where you will be prior to Provence. I spent the last night at a hotel on the Promenade in Nice and used that day to explore the city (having previously spent time in both the Matisse and Chagall museums a different day)...
another option is to take the Chemin de Fer (spelling? I don't have my notes handy) up into the mountains to Entrevuex. It is about a 10-15 minute walk from the Nice stations IF you don't get lost to the other train station. That sounds like another place to investigate given your interests.
The train caveat again: we missed the first one because it was so hard to get the schedule, adn they only run every few hours- go very, very early, I think it left before 9 am?
sglass is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 12:03 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 703
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I'm with Stu...if driving through Provence sounds scary...it is not. As he said, the distances are short, parking is easy and all the in between countryside is glorious. Rolling down your windows and taking in the lovely fragrances, stopping to have picnics - it is delightful and one of the most stress free ways to see the Luberon. For me, train schedules and bus schedules - THAT is what stresses me out! I do wish you could talk him into driving.

caroltis is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 12:28 PM
  #9  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hello my travel friends,

Thank you again for the superb suggestions (each and every one of them). I'm cutting and pasting your feedback into a document that I can use in my research. I will also check out the Rick Steve's book!

I'm back from the negotiation table. Actually, my husband is a sweetheart. He just doesn't want to drive (much) and I'm trying not to be too pushy. I think he would be OK to rent a car for a day or two but sometimes that's even more trouble than it's worth?? I hope I'm not imposing on you too much. We are looking at two options, one is a new one.

Option 1 (as stated earlier):
Aix, Nice, Villefranche, Beauliue Sur Mer and St. Paul Vence, Eze, Antibes, Cannes (maybe). I've always wanted to go to Aix but not sure if we can get there easily without a car? Any suggestions?

I'm thinking the best is to fly in and out of Nice?

Option 2: Fly into Paris, spend 3 days there (we've been but it was 10 years ago). Where could we go via the train from Paris and then come back to Paris to fly home?

Much obliged.
bons_voyages is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 12:32 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 49,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Personally, I cannot imagine visiting Provence without a car, but perhaps that's because I've visited it many, many times with a car and know exactly what I'd be missing.

One thing you definitely don't want to do, though, is rent a car "for a day or two." It generally is the same price to rent a car for 3 days as for 1, so you'd just be wasting $$$.
StCirq is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 01:12 PM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,287
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
If you rent a car for 3 days you could see the villages of St-Paul-de-Vence, Vence, Tourrettes-sur-Loup, Gourdon, Valbonne, Mougins, Eze-village, and St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Most of the driving wouldn't be difficult, and there would be good breaks out of the car while you see the villages.
Underhill is online now  
Old May 26th, 2008, 01:29 PM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 57,091
Received 5 Likes on 3 Posts
Hi bons,

if you are prepared to rent a car "for a few days" this opens up all sortss of possibilities, especially if you can "open jaw".

i would suggest flying into Nice, spending 3-4 nights there without a car, and following the excellent suggestions made by other posters then picking one up and heading off west, ending up in Avignon, whence you can fly home.

that would give you the best of both worlds, IMO.

regards, ann



annhig is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 02:06 PM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,238
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
BV- It so happens that I have just returned from the French Riviera, and it is ABSOLUTELY doable without a car! There is a Cote d'Azur train line from lovely Nice, and not 10 minutes away from Nice (like your second stop) is even more lovely Villefranche sur Mer (where Tina Turner has her villa) a couple of stops later you reach the medieval hillstop town of Eze (where Bono has HIS villa) and a few stops later you are in Monaco (where I watched part of the Monaco Grand Prix from the Palace hilltop-whoa-was it LOUD!-but very interesting-got a good view of the racetrack!).

I was in Cannes Tuesday before last (the day before the film festival opened). Cannes really didn't do much for me, but perhaps without all the tents and hoopla going on on the Croisette minus the film festival it would be much more charming, and it was raining the day I was there (May 15th). Cannes is about a 25 minute train ride from Nice.

I would suggest basing in Nice (which I REALLY like, by the way) there are some gorgeous hotels there with their lovely Belle Epoque balconies and shutters, and from there you can train around, or take the bus, if you wish-but the train is really excellent, and not expensive-to go to Monaco and back from Nice is about 8-9 Euro I believe, Villefranche sur Mer even cheaper because it's just outside Nice. All the places you mentioned, are all excellent locations and are doable by the Cote d'Azur train line-for St. Paul de Vence, you stop in Cagnes sur Mer, and the commuter bus will take you into the village, it's about 2 miles away from the train station.

P.S. St. Paul de Vence, though charming like all medieval villages, is rather touristy-I had a good lunch there though, but better food in Nice, where the seafood was EXCELLENT-love the Promenade des Anglais-there's nothing quite like sipping a Ricard from one of the rooftop terrace bars in Nice with that stunning panarama to enjoy-and the aperitifs? Why, very reasonable! A Ricard was only 4 Euro-at a 4-5 star hotel with an absolute 10 view of the city the sunset and the sea-I think that's excellent!
Girlspytravel is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 02:40 PM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
There are 2 Ezes, one on the trainline on the coast and the more scenic one up high on the Moyenne (Middle) Corniche. It's a steepish climb from the train to the higher Eze. However, there are buses directly from Nice.

If you do without a car, Nice makes a more convenient base, with buses and trains going east and west and the cute little Train des Pignes back into the hills.

Someone else mentioned the Villa Ephrussi-Rothschild on Cap Ferrat. We took the bus there from Nice. Well worth a visit. My oother favorite in the Fondation Maeght, near St Paul de Vence. That's a wee bit harder without a car.

Your option 2 begs for a car. The coast (and Aix) are more suited to a public transportation vacation. (Note: Aix -- like Avignon -- has a TGV train station well out of town as well as a local station in town that is in easy walking distance of the sights.)
Mimar is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 07:50 PM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hi Bons_voyages

You can survive well without a car but you must be a bit clever with your location and use of public transport.
I took an apartment in Aix for a week and use the bus to travel to Nice, Arles and Avignon. From Avignon I used half day tours to visit the villages I wanted to see and from Nice very local buses to see the mountain towns. The trains from Aix are not the best but the train from Nice to Marseilles was great.
There is no doubt you cannot do everything you might like to do, I was unable to crawl the Cote d'Azur as I wanted to. I actually hired a car when I left for Dordogne and was certainly able to see more of the country but you will still see a lot but not all without one.
cheers
Edgie
Edgie is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 08:46 PM
  #16  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You are getting good advice! Since you want to see areas surrounding Avignon, one possibility would be to fly into Paris (staying however long you wanted) and then taking the TGV to Avignon (about 3 hours). (My daughter did this right upon arrival at CDG, as well.) Here you would not need the car- you can take the shuttle bus from the TGV suburban station to the city center. Our hotel near the Palais des Popes was about a ten- minute walk to the bus/train station (but we are fast walkers)- you could certainly stay closer. You can easily get to Isle sur la Sorgue by bus or train, as well as Arles and other destinations. We had some friends with a rental car who stayed outside the city. You are going to have less problems with huge summer crowds than we did, too.

Then we took the train (not TGV) to Aix for a day and a half, before taking the bus to Marseilles for the transfer to the train for Nice/Villefranche. Maybe this is the part where you might opt for a car rental for several days, to experience the smaller towns and countryside.

Whether you get a car or not, flying out of Nice will save backtracking!

Have fun planning!


sglass is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 09:34 PM
  #17  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We just returned from a wonderful 2 week trip to Paris, Provence and Barcelona. I have to say that getting around Provence without a car would have been very limiting. We took the TGV from Paris to Avignon and then walked right out of the train station to pick up the car I had reserved online from AutoEurope. We made our way to Lourmarin (via Isle La Sorgue for lunch) without much trouble using our maps and my husbands GPS on his blackberry. I loved staying in a small village (we rented a charming apartment for 3 nights) and it was a wonderful interlude between Paris and Barcelona. We explored Bonnieux, Lacoste, Roussilon, Gordes and surrounding countryside in our rental car and really got a feel for the area. We moved over to St. Remy for the last two nights and again drove through the countryside and marvelled at the scenery of the Alpilles (had a wonderful dinner at Riboto de Taven in Les Baux). I felt like the essence of Provence was really out in the country and the larger towns were not as interesting to me. We happened to be in St. Remy for the annual running of the sheep through town (Transhumance Festival?) and watching 4000 sheep, assorted goats and sheep dogs running by was quite a sight.

We turned in our rental car in Montpellier and the only snafu we had was not being able to get our ATM or Visa cards to work in the gas station. Both stations we found had no actual humans working there so we ended up bringing car back with 3/4 of the tank empty. It still was not too expensive to fill--I think we just got a bill for $50 more dollars plus a surcharge for returning it to a train station. We had not rented a car in Europe before but I have to say that I would never go to Provence without one. Maybe Cote D'Azur works without a car, just wanted to give my two cents about Provence area.
macdogmom is online now  
Old May 26th, 2008, 09:56 PM
  #18  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
One more thing about driving--I was really impressed with all the signage in the countryside. Even though we had maps and a GPS on our phone, the small villages were really well marked and the roundabouts/traffic circles always gave very good signposts for all the different directions and places you were trying to find. Besides the rather exuberant driving style of the french, it really was a lot easier to navigate than I had originally worried about.
macdogmom is online now  
Old May 27th, 2008, 07:37 AM
  #19  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My sincere appreciation. What a wealth of knowledge. It's so nice to have such a friendly and knowledgeable forum like this. Your input has been very helpful. It's now up to us to get serious and comitt to an itinerary. I will keep you posted.

Thank you so much!
bons_voyages is offline  
Old Aug 2nd, 2008, 07:35 AM
  #20  
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 29,541
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My hub would also prefer to not drive-he feels he misses out on too many "ou, look at that" moments.

We make Aix our base the 2nd week of Sept. and hope to rent a driver. I asked about that on another post. Someone suggested that car rental places can provide that service.

Also, we'll look into guided tours for wine tasting-that way we can gulp at leisure and still be good citizens!
TDudette is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -