My mother & I are traveling to Aix next week ot visit my daughter who is studying there for a year. We will only have Fri-Sun to spend time together and we are thinking of spending one day in Aix and then renting a car for the weekend for travel around -perhaps Avignon - Arles. My daughter will help with the French but have concerns with driving - I am not timid but wonder your thoughts? I think it woudl give us the most flexibility. Lastly, we fly back to Paris on Monday a.m. and have accomodations in the Latin Qtr -only have the afternoon and evening to investigate -we are thinking of a walking tour to give us a quick taste of Paris. Note we are going back next spring and will have much more time to enjoy!

That sounds good. You do need a car in Provence. My SIL's daughtwer was also studing there a year and they did the same thing. Rent a small car to visit small vilages and to have a better chance to get parking space. You'll be fine driving if you are not too slow. The French will sit on your tail if you are a timid driver. On the other hand don't speed it costs $100 that you must pay on the spot. Have fun. See the film, "A good Year"before you go to get glimpse of the beautiful Provence.

Near Arles is a pretty place called Les Baux de Provence. Its a pretty town perched above limestone formations.

I do not know how you will get to Aix, but the high speed train goes directly to Avignon from Paris. You might consider touring Avignon after arriving by train, then renting a car to get to Aix.

Here's my thoughts -

Spend all day Saturday in Aix. You have one of the best markets in Provence there during the morning and the rest of the old town to visit in the afternoon.

For Sunday, definately rent a car and as Cigale rightly says, get out and visit the countryside a bit. Two different itineraries for you -

1) head over to Les Alpilles - Les Baux, St. Remy, Eygalieres. Gorgeous countryside and interesting villages to visit.

2) head to the south side of the Luberon - Lourmarin, Ansouis, Cucuron. Again beautiful countryside and villages and a castle or two to see as well.

In either case, have a nice long Sunday lunch and enjoy. The autumn colors have been fantastic this year.

-Kevin

im her daughter, the market thats on saturday, is this the veggie one near the hotel de ville?

The veggie one near the Hotel de Ville is every day of the year. The much more extensive weekly market (Tues, Thurs and Sat) takes up a big space around the Palais du Justice and the Cours Mirabeau.

-Kevin

We took the TGV non-stop from Gare de Lyon in Paris to Aix. As in Avignon, the TGV station is separate from the regular station and a little out of town. It took about 3 hours. I suspect that is shorter than flying and getting yourself into Paris from the airport.

Rent your car at the TGV Aix station it is the best place and Aix is not that tough traffic wise. Don't miss the saturday market, it is one of the best in all of France. I would concentrate on the Luberon villages. Bonnieux. Loumarin, Gordes and Roussillon are great and a great drive, you could probably fit in Isle de la sourge sunday antique market too!

I would also suggest taking the train from Paris all the way to Aix, and then renting the car there when you need. Can't your daughter drive at all? I just wondered as you said you were concerned about yourself driving. Well, that might not solve anything anyway.

In contrast to Stephen, I found Aix very difficult to drive in, even worse than Avignon, actually. It was just difficult to find the way to where I wanted to go, and I kept getting on streets that would end or go the wrong way -- anyway, I could figure out how to get to the NW side of Aix where I wanted to go. I think some routes were marked differently than I expected from my map, I don't know. It wouldn't be bad if you rent a car at the TGV station and don't try to drive in central Aix itself, though. It's also not too bad to try to park in one of the car parks sort of on the outer edges, like around the bus stations -- there is a big one there, as I recall. When I was there in July, the more central garages were always full and you couldn't easily get a spot, anyway.

I think a car is nice for the countryside, and I liked driving just east or NE of Aix to the mountains there, but it really isn't necessary to rent a car to see Avignon and Arles, and in fact, I wouldn't recommend it. It will be a lot easier just to train the train to those cities.