sailingchick

We will be spending 3 days in Lacoste in mid - August. I know its busy, we didn't have any other options if we wanted to see the Luberon. My question is, we want to rent a car for 3 days., then catch the TGV up to Paris. We'll be coming from Interlaken Switzerland. Would it make more sense to rent and return the car in Grenoble, which would entail more driving in France; or rent and return the car in Avignon or Aix, which would give us less driving but more time on the train. I'm concerned about driving conditions (congestion) in August, and perhaps one option or another would expose us to less traffic tie ups. Thanks!

Michael

If by Lacoste (which neither Google map nor viaMichlein can locate in France) you mean the Chateau Lacoste winery, Aix-en-Provence is the closest town. But if you have the intention of visiting the Luberon on the day you return to Paris, Avignon might make more sense.

sailingchick

Thanks for your reply. Lacoste is a small village just south of Roussillon and north of Aix. I know that Aix and Avignon are closer; however, my friend will be in Grenoble and i think she wants to rent the car there rather than traveling to Avignon or Aix. I wouldn't mind except I'm worried about the traffic in August. It looks like there is an expressway from Grenoble we'd be getting on, and it might be slow going if the traffic is horrendous. I guess I'm looking for someone who might be familiar with traffic conditions in mid=August to suggest whether Grenoble might be problematic because of traffic congestion.

ParisAmsterdam

Grenoble is a fair sized city. City traffic is city traffic. No sense worrying about traffic in the south of France in August because it will be a fact of life.

It's not terribly far from Grenoble to your destination but do yourselves a favour and plan a route using N and D roads and avoid autoroutes. You'll have a lovely drive.

robertino

Lacoste is really charming. There's a good restaurant with great views over the countryside. Can't miss it.

The train is the obvious way to avoid a lot of driving. Rent the car in Aix.

sailingchick

Thanks, that's what I'm thinking - just pick a train station as close to Lacoste as we can find, and drive from there. I'm sure as Paris/ Amst. said, traffic in any city will be bad, and we'll deal with it, but I'm hoping to avoid complete slowdowns once we get out on the road outside the cities. thank you so much for the hint about the restaurant - can't wait to check it out!

StuDudley

>> just pick a train station as close to Lacoste<<

That would be Cavaillon - but I don't know if they have car rental agencies there. I would pick up a car in either Aix or Avignon. We've done both, and I think the Avignon TGV station has a larger selection of cars.

There is a 9:40 bus/train connection between Grenoble & the Avignon TGV station. It arrives at 11:44. The August schedule has not been released yet, and the bus portion of this trip might be replaced by a train. We went from Avignon to Grenoble several years ago. It was "all train" with a change in Valence. I would personally prefer a 2 hr bus/train trip over a 3 hour drive in August.

Stu Dudley

Michael

In terms of driving it would be easier to pick up the car in Avignon as one does not have to drive over the Lubéron range to get to Lacoste (finally found it on viaMichelin via the Michelin Atlas Routier).

kevin_widrow

Sailing -

I completely disagree about taking the train. If it was me, I'd rent the car in Grenoble and enjoy the very beautiful drive south skirting the Alpes and then turning west via Forqualquier to the Luberon. Approximately 3 hour drive and as I say, very pretty.

Remember you don't need to (and shouldn't) return your car in Grenoble. Instead, just return it in Avignon and hop on the TGV to Paris.

- Kevin