My husband and I will be travelling to France this year and we do not want to drive in France. Would like advice as to where would be the best place to make our base for 2 to 3 weeks and be close to public transport. WE are an active couple and do not mind walking but would like to be close to the railway station.We thought of renting an apartment.
Last year we had 3 weeks in Interlaken with a Swiss train pass and 2 mins. walk to the train station and shops - can we do this in Provence or somewhere else in France?
curliesydney
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I would suggest Avignon. It has both a TGV (very fast train) station and a local train station. From Avignon you should be able to visit lots of the smaller towns around Provence and catch a bus to places not on the train line.
There is lots to see in the town itself, which is an important centre, as well as Roman towns like Arles, Orange and Nimes, the walled town of Aigues Mortes, the Pont du Gard aqueduct (you can swim under it too) Uzes, Rousillion, the hill towns such as Gordes and the Abbey of Senanque (Bus?? Tour? Car?)
Even if you decide you want to see things off the public transport route you could hire a car for a day if you have your licence and the International Driving Permit (available from NRMA for $10 or so.) Although the idea is scary, the reality is not too bad. Many people are swearing by their GPS as an aide to navigation, though we use good maps in a map atlas of the country.
You can see some of our trip this year, including our stay in Provence at L%26#39;Isle sur la Sorgue on our website at www.nickbooth.id.au There is an earlier France/Italy trip too that took in Avignon.
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My suggestion would be Arles, which has good transport links. The train station is about 10 minutes%26#39; walk from the city centre. I am not a fan of Avignon, which has the best transport links because it has a very big city feel to me, and is the only place in Provence I%26#39;ve ever felt uneasy. A lot depends on which places you want to visit, and whether or not you intend to spend the whole time in one place. If you are going for three weeks, I would suggest splitting your trip between two areas, eg Arles and Hyeres.
Have a look at www.infociao.com for some useful bus times and at ter-sncf.com/Paca/carte_horaires/index.asp for train times.
You should bear in mind that the western side of Provence, which is very beautiful has public transport that is mainly geared towards the locals%26#39; needs, so there are commuter services into the large cities in the morning and out again in the evening, but services can be scanty. Planning is all-important.
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Firstly, there are no %26quot;big cities%26quot; in Provence, nor are there areas within the principal tourist destinations which are unsafe. As a base for someone without a car, your interests will probably be best served by staying in a more populated location: Avignon, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, or perhaps Nimes. My preference would be in the order given, with Avignon having the greatest number of bus and train connections but any of these locations offer numerous restaurants, interesting shopping and markets, and museums and other cultural activities.
While it is possible to reach virtually any destination within Provence by bus, infrequent service schedules make using them time inefficient. It is for this reason that I usually recommend travel by car for exploring Provence.
If I had 3 weeks in France with no preconceived notion of a destination, I should rent an apartment in Paris and take short trips from there.
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With three weeks in one main destination I would choose Provence. Paris itself has many charms but the sheer variety of places and things around Provence makes it much more interesting a destination in my opinion.
Everything from Roman ruins, towns and aqueducts to beachside places (Sts Maries de la Mer) horseriding, flamingos and salt pans (Carmargue) to walled towns (Aigues Morts) wonderful castles (Tarascon and Beaucaire, Avignon palace) bullfights in the Provencal style (the bull is not killed), the fantastic spring that is Fontaine de Vaucluse, lavender, poppies, sunflowers depending on season, villages perches such as Gordes, Cistercian abbeys (Senanque), local markets and antiques, the list goes on.
It is just not quite as easy without a car, but with a bit of planning and some good timetables much can be achieved in three weeks.
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Hi Curliesydney
The places that LynneB48 listed are wonderful examples of what you can look forward to experiencing when you spend 2-3 weeks exploring Western Provence. Because the important sites are relatively close, you will be able to see alot during your stay. However, I sincerely hope that you will reconsider you desire to rely upon public transportation because it really isn%26#39;t a time effective way of exploring the entire region, in large part because, as ChiChantal points out, those schedules are primarily designed for use by the locals to get to and from work rather than to provide tourists.with access to those sites that they are interested in visiting.
Even if you are somewhat anxious about driving on the other side of the road you can eliminate most of that anxiety by specifying a vehicle with an automatic transmission when you arrange for your rental which is what we do whenever we visit the UK. Needless to say, we do not drive in London, but we have spent probably about 2.5 months over the years driving outside of London, mostly in Scotland, and driving on the other side has never been a problem.
AlpillesGal
PS - If you do decide to rent a car you might also want to consider using a Garmin or other device that will give you spoken directions.
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