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Aix-en-Provence forum: 2 days/3 nights in Provence - in the PROVENCE forum!

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   Silver Spring MD
   Joined: Feb 2007
   Forum posts: 6
   Travel map pins: 0 

Posted on: 1:00 pm, July 10, 2008

Hello!

I will be traveling from Paris to Provence Nov. 18-20. I will basically have three days and two nights to spend and have not been to any part of Provence before.

Considering the limited amount of time, and also the time of year, I would love to hear ideas for perhaps hitting 2-3 spots. From the reading I've been doing, I've ruled Marseilles out. And I seem to be gravitating toward Arles/Avignon/Aix. If I took the train from Paris to Aix, and based myself there, would I be able to find good day tours to Arles and Avignon from there? And does the Arles/Avignon/Aix combo sound like a good bet, with lots to offer?

Hotel recos are welcome as well. Thanks so much!

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   wirral
   Joined: Mar 2007
   Forum posts: 1,631
   Travel map pins: 80 

Posted on: 1:24 pm, July 10, 2008

I think Aix would be a good base. There are tours from Aix but I don't know if there are as many to choose from in November as there were last month when we were in Aix for a week. We chose one to Cassis which was fine. We would have chosen more including to Avignon and Luberon but as we had a hirecar we went under our own steam including a visit to Dignes and the tour of L'Occitane factory in Manosque.

The Tourist Office in Aix is a mine of info and we booked our hotel through their website. See my review of Le Mozart Hotel on Aix-en-Provence TA Hotels Forum. I think you are aware you need to get the TGV from Paris to Aix and the TGV station is a Navette busride away from the city.

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   Lancaster, Pennsylvania
   Joined: Nov 2007
   Forum posts: 339
   Travel map pins: 29 

france-maniac
Posted on: 2:03 pm, July 10, 2008

Ahh, the triple A! You will fall in love with these towns, just as I did!

Some extremely helpful websites:

Aix Tourism Office - Visitors' guide:

aixenprovencetourism.com/uk/aix-visiter.htm

Find attractions, museums, and city tours.

Guided Tours of the Aix region:

aixenprovencetourism.com/uk/aix-excursions.h…

For Arles, I suggest the Arles + Roman Heritage + Van Gogh Sights. If you do a CAP tour, say hi to Georges for me! All tours depart from the Tourism Office, located in the heart of town at Place Charles de Gaulle/La Rotunde AKA the giant, beautiful fountain.

City Tours of Avignon:

http://www.ot-avignon.fr/pages-en/home.htm

Another first class Tourism Office site. I recommend taking the train to Avignon independently. Both Aix and Avignon have TGV stations outside the city as well as shuttles connecting the town with the station.

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   UK
   Joined: Oct 2007
   Forum posts: 1,449
   Travel map pins: 76 

Posted on: 4:17 pm, July 10, 2008

Aix is pretty well-connected, you can get to a lot of places you might want to visit by ordinary public transport (cheaper and you choose how long to stay) as well, plus there are loads of places to eat there. to be honest though I don't like it as a town much, i think Avignon is a better base than Aix, and you can get to other places very easily from there.

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   UK
   Joined: May 2005
   Forum posts: 1,957
   Travel map pins: 1 

Posted on: 3:37 am, July 11, 2008

I agree with ChicChantal - if you have limited time then Avignon is a better base for the towns you want to visit. You don't actually need organised tours, just a map and guidebook for each town, as there are regular trains to Arles from the town station, and to Aix TGV from the TGV station just outside town (with a regular shuttle bus service to the town centre). You could spend your arrival and departure days in Avignon and Aix, with the full day in Arles, as there is such a lot to see and it's good to be able to take your time there.

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