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Fly
to Provence
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Provence
is relatively well served by airports; the main airports
serving Provence are located in Marseilles and Nice, with smaller
airports at Toulon-Hyères and Avignon. Nimes airport is just outside Provence. For visitors arriving in Paris, there are plenty of connecting flights from Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports - or the option of hiring a car. |
Traditional carriers:
A number of traditional airlines serve the airports at Marseilles and Nice from a range of cities throughout Europe and beyond. Here is a selection of carriers with direct services. to and from the British Isles and the USA.
| Provence Airport | Carrier | Flights to / from |
| Marseilles | British Airways | London Gatwick |
| Nice | British
Airways Aer Lingus Air France Air France / Delta |
London
Gatwick, London Heathrow, and more Dublin London city, New York JFK |
Low cost carriers
The four Provence airports are served by direct flights from a number of UK and Irish airports.
| Provence Airport | Carrier | Flights to / from |
| Nice | Flybe Easyjet Ryanair BmiBaby Globespan Jet2 |
Exeter,
Southampton Liverpool, London Gatwick, Luton, London Stansted, Dublin, Birmingham, East Midlands, London Heathrow Edinburgh Leeds-Bradford, Manchester |
| Marseilles | Ryanair Easyjet BmiBaby |
Bournemouth,
Dublin, Glasgow, London Stansted London Gatwick Birmingham |
| Toulon Hyères | Ryanair | London Stansted |
| Avignon Provence | Flybe Jet2 |
Exeter,
Southampton Edinburgh, Leeds/Bradford |
| If
driving to Provence, the easiest way is to take a short
Channel
crossing to Calais (using SeaFrance,
P&O Ferries, Eurotunnel or others) ,
then follow
the French motorway network via Arras,
Reims, Chaumont, Dijon, Bourg-en-Bresse, and Lyon,
avoiding Paris by passing well to the east. (see right) Much of the driving will be on fairly clear motorways with a fraction of the traffic found on major UK motorways. However, the Lyon area and the Rhone valley to the south are unavoidable bottlenecks. On Saturdays in July and August, traffic jams and slowdowns can occur anywhere, and are virtually guaranteed in the bottleneck areas. If entering France at Boulogne, the eastern route is still recommended. If travelling from Cherbourg or Le Havre, a good route is to drive via Orleans, Clermont Ferrand and St. Etienne, or else from Clermont Ferrand go south via Le Puy en Velay and Aubenas, to join the Rhone valley at Montelimar. This avoids all major bottlenecks, but includes about 180 km on single carriageway roads, through beautiful countryside and hills. Click for no-tolls route to Provence (with map) |
The best route for driving from
the UK to Provence:
Click here for route map showing convenient hotels |
| Click here to check ferry prices and book online. |
The most convenient means of travelling by train from London to Provence is to take the Eurostar direct service to Avignon. This is a summer Saturday service only, departing St Pancras at 7.19, but getting you to Avignon at 14.08, with plenty of time to reach your holiday destination in time for a dip in the pool.
On other days, take a Eurostar train from London, Ebbsfleet or Ashford to Lille, and connect at Lille to a French TGV running directly to Avignon, Aix en Provence, Marseilles or Nice. By changing at Lille, travellers do not need to change stations or cross Paris; Eurostars and French TGVs share the same platforms at Lille Europe station.
Trains with direct connections to Provence from Lille leave St Pancras at 7.00, 9.57 and 12.57.
Click here to check timetables and book tickets.
Train and drive to Provence involves taking the Eurotunnel shuttle, then following the motorway as indicated above
Provence gites tend to be quickly booked up for the peak season,
notably between mid July and mid August, so booking early is a wise
move.
Text © Gitelink.com 2010-2012 Photos © Gitelink.com or licenced under Creative Commons
Contact:
email provence "at" gitelink.com