I will be traveling from Paris to Provence by train, planning to rent a car once there. I will need to return the car. Is Provence that big that it won't be possibe to back track to return the car within the two days I plan on being in Provence, and then take the train to Italy?
Also, is Nice the best place to get a train while in that area, on to Italy?
Any help appreciated.
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Comment On traveling in Provene
SalB
You don't say where you are going in Provence so it's difficult to answer your question. Yes, Provence is very large so if you're flying into the western end of it and touring to the eastern end of it, you won't have much time to do any actual sightseeing.
There are an incredible number of places to visit so you don't want to just drive to the end and drive back, especially on the Autoroute where you can't really see anything.
The TGV goes from Paris to Avignon (I think) so you could rent a car there and drive to Nice over two days and drop the car in Nice. Personally, I would stay in or near Avignon and visit that city, and the Pont du Gard, then perhaps drive down to Arles and check out that area. Arles is beautiful and has wonderful Roman ruins and the area is great with the Abbey of Montmajour or if you like nature, visit the Camargue.
If you are going into Nice, rent your car there, explore that area which will easily fill up two days, leave the car in Nice and train into Italy. Near Nice are Eze village, Tourrettes sur Loup and Gourdon, perched villages; Cagnes sur Mer with a Renoir museum; Vence and its Old Town and St. Paul de Vence, a very quaint cobblestone village with art galleries and views to die for. The Maeght Foundation is also in St. Paul de Vence if you like modern art. Since you're going on to Italy, the two days in Nice idea might be more practical.
Provence is such a lovely and unique place it would be a shame to only see the Autoroute.