TGV - France's High Speed Trains (cont'd)
Arrival
Just one piece of advice if you arrive during the peak holiday season: Go to your car rental agency as quickly as possible, they are not the most efficient, service is slow, lines can be long and complaints get you nowhere. If you are traveling in a group, designate a person to dash to the car rental agency before your fellow travelers arrive.
TGV Stations for the Provence
The TGV as a high speed train goes as far as Marseille. You can book TGV rides further east to Nice, but the trains use the normal track and are considerably slower. You will arrive at the regular train stations in any location east of Marseille and Aix en Provence.
In Marseille the TGV arrives at the main train station, the Gare St. Charles. It is in the city center, a short taxi or metro ride from the Vieux Port (Old Port). We do not recommend taking the TGV to Marseille, unless you want to stay in the city. It is easier in terms of car rentals and traffic flow to arrive at the TGV stations in Aix en Provence or Avignon and drive from there.
Most TGVs arrive at Avignon Gare TGV, a few at Gare Avignon-Centre. The TGV train station is located about 10 minutes southwest of the town center. There is a shuttle train service from Gare TGV to Gare Centre and a regular bus service, but we found it is easier to take a taxi. If you plan to venture into the countryside you will most likely be renting a car and then you want to be arriving at Avignon Gare TGV.
Car rental agencies are outside on Parking P2. During peak times they are notorious for long delays and attendants are often testy as many of their clients become impatient. Be there early or expect long waits.
The TGVs at Aix en Provence Gare TGV, a ultra modern train station 15km south of Aix en Provence towards Marseille. There is the old Gare Centre right in town, but TGVs don't arrive there, they use exclusively the TGV train station outside of town. Don't book a train trip to Aix Gare Centre. Take the TGV and then take a shuttle bus or taxi to the town.
There is a shuttle bus (in French: Navette - Tel: 04 42 93 59 30) every 30 minutes between the TGV station and Marseille's airport Marignane with a stop at the Aix en Provence bus station (Gare Routiére) on Avenue de l'Europe near Gare Centre. Aix Gare TGV is also very convenient if you are heading further east to the Central and Haut Var.
The TGV station of Valence Gare TGV is a viable option if you are staying in the Drôme Provençale and Haut Vaucluse. You avoid the traffic in and around Avignon. Should you arrive on a Saturday during the summer school vacations you can take the country roads down south through the lovely Drôme Provençale landscape rather then getting stuck on Autoroute A7 (Lyon-Marseille). It's more relaxing looking at one of the most picturesque landscapes in France than watching tired and bored tourists driving south to the Côte d'Azur, the Languedoc or Spain on four lane (in each direction) Autoroute A7.
Directions South: Leaving the TGV train station drive east direction to Grenoble on the D68 highway and turn right at the next marked Alixan. Drive south on D101 until you reach Alixan and continue south from there on D538 to Chabieul and on to Crest, a pretty town with a large, square clock tower (donjon). Continuing south on D538 for 8km you need to decide whether you want to continue on D538 to Bourdeaux and Dieulefit or take the more western and quicker D6 to Cléon d' Andran and from there D9 south to Grignan. It depends what your final destination is. The eastern route takes a bit longer with winding roads going up and down the Pre-Alpes. In both cases you will be driving through a peaceful countryside with historic villages, quite popular with the French and Swiss but less frequented by English speaking tourists.
