Travel to Provence

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 Provence is a part of France that is easy to reach. Travellers from Britain who don't want to drive can fly to a choice of destinations in or near Provence; but if you want to travel to Provence by car, remember to allow eight to twelve hours' driving from Calais, depending on where your destination is. The alternative solution is to take the Eurostar Provence service, which will take you at high-speed all the way from London St. Pancras to Avignon or Marseille, though direct services do not operate year-round.

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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.

Provence & Midi	Carrier	Flights to / from
Nice Nice city guide	Easyjet Jet 2 Ryanair Aer Lingus British Airways Air Transat Air France	2021 Belfast, Bristol,  Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, London Gatwick,  Luton,   2021 Leeds-Bradford, Manchester, London Stansted 2021 Dublin, London Stansted 2021 Dublin London City, London Gatwick, London Heathrow New York
Marseilles	BA Ryanair Easyjet Aer Lingus Air Transat	London Heathrow 2021 Dublin, Edinburgh,  London Stansted, Manchester, Southend 2021 London Gatwick, London Luton, Bristol, Glasgow 2021 Dublin 2021 Montreal
Toulon Hyères	Flybe - now closed	2021 no flights from UK announced
Montpellier	Easyjet British Airways Aer Lingus	2021 London Gatwick, Luton, London Heathrow 2021 Dublin
Nimes	Ryanair	2021 London Luton,

For flights to other French airports, see UK-France flights guide

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If driving to Provence, the easiest way is to take a short Channel crossing to Calais (using 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 travelling from Cherbourg or Caen or  Le Havre, a good route is to drive via the A71 to Clermont Ferrand, then the A75 then the N102 to (or past)  Le Puy en Velay and Aubenas, to join the Rhone valley at Montelimar. This avoids the major bottlenecks, but includes about 180 km on single carriageway roads, through beautiful countryside and hills. And on peak Saturdays, even this route can have slowdowns.   Click for no-tolls route to Provence (with map) For more information about driving to the south of France in general, see routes from Calais Click here to check ferry prices and book online.

The best route for driving from the UK to Provence: Click here for route map showing convenient hotels  From Calais follow A 26 motorway to Reims (Rheims). At Reims: join A 4, direction Metz Strasbourg. At Chalon en Champagne, rejoin A 26, direction Troyes, Lyon. At Troyes, join A 5, direction Chaumont, Dijon. At Chaumont, join A 31, direction Dijon At Dijon, take A 39, direction Dole, Bourg en Bresse At Bourg-en-Bresse, follow A 40, then A 42, direction Lyon. Before Lyon, turn off onto A 432 direction Airport Lyon St Exupery, Grenoble. Just after the airport, join A 43 direction Lyon, Marseille. After just 8 km, turn right (south) onto A 46 Lyon orbital, direction Marseille. Thereafter, just follow signs for Marseille

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Train / Train and drive to Provence  

The most convenient means of travelling by train from London to Provence is to take the  Eurostar  direct service to Avignon or Marseilles. This is a seasonal service only, and does not run every day.

the alternative is to take a Eurostar train from London, Ebbsfleet or Ashford to Paris or Lille.
Changing to a French TGV at Lille Europe, or at Marne-la-Vallée or at Lyon is easier than changing at Paris, as travellers do not need to change stations or cross Paris; Eurostars and French TGVs share the same platforms at Lille Europe station.
  However for most of the year there are very few handy connections, so changing at Paris and crossing from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon is often the easiest and quickest option.


Train and drive to Provence involves taking the Eurotunnel shuttle, then following the motorway as indicated above

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   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.

Click here to view Provence gites and holiday cottages in the Gitelink directory

Provence Regional guide

Gitelink home

Independent hotels in Provence