Avignon wasn’t my favorite city in France, but I loved it anyways. Why? Because it’s the perfect home base for exploring the South of France, and there are countless unforgettable day trips from Avignon that you can easily take by bus or train.
During my two weeks in Avignon I spent most of my time outside the city, exploring the charming, smaller towns and villages that make Provence such an iconic travel destination. Taking day trips from Avignon allowed me to escape the crowds and see a more authentic side of France.
All of the Avignon day trips I’m going to share are easily accessible by bus or train, both of which depart from the south end of Cours Jean Jaurès (Avignon’s main street). None of these day trips from Avignon require a tour bus or tour guide, and none require you to purchase transportation or admission tickets in advance. Just show up at the station and go!
1. Pont du Gard
One of my favorite day trips from Avignon was to Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct that is fast approaching its 2000th birthday.
Easily accessible by bus from Avignon or Nimes (full transportation instructions are in my Pont du Gard travel guide), Pont du Gard is the perfect day trip for budget travelers. Admission to the site is totally free, so you can take a day trip for as little as €3 if you pack your own picnic lunch.
Once you arrive at the site, it’s an easy walk to the interpretive center and guided tour ticket booth. You can pass right through (again, no ticket is required!) and follow the well-marked walking path for about twenty minutes, until you reach the iconic bridge. There are pretty walking trails throughout the surrounding nature, and in the summer you absolutely must go for a swim underneath the bridge.
2. Villeneuve-les-Avignon
This is definitely the easiest day trip from Avignon! In fact, you don’t actually need to take a bus or train at all… Villeneuve-les-Avignon is just a forty-minute walk across the river from Avignon’s city center.
To be fair, the walk from Avignon to Villeneuve-les-Avignon isn’t particularly scenic, so there’s no harm in hopping on the public bus #5 (either from in front of the train station or from the bus stop outside the walls at Place Crillon) and making the trip in a quicker 10-15 minutes.
There are enough things to do in Villeneuve-les-Avignon to spend a full day here, though if you’re an efficient sightseer you can visit the all in half a day. Wear comfortable walking shoes, as you’ll need them to ascend the hill to Fort Sant Andre (shown above) and then to walk along the ancient stone ramparts.
3. Uzès
I almost didn’t make it to Uzès due to a combination of public holidays (check bus schedules at the tourist information office before you go, as service is limited or non-existent on holidays) and extreme weather (it poured rain for my entire outbound bus trip, but fortunately the rain stopped immediately after I arrived!). I’m so glad I didn’t give up on visiting Uzès because it became one of my favorite day trips from Avignon.
Uzès was the first duchy (a territory controlled by a duke or duchess) in France, and its noble medieval history is apparent from the moment you arrive at the bus stop. Originally an oppidum, or walled town, sections of the fortifications remain, protecting a well-preserved historic town center. Expect towers, turrets, cobblestones, crumbling fountains and, at the very center, France’s first ducal castle.
For a complete overview of how to visit Uzès, including buses routes, things to see and restaurant recommendations, check out my Uzès Day Trip Guide.
4. Les Baux de Provence
Just over an hour south of Avignon is one of the most beautiful villages in France: Les-Baux-de-Provence. In the summer months, bus #57 departs from Avignon for Les-Baux several times per day. Outside of summer season, the nearest bus stop is in Maussane-les-Alpilles, and from there it’s a €12 taxi ride up to Les Baux.
The focal point of any day trip to Les-Baux-de-Provence from Avignon is a visit to Château des Baux, a protected hilltop fortress offering self-guided tours in ten languages. From here, you’ll have panoramic views all the way to Arles and Aix-en-Provence.
Beneath the chateau, the ancient town is well-preserved, and visitors can explore museums, churches and monuments. Once you’ve got to know the town, it’s a ten-minute walk to the Carrieres des Lumieres, former stone quarries that have now been converted into immersive art exhibits. Check their website to see which artists’ works are currently being featured.
5. Saint-Remy-de-Provence
Bus service to Les-Baux-de-Provence can be limited, so if you can’t make it all the way out there on a day trip from Avignon, don’t worry! Saint-Remy-de-Provence is a great alternative: it’s on the way to Les-Baux but it’s about half an hour closer to Avignon and it has much more frequent, year-round bus service.
I spent a wonderful day in Saint-Remy-de-Provence on my recent trip to France. I arrived on Bus #57 (the same one that goes to Les-Baux in the summer), which takes about fifty minutes and drops you off in the pretty town center.
Saint-Remy-de-Provence is known for two things: being the place where Vincent Van Gogh voluntarily committed himself to a psychiatric hospital for a year, and being home to one of France’s best-preserved ancient Roman cities, called Glanum. It’s also the birthplace of Nostradamus, though the astrologer and prophet doesn’t seem to be a big draw here.
As I mention in the article linked above, I recommend planning your day trip from Avignon to Saint-Remy-de-Provence so that it lines up with the Bus #57 schedule. Arrive in town, explore the pretty center, have a nice lunch on a shady terrace, walk down the road to Van Gogh’s institution and the Glanum archeological site, and then take the bus from from Glanum. If you need help figuring out the bus times for this trip, you can ask at the tourist information office in Avignon or Saint-Remy-de-Provence.
6. Arles
Frequent train service links Avignon and Arles in only fifteen minutes (driving takes triple that!), which makes Arles one of the easiest day trips from Avignon.
While Arles is a lovely place to stay for a night or two, it’s also easy to visit nearly all of the best thing to do in Arles on a quick day trip from Avignon. From the train station, it’s an easy walk to Arles’ Roman arena where you can pick up a combined ticket for €12.00 that includes the arena plus three other monuments and one museum of your choice. This is just the right amount of sightseeing for a one-day trip.
After you visit the arena, use your combined ticket to visit some of the other historical sites in town (I highly recommend the Antique Theatre and Cryptoportiques) before walking over to LUMA Arles, a new contemporary art complex showcasing arts, architecture and technology.
For lunch or dinner, you could eat Le Cafe Van Gogh (immortalized in his painting Cafe Terrace at Night) but I recommend heading towards the river and dining at La Caravelle, which is an easy walk along the water from the vantage point where Van Gogh painted Starry Night Over the Rhone.
7. L’Isle sur la Sorgue
Certainly one of the most beautiful towns in Provence, L’Isle sur la Sorgue is an easy day trip from Avignon by bus (more frequent) or train (faster). The second (literally!) I stepped off the bus from Avignon to L’Isle sur la Sorgue I knew I had made the right decision in visiting.
Situated on an island created by a divide in the Sorgue River, L’Isle sur la Sorgue is a magical town dotted with old-fashioned waterwheels, flower-adorned pedestrian bridges and charming Provencal streets. Sure, there are a handful of museums and art galleries, but the real joy here comes from slowing down, taking in the riverscape and dreaming about leaving your old life behind to live in a stone house on the waterfront.
Plan your day trip from Avignon to L’Isle sur la Sorgue on the weekend if you want to visit the town’s famous antique markets. In particular, Sunday is a great day to visit because you can see not only the antique fair, but also the regional food market.
8. Aix-en-Provence
One day is the perfect amount of time to explore Aix-en-Provence, where low-key luxury is the name of the game. The second most-expensive city in France (after Paris), Aix is where wealthy French citizens come to escape the hustle and bustle of big-city life.
Aix is a bit further from Avignon than some of the other destinations I’ve mentioned, why is why I recommend using Avignon as your home base and just day-tripping to Aix. A direct bus, #23, departs from Avignon’s city center and arrives in the center of Aix about 75 minutes later. This is the easiest option, though you can also take the train (changing in Marseille). If you take the earliest bus out and return on the latest bus, you’ll have seven hours to see the highlights of Aix-en-Provence.
The pride of Aix-en-Provence is Cours Mirabeau, a wide promenade featuring opulent facades and fountains ranging from mossy rocks to ornate showstoppers. On Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, the street is pedestrianized and becomes a regional market. North of Cours Mirabeau, the historic city center is a labyrinth of narrow streets, where cafe tables spill out onto cobblestone terraces and shops selling the local delicacy, calissons, invite you inside. Don’t leave Aix without trying these almond-and-citrus sweets (I actually have an open box on my kitchen counter back home right now)!
PS – In case you were wondering “Aix” is pronounced like the word “ex” in English. I was expecting something fancier, personally!
9. Nimes
Just outside the borders of Provence you’ll find Nimes, the administrative capital of the Gard region in Occitanie. It’s easy to visit Nimes on a day trip from Avignon, as the trip takes only about 35 minutes by train (my recommended option, as the bus takes about 90 minutes).
Nimes has a rich Roman history, including a well-preserved arena and the Maison Carrée (“square house”), a Roman temple dating back to the year 2 AD. Other attractions are hidden around the city center, and it’s worthwhile to hop on the little tourist train to get an overview the city’s main attractions.
For lunch, I recommend going to Les Halles de Nimes, the city’s permanent, covered food market, to pick up some picnic essentials (I have some tips for planning a healthy picnic in my guide to healthy food in France) and then walk over towards Les Jardins de la Fontaine. There are lots of shady benches en route, along the canal, and inside the park itself.
10. Orange
Frequent trains run between Avignon and Orange, with the fast train taking as little as 14 minutes, and the average journey running about 20 minutes. The speedy transportation connections make Orange one of the best day trips from Avignon for families with kids who get bored on long bus or train trips.
I didn’t actually visit Orange myself, much to the disappointment of my colleague, an accredited tour guide who highly recommended it. Much like Nimes, Orange has well-preserved and restored Roman ruins. Its Roman arena and triumphal arch are both UNESCO-protected heritage sites. You can visit both in a half-day trip from Avignon if you’re pressed for time.
If you decide to stay in Orange for a full day, consider renting a bicycle from a company like Nature Bike Provence. The countryside just outside Orange is perfect for cycling, and you can easily reach a number of vineyards and/or natural areas in just a few hours (I’d go for the vineyards, personally!).
Guided Day Trips From Avignon
If you’re not up for exploring the region around Avignon by train, bus or car, there are lots of great day trips from Avignon that are fully organized by reputable tour operators. Here are a few guided day trips from Avignon to consider:
- Half-Day Great Vineyard Tour from Avignon 🍇
- Half-Day Tour to Pont du Gard, Uzès and Nimes 🏰
- Full-Day Best of Provence Tour (Pont du Gard, Les Baux de Provence & More) 🤩
- Best of Luberon in One Afternoon (Hilltop Villages) 🌾
Of course, you can also spend a few days simply exploring the town of Avignon. Read my new guide to all the best things to do in Avignon, France, and then check out my curated list of the best hotels (and guesthouses, and vacation rentals) in Avignon.
When you visit some of these smaller destinations in France, it can be really helpful to speak a little bit of French. Check out my guide to learning French for travel!
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