Travel Information
GENERAL
Most probably, you will fly to the international Charles de Gaulle airport in the northen Paris metropolitan area, and then drive down to Avignon (about 6 hours) or, more comfortably, take the high - speed train TGV, either directly from the airport (about 3:30 hours) or from the Gare de Lyon train station in downtown Paris (about 2:40 hours).
To go from Charles de Gaulle to Gare de Lyon you can take the fast subway RER (about 1 hour) or take an airport bus or else a taxi (more expensive). There are also many train connections from/to major European cities.
Avignon is situated on a traffic crossroad axis north - south, east - west, as well on the axis of high speed train (TGV).
Flying - Airports
In Avignon, there is the small airport of Avignon - Châteaublanc (located 10 km from the city center).
The nearest international airport is Marseille - Marignane (located 30 km from Avignon).
Nevertheless, if you are coming from abroad, more probably you will fly to the Roissy - Charles de Gaulle airport in the northen Paris metropolitan area, from which you may join Avignon by local flight, high - speed train (TGV) or car.
To connect with a local flight, you may have to switch from Roissy - Charles de Gaulle airport to Orly airport in the South of Paris, which can be done with a shuttle or with the fast subway RER.
You may also fly to Marseille - Marignane (30 km from Avignon), from which you may join Avignon by local flight, train or high - speed train (TGV) or car.
To find relevant flights or services, you may check the following sites.
In order to coordinate your flight with subway or train schedules you may check the sites mentioned in the following section (train transportation).
Train Transportation
Avignon is on the main Paris - Lyon - Nice - Italy line. It is also on the Montpellier - Narbonne - Perpignan - Spain line.
There are two stations: station TGV - Mediterranee for high - speed trains (TGV) situated 10 minutes away from the center (shuttle bus every 15 minutes - 1,00 euro), and the station Avignon - centre for regional trains and main lines, situated in the city center.
Avignon is at 2:40 hours from Paris (many daily connections) and 30 minutes from Marseille. Also, there are many direct high-speed (TGV) connections from Roissy - Charles de Gaulle airport, Lyon, Lille, Bruxelles, Geneva, London (via Eurostar) and other european cities.
You may find more detailed information on the following web pages : SNCF (railway compagny) : Home - National and international timetables and routes Regional timetables and routes - Other regions
From Roissy CDG you can also reach Paris-Gare-de-Lyon by RER (line B: change at Châtelet-les-Halles and get on line A to Paris-Gare-de-Lyon). You may find more detailed information on the web pages:
SNCF - Transilien (subway and fast subway RER) : Home - Services to and from Paris airports All timetables and routes
More on train transportation (Avignon stations - in french) : SNCF-Avignon
Bus Transportation
In order to coordinate bus schedules with your flights, you may check the airport websites (section flying - airports above). Otherwise, regular bus service is available is most cities: please check the following site for regional connections.
Bus schedules for Provence and the Cote d'Azur : Provence Beyond
Driving
Avignon is situated on a traffic crossroad axis north - south, east - west. As such, it is connected by highway to Lyon - Paris, Lyon - Genova - Switzerland, Lyon - Strasbourg - Germany, Marseille - Nice - Italy, Montpellier - Narbonne - Perpignan - Spain or yet Montpellier - Narbonne - Toulouse - Bordeaux.
Paris - Lyon - Avignon (about 700 km - 6 hours) : highway A6 direction Lyon then A7 direction Orange then A9 direction Montpellier. Exit 22 Avignon.
Lyon - Avignon (about 230 km - 2 hours) highway A7 direction Orange then A9 direction Montpellier. Exit 22 Avignon.
Marseille - Avignon (about 100 km - 1 hour) : highway A55 then A7 direction Avignon. Exit 24 Avignon.
