TRAVEL INFORMATION TO OUR VILLA.

TIMING: Our self guided bike tours start on Saturdays, depending on availability, from 1 April to 31 October. Arrivals are from 12 Noon until 6pm and departures are by 10am.

LOCATION: We are based in the South of France, in the village of Taillades, in the Luberon Regional Park, in the Department of the Vaucluse, Provence. We are 15 Kms South of Gordes & 30 Kms south east of Avignon.

We would highly recommend that you hire a car whilst here in order for you to get the most from your stay at our self catering villa. It helps with getting to the shops, services and the nearby restaurants, with lots just a 5 to 10 mins drive away. It's also handy should you want an afternoon off the bike to explore some the excellent sights just a little further afield, and of course should you be unlucky and get a rare spell of bad weather.

TRANSPORT LINKS - OUR TRAVEL SUGGESTIONS: The following are the 2 best travel hubs for joining our tours:
1. Avignon TGV Station (the high speed trains from Paris, and elsewhere), it's 35kms away.
2. Marseille Airport, it's a well served airport and is 70km away.

1 - TGV (FAST TRAIN) TRAVEL OPTIONS - Our main train hub in Avignon (35kms away) has plenty of fast trains (TGVs) to/from Paris (it's a 2h40 journey) and to/from Marseille and towards Spain. TGV trains in general are a nice way to travel, as they are comfortable, have a bar & food, and the views down the Rhone valley are nice.

♦ TGV TRAINS FROM PARIS: Trains leave Charles de Gaulle airport & Gare de Lyon train station in Paris with a direct service to Avignon TGV station. It's best to choose Avignon TGV station as your destination, and not Avignon SNCF central station, as it's easier for onward travel, and there are plenty of hire cars available. Bookings must be made before you travel, but can not be made more than 3 months in advance. See the links below for train/ticket info:
- RailEurope - https://www.raileurope.co.uk
- Eurostar - https://www.eurostar.com
- The Train Line - https://www.thetrainline.com

♦ TRAINS FROM THE UK: Frequent Eurostar / TGV trains leave from the UK (St Pancras & Ashford) to Lille or Paris (Gare du Nord), usually a second train will then take you to Avignon (travel time approx 6h40).
If travelling via Paris, you will arrive at the "Gare du Nord" train station and then take the metro, south across Paris, to the "Gare de Lyon". About an hour's transfer on the metro.
It's easier if you can take the train via Lille (in Northern France) rather than Paris, as you simply change platform for your 2nd train to Avignon. Note though, that there is also a direct service from London to Avignon (from May to Sept), so no changes and it only takes 5h40 - if you can, use this service as it's by far the most convenient way to travel.

⇨ HOW TO GET TO US FROM AVIGNON TGV STATION: We would recommend hiring a car as it makes travelling to and from the Villa easier, as well as allowing you to further explore the Luberon area once you have finished your day’s cycling. It also increases your options for dinners out in the beautiful local villages.

- By rental car from outside the station: Price wise, a 6-day car hire for an Economy class should cost circa €320 and €370 for a Compact class - Based on an arguscarhire.com quote in Jan 23, for 6 days rental in June. See the following links for quotes:
- Qeeq : https://www.qeeq.com
- Argus Car Hire : https://www.arguscarhire.com
- Europcar : https://www.europcar.com/en-us
- EasyCar : https://www.easycar.com/
- Sixt : https://www.sixt.fr/ - Avis : https://www.avis.fr/services-avis/location-voiture/europe/france/avignon/gare-d-avignon-tgv/

- By taxi : Taxis should be readily available from outside the station. It would cost you about 80/120€ depending on the day / time of the day. See the following links: - gettransfer.com or - montransport.com

- By bus : You can catch the bus from Avignon Centre station, after a quick shuttle train journey between Avignon TGV & Avignon Centre.
The journey time from there is just under an hour. Our stop in Taillades is listed as "Taillades / Bel Air". Tickets are €3, and payable in cash on the bus.
The bus stop is a 1,4km/17 min walk from our villa on easy roads.

2 - AIR TRAVEL OPTIONS - There are frequent international flights (including low cost) to Marseille, Montpellier & Nice airports. Marseille airport is an easy 55 mins motorway journey away, Montpellier 1h40 & Nice is 2h20. Avignon (a 25min drive) and Nimes (a 1h10 drive) airports are smaller with less service. See the following links:
- Easyjet fly to Marseille & Montpellier : Easyjet: https://www.easyjet.com/asp/en/book/index.asp
- Ryanair fly to Marseille & Montpellier : Ryanair: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en
- Flybe to Avignon: Flybe: https://www.flybe.com/
- BA to Marseille : BA: https://www.britishairways.com
- Air France to Marseille : Air France : https://www.airfrance.co.uk

⇨ HOW TO GET TO US FROM MARSEILLE AIRPORT: We would recommend hiring a car as it makes travelling to and from the Villa easier, as well as allowing you to further explore the Luberon area once you have finished your day’s cycling. It also increases your options for dinners out in the beautiful local villages.

- By rental car from outside the airport: Note that most motorways (autoroutes in French) are toll roads, you first take a ticket when joining the motorway and you then pay on exiting. Coins or foreign credit cards are fine.
Price wise, a 6-day car hire for an Economy class should cost circa €320 and €370 for a Compact class - based on an arguscarhire.com quote in Jan 23, for 6 days rental in June. See the following links for quotes:
- Qeeq : https://www.qeeq.com
- Argus Car Hire : https://www.arguscarhire.com
- Europcar : https://www.europcar.com/en-us
- EasyCar : https://www.easycar.com/
- Sixt : https://www.sixt.fr/ - Avis : https://www.avis.fr/services-avis/location-voiture/europe/france/marseille/aéroport-marseille-provence

- By taxi: Taxis should be readily available right outside the airport. It would cost you about 150/200€ depending on the day and time of the day.
See the following links: - gettransfer.com
- montransport.com

- By local train: 1. First you get the shuttle bus from outside the airport to Vitrolles Aeroport de Marseille train station. It's the "Le Bus 13" service and it leaves from Stop No 5 at the airport, the bus costs €2 and leaves every 10/20mins and the journey takes 5mins. The first bus is at 6.15am and the last one at 9.45pm. Link to the timetable: - Timetable shuttle bus Marseille airport to Vitrolles train station
2. It's then approx a 1h train journey to Cavaillon station with a TER local train. Make sure you take a direct train as some trains go to Avignon first and then onto Cavaillon. It will cost you about €14 per person – No obligation to book, unlike the TGV trains.
See the following links:- The Train Line
- Timetable train Vitrolles-Cavaillon
3. When in Cavaillon, it's a 5 min taxi ride to us (circa €15/25). You can book a taxi on arrival using the taxi stand number, note there are rarely taxis just waiting at the rank.
Or there are buses available at Cavaillon train station - there is roughly 1 per hour leaving from right outside the train station at the Cavaillon PEM Gare Routière (the main Cavaillon bus hub). The journey is 10 mins and they stop at the "Taillades Bel Air". Approx €3 a ticket.
The bus stop is a 1,4km/17 min walk from our villa on easy roads.

Bus options:
- Bus Timetable - Ligne 907 - Avignon to Coustellet via Cavaillon
- Bus Timetable - Ligne 918 - Cavaillon to Apt via Coustellet & Bonnieux
- Bus Timetable - Ligne 917 - Cavaillon to Apt via Coustellet & Gordes

Here below are the departure times from Cavaillon bus station to Taillades - SUBJECT TO CHANGES - CHECK THE TIMETABLE LINKS BEFORE TRAVELLING: