How far is Avignon from Nice?

Should we visit Nice or Avignon?

• My husband and I are planning to visit france in march-april. beside paris we have 2-3days to spend in one other city. my first plan was to visit Nice, but then I also heard about ...show more

• Answer:

  Any answer you get will be very subjective as the two cities are totally different. My personal choice would Avignon. Stay in the old city, within the medieval walls, and visit the Pont St Benezet, the Pope's Palace, there are other museums and monuments to visit, take a walk along the street where the silk factories were with their canal and waterwheels; visit Villeneauve-lez-Avignon, just across the Rhone, where you can visit Fort St Andre (an old castle) which has a ruined Benedictine monastery within the grounds with wonderful landscaped gardens, also have a look at the old Cathusian monastery. If you still have time, go to the Tourist Bureau and book a half-day tour which will take you to the Roman Aqueduct at Nimes, the old hill-top village of Les Baux de Provence, and St Remy which is where van Gogh did much of his painting while in a sanitorium. From Avignon you can also do trips to Orange or Arles, both just a very short train trip away. Really, you need to compare the two places in your French tourist guidebook and make a decision based on the things you want to see and do.