PROVENCE - France 2014 - page 982

sprawling under big plane trees. Bistrot à Tartines specializes in—you guessed
it— tartines (big slices of toast smothered with toppings), and has the coziest interior and
best desserts on the square (€8 tartines and salads, €10 lunch menu, daily, tel. 04 90 85
58 70). Zeste is a friendly, modern deli offering fresh soups, pasta salads, wraps, smooth-
ies, and more. Get it to go, or eat inside or on the scenic square—all at unbeatable prices
(closed Sun, tel. [phone]). Boulangerie Olivero makes a fine setting for a budget
breakfast, lunch, or a light (and early) dinner. Monsieur Olivero makes a mean baguette
andoffersanyoneshowingthisbookafreecroissantwithanypurchase.Enjoyyourcoffee,
croissant,sandwich,orquicheattheoutsidetables(onthesquarenearRuedesLices,daily
until 20:00).
Place Pie: On this big square filled with cafés, Avignon's youth make their home.
Restaurant Françoise is a pleasant café and tea salon, where fresh-baked tarts—savory
and sweet—and a variety of salads and soups make a healthful meal, and vegetarian op-
tions are plentiful (€7-12 dishes, Mon-Sat 8:00-19:00, closed Sun, free Wi-Fi, a block off
Place Pie at 6 Rue Général Leclerc, tel. [phone]).
Avignon Connections
By Train
Remember, there are two train stations in Avignon: the suburban TGV Station and the
Centre-Ville Station in the city center (€1.30 shuttle buses connect to both stations, buy
ticket from driver, 3/hour, 15 minutes). TGV trains usually serve the TGV Station only,
though a few depart from Centre-Ville Station (check your ticket). Only Centre-Ville has
baggage storage (see “Arrival in Avignon,” here ) and only the TGV station has car rental.
Some cities are served by slower local trains from Centre-Ville Station as well as by faster
TGV trains from the TGV Station; I've listed the most convenient stations for each trip.
From Avignon's Centre-Ville Station to: Arles (roughly hourly, 20 minutes, less
frequent in the afternoon), Orange (15/day, 15 minutes), Nîmes (12/day, 30 minutes),
Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (10/day on weekdays, 5/day on weekends, 30 minutes), Lyon (10/day,
2 hours, also from TGV Station in 1.5 hours—see below), Carcassonne (8/day, 7 with
transfer in Narbonne, 3 hours), Barcelona (2/day, 5.75 hours with changes in Nîmes and
Figueres-Vilafant; more frequent but slower with a change in Cerbère).
From Avignon's TGV Station to: Nice (20/day,mostbyTGV,4hours,mostrequire
transfer in Marseille), Marseille (10/day, 35 minutes), Cassis (7/day, 2 hours), Aix-en-
Provence TGV (10/day,25minutes), Lyon (12/day,1.5hours,alsofromCentre-VilleSta-
tion—see above), Paris ' Gare de Lyon (9/day direct, 2.5 hours; more connections with
transfer, 3-4 hours), Paris ' Charles de Gaulle airport (7/day, 3 hours).