Car rental in Avignon

Avignon's old town is enclosed by medieval walls more than four kilometres long, and inside them stand the Palais des Papes, the cathedral and the famous half-bridge, the Pont d'Avignon. Those walls shape how you rent a car here. The streets inside are narrow, partly pedestrianised and short of parking, so most visitors park outside the ramparts and treat the car as a way to explore Provence rather than the city.

Where the offices are

The companies on our list are in two clusters. One is close to the centre, around Boulevard Saint-Michel just outside the walls near Avignon-Centre station. The other is in the Courtine business area south of the city, closer to Avignon TGV station, where high-speed trains from Paris, Lyon and Marseille arrive. Check which office you are booking: they are a few kilometres apart, and city offices close on Sundays and over lunch more often than station desks.

Day trips from Avignon

• Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Orange with its Roman theatre lie to the north.
• The Pont du Gard, the Roman aqueduct bridge, is west across the Rhône in the Gard.
• East, the Luberon villages such as Gordes and L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and further on Mont Ventoux.
• South, Les Baux-de-Provence in the Alpilles and Arles.

French motorways, including the A7 that passes Avignon, are tolled, and booths take cards. In July the Festival d'Avignon fills the city: hotels, car parks and rental cars are in short supply, so book early and consider staying outside the walls. Arriving by TGV and collecting the car near the station avoids driving into the old town altogether.