Traveling to Provence from the UK

Destination - Provence

Provence is located in Southern France, and corresponds to the historical Provincia Romana, a province founded by the Romans around 100BC.

It is nestled in the vast area bounded by the Alps, the Rhône Valley and the Mediterranean.

Modern Provence is now part of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur or Region PACA.

Blessed with a warm and sunny weather most of the year, Provence is the 3rd most populated region of metropolitan France.

It is also a highly popular destination among British holidaymakers and tourists from all around the world.

Traveling to Provence from the UK is therefore very easy despite the distance.

Here are the links to the various official sites you'll need:

Traveling to Provence from the UK - Air travel information

Nice

The Aéroport Nice Côte d’Azur is located 7km to the west of the city.

There are 2 terminals, as it is the second largest French airport with 70% of its traffic related to tourism.

Easy Jet operates to Nice from London Gatwick, Aer Lingus from Dublin, Monarch Airlines from Birmingham and London Gatwick, and British Airways from London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London City.

Refer to the airport's official website above for transport between the airport, the city and the Riviera.

Marseille

The Aéroport Marseille Provence is located 25km west of the city.

Easy Jet operates to Marseille from Bristol, London Gatwick and Manchester, Ryanair from Edinburgh and London Stansted, British Airways from London Heathrow, and Aer Lingus from Dublin.

Refer to the airport's official website above for transport between the airport, the city and the Riviera.

Montpellier

The Aéroport Montpellier Méditerranée is located at the boundary of Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon, and is an excellent alternative when traveling to Provence from the UK.

Ryanair operates to Montpellier from Leeds, and Easy Jet from London Gatwick and London Luton.

Traveling to Provence from the UK - Ferry travel information

If you travel by car and ferry, you'll have to land in Normandy, Brittany or Nord-Pas-de-Calais, then drive all the way down to the Mediterranean.

Brittany Ferries operates from:
- Portsmouth to Caen-Ouistreham, Cherbourg, Le Havre and St Malo
- Poole to Cherbourg
- Plymouth to Roscoff
- Cork to Roscoff

Condor Ferries operates a weekly ferry service from Portsmouth to Cherbourg, from late May to early September, and Catamaran services from Poole and Weymouth to Saint Malo via the Channel Islands.

P&O operates from Dover to Calais.

LD Lines - DFDS Seaways operates services from Newhaven to Dieppe and Dover to Calais or Dunkirk.

You can compare ferry prices on aferry.co.uk

Traveling to Provence from the UK - Car travel information

Here are the distances using motorways (with tolls) and/or dual-carriage ways from:

- Calais to Nice (1,225km), Marseille (1,069km), Montpellier (1,057km)

- Caen-Ouistreham to Nice (1,171km), Marseille (1,013km), Montpellier (931km)

- Cherbourg to Nice (1,282km), Marseille (1,125km), Montpellier (1,040km)

- Roscoff to Nice (1,415km), Marseille (1,258km), Montpellier (1,124km)

- Saint-Malo to Nice (1,273km), Marseille (1,114km), Montpellier (981km)

N.B. The speed limit on two-way roads changed on 1st JULY 2018.

Traveling to Provence from the UK - Car Rental travel information

Aéroport Nice Côte d'Azur: Avis Budget, Citer, Firefly, Europcar, Hertz, Enterprise, Inter-rent, Sixt

Aéroport Marseille Provence: Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz, Inter-rent, Firely, Sixt

Aéroport Montpellier Méditerranée: Avis, Budget, Inter-rent, Europcar, Hertz, Enterprise – Citer, Sixt

Traveling to Provence from the UK - Rail travel information

Eurotunnel links Folkestone to Calais in 35 minutes.

Eurostar links London St Pancras to Paris - Gare du Nord in 2h20 or 2h30, with an average of 15 trains per weekday; gates close 40mn prior to departure.

You'll then have to connect on a TGV (SNCF) from Gare de Lyon (station) to your destination in Provence.

Here's a list of tourist sites to visit in Provence