Provence. Choose the airport for the valley, not for the name.
Marseille takes anything and Avignon puts you an hour closer to the Luberon. Provence is a large region with five useful airfields and a great deal of small road between them, so the airport you pick decides how the first day feels.
The region
Four Provences, and they are not close together
People say Provence and mean one of several quite different places. The Luberon is the hill villages, Gordes, Ménerbes, Bonnieux, Lourmarin, reached on winding roads from the Avignon side. The Alpilles is the smaller, drier range around Saint-Rémy and Les Baux, closer to Avignon and Arles. Aix-en-Provence and its surrounding countryside is a city and its hinterland, a different world again. And the coast, from Marseille east through Cassis and Bandol towards Toulon, is a third kind of trip altogether.
An hour and a half of driving separates the extremes, and much of it is on roads that were not designed to be hurried. That is not a complaint, it is the point of the place. But it does mean that landing at the wrong end of the region costs you the best part of a morning, and that a house you have chosen for the view will be at the end of a lane where a full sized saloon is the sensible vehicle and a large van is not.
For the stretch east of Toulon, see the French Riviera, Saint-Tropez and Cannes, which are separate propositions with separate airports.
Getting there
The five airfields, and what each is for
| Airport | Codes | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Marseille Provence | MRS and LFML | The main gateway, at Marignane about 25 km from Marseille and about 26 to 29 km from Aix. Two runways, the longer about 3,500 m, so every business jet category and airliner types as well. Full private handling. About 30 to 35 minutes to Aix and about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 to Avignon. |
| Avignon Provence | AVN and LFMV | The quiet choice, a few miles from Avignon and the natural airfield for the Luberon and the Alpilles. Smaller aircraft and shorter opening hours, so it is confirmed for your specific type and time rather than assumed. |
| Aix Les Milles | QXB and LFMA | A business aviation aerodrome on the edge of Aix. Convenient for the city and the country around it, again with real limits on what can use it. |
| Le Castellet | CTT and LFMQ | In the hills above the coast near the Paul Ricard circuit, about 20 miles from Toulon and 27 from Marseille. A discreet, low volume field that is often far pleasanter than routing through a big one. |
| Toulon Hyères | TLN and LFTH | The eastern end of the region and the Var coast, with a business aviation terminal. The right answer if your address is nearer Hyères than Avignon. |
Airport codes and runway details checked in September 2026. Road times are realistic ranges in normal traffic, not promises. Outside London and Manchester our cars are arranged through operators we know.
Realistic road times
How far things actually are
- Avignon to GordesAbout 50 minutesRoughly 40 km, most of it on small roads through the Luberon. Longer on a market morning.
- Avignon to Saint-RémyAbout 30 minutesAround 20 km. The Alpilles are genuinely close to Avignon, which is why the airport there matters.
- Marseille airport to AixAbout 30 to 35 minutesMotorway almost all the way. The easiest transfer in the region.
- Marseille airport to AvignonAbout 1 hour to 1 hour 20Motorway, then the approach roads. Allow the upper figure in July and August.
Typical journey times in normal conditions. Summer weekends, market days and the roads into the hill villages all add to them.
The alternative
The TGV is not a consolation prize
Provence is one of the few places where the train genuinely competes. Avignon TGV to Paris takes about two hours forty on the fastest services and Aix-en-Provence TGV about three hours, both into central Paris, with the station a short drive from where you are staying. For a family already in Europe, or for an itinerary that includes Paris at one end, it is often the better half of the journey rather than the compromise.
The pattern that works well is a private flight one way and the train the other, with a car at both ends. Both TGV stations sit outside their towns, with proper drop off and pick up, which makes them easy to work with. Tell us if you would like it costed both ways and we will show you the two versions side by side rather than assuming you want to fly twice.
Local realities
What the drivers will tell you
- Give us the exact address, not the village. Half the best houses in the Luberon are at the end of a lane that decides the vehicle
- July is festival month. Avignon and Aix both fill, the roads around them fill with them, and accommodation and cars go early
- Lavender is a late June to mid July proposition around the Luberon and Valensole, and the fields are cut from the middle of July. If that is why you are coming, the dates are not flexible
- August is the busiest month on every road in the region and the hottest. May, June and September are easier in every direction
- The mistral blows hard and cold, sometimes for days at a time, and it is a factor for light aircraft and small airfields more than for cars
- Market days shut village centres. Your driver will know which day is which, which is the whole reason to use a local one
What people come for
Wine, stone and a great deal of lunch
Most Provence itineraries are built around a house and a handful of days out: Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the Rhône vineyards north of Avignon, the Roman arenas at Arles and Nîmes, Les Baux and the quarries below it, the Friday morning at Lourmarin, Cassis and the calanques from the coast, and Bandol for the rosé that people actually mean when they say Provence rosé. It is a region where an as directed car for the day makes more sense than a series of point to point transfers, because plans change over lunch.
See hourly and as directed, multi day tours and long distance journeys for how that usually gets arranged. For groups moving between houses, group travel is the page.
The London end
The part we run ourselves
Our own cars and our own chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, so the departure is the leg we control directly: a car from the house to Luton, Farnborough, Biggin Hill, Northolt or London City, and a chauffeur who knows the private terminal gate rather than the passenger drop off. See private jet transfers and airport transfers.
In Provence, cars and drivers are arranged through operators we know. One person at Odyssey holds the whole itinerary, so when the inbound slips or the airfield closes for the mistral, the change reaches your driver and your house before it reaches you.
Around the region
Related pages
Request a quote
Tell us the house and the dates
Dates, how many of you, and where you are staying, down to the village at least. We come back with the airfield that suits it, aircraft options, the transfer plan and a view on whether the train is worth having in one direction. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Provence
Which airport should we use?
Marseille Provence if you want certainty, capacity and any aircraft category. Avignon if you are going to the Luberon or the Alpilles and your aircraft suits a smaller field. Le Castellet or Toulon Hyères if you are heading for the coast. We look at the address and the aircraft together before recommending one.
Can a large jet use Avignon or Le Castellet?
Not necessarily. Both are smaller fields with real limits on aircraft type and opening hours. We confirm the specific aircraft, date and time with the operator and the handler rather than assuming, and we tell you if the answer is Marseille.
How long is the transfer to the Luberon?
About 50 minutes from Avignon to Gordes, and around an hour and a half to two hours from Marseille depending on the village. That gap is the reason the airport choice matters.
Is the train worth considering?
Often, yes. Avignon TGV to Paris is about two hours forty on the fastest services and Aix TGV about three hours. Flying one way and taking the train the other works well, and we will cost it both ways if you ask.
When is the best time to go?
May, June and September are the easiest months on the roads and the pleasantest to travel in. July brings the festivals and the lavender and fills everything. August is the busiest and the hottest.
Are these your own cars?
No. Our own fleet and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester. In Provence cars and drivers are arranged through operators we know, and you deal with one contact at Odyssey from your front door to the house.
One contact, wherever you are