4 Days in Marseille: Day Trips to Provence

Four days covers Cassis and the Calanques, Aix, and Avignon from our shorter versions, then adds Arles’ Roman ruins and Van Gogh atmosphere, the last day trip Marseille offers by direct train alone. Shorter trip? Drop to 2 or 3 days . Want the Camargue or the Luberon villages too, both need a car? Move up to 5 , 6 , or 7 days .

Book these before you go

Day Day trip Travel time from Marseille
Day 1 Cassis + the Calanques 30-45 min by train and transfer
Day 2 Aix-en-Provence 30-45 min by train
Day 3 Avignon 30-40 min by TGV, closer to an hour door to door
Day 4 Arles About 1 hour by train

Day 1: Cassis And The Calanques

  • Morning: Head to Marseille Saint-Charles for the Cassis train, about 25 minutes, then a short bus or taxi down into the port since the station sits inland. Board a Calanques boat tour from the Cassis waterfront, EUR 21-33 for a standard circuit past Sormiou, Morgiou, and En-Vau. Prefer to skip the transfer entirely? The Calanques boat tour with swimming leaves straight from Marseille’s own Vieux-Port
  • Afternoon: Swim at whichever calanque your boat stops at. Hiked in instead? The Calanque de Sugiton needs a free reservation booked 3 days ahead during peak summer, checked by QR code at the trailhead
  • Evening: Dinner in Cassis’s port, or back in Marseille’s Vieux-Port if you took the direct boat option

Day 2: Aix-En-Provence

  • Morning: Train to Aix-en-Provence, 30 to 45 minutes with frequent departures. Walk the Cours Mirabeau, the grand 18th century boulevard lined with fountains and plane trees
  • Afternoon: Cezanne’s studio and the Musee Granet, or just linger over lunch on the Cours Mirabeau, Aix rewards a slow pace more than a checklist
  • Evening: Train back to Marseille for dinner, or catch the Cassis and Aix-en-Provence Sightseeing Tour instead if you’d rather combine both towns in one guided day

Day 3: Avignon

  • Morning: TGV to Avignon, 30 to 40 minutes on the train itself, though budget closer to an hour once you add the shuttle from Avignon TGV station into Avignon Centre. Head straight for the Palais des Papes
  • Afternoon: The Papal Palace needs a genuine 1.5 to 2 hours, Europe’s largest Gothic palace and the seat of the papacy from 1309 to 1377. The combined Palace and Pont d’Avignon bridge ticket runs EUR 17 in 2026
  • Evening: Walk the Pont d’Avignon itself before the train back, or grab dinner in Avignon’s old town first

Is 4 days enough to add Arles?

Yes, comfortably. Arles runs about an hour by train, the same rough travel time as Avignon, and the Roman amphitheater plus the Van Gogh atmosphere fill a satisfying half or full day. It’s also the last of these six day trips that works on a direct train alone, no car needed yet.

Day 4: Arles

  • Morning: About an hour by train to Arles. The Roman amphitheater and ancient theater, both UNESCO listed, anchor the morning
  • Afternoon: Walk the streets and light that shaped Van Gogh’s 300-plus works from his 1888-1889 Arles period. Here’s the honest part: almost none of the original paintings still hang here, most live in museums abroad, so come for the atmosphere, not a gallery visit
  • Evening: Dinner in Arles’ old town before the train back to Marseille

Do you need a car yet at 4 days?

No. Cassis, Aix, Avignon, and Arles all run on direct trains from Marseille Saint-Charles. A car, or an organized tour standing in for one, only becomes necessary once the Camargue or the Luberon villages join a longer version of this itinerary.

Transportation

Marseille Saint-Charles is the hub for all four day trips, a short walk or one metro stop from the Vieux-Port. Live timetables and TGV tickets for Avignon are on SNCF Connect . Inside Marseille itself, RTM runs the metro, tram, and bus on one fare, 1.70 EUR a single ride or 5.20 EUR for a day pass.

Tips And Essentials

  • Book the Calanques boat and Avignon’s palace ticket a few days ahead in summer, both sell out or queue up on weekends
  • Currency is the euro, and cards work almost everywhere, no need to carry a lot of cash
  • The Calanques park’s trail rules and closures sit on calanques-parcnational.fr

Four days clears every direct-train day trip Marseille offers. If the Camargue’s flamingos or the Luberon’s hilltop villages are calling, both need a car, our 5 day itinerary and the Marseille France guide pick up exactly where this one stops.