Avignon TGV (Avignon)

The high speed line (LGV) between Lyon/Paris and Marseille was built to the south of Avignon.
As a result Avignon TGV station is on the south-western edge of the city, a 10-15 min taxi ride from the city centre.

In many ways Avignon TGV station can be compared to a well-designed provincial airport, with its edge of town, middle-of-nowhere location.

Most people drive to Avignon TGV station to catch a train, but the official car parks clearly have insufficient spaces.
The area around the station is dominated by cars that have been left on verges and on any available piece of ground.

Though something particularly worth knowing is that a left luggage facility is seemingly not available at Avignon-TGV station.

The voies (platforms/tracks) that the trains depart from are on an upper level and they are linked to the departure hall by long gentle slopes as well as elevators

The departure details of each train tend to be announced only around 10 mins before departure, but all trains heading north or west depart from voie 4.

You can spend the time waiting for a train in the smart, but comparatively expensive, café at ground level (the station facilities are comparatively sparse).

Keep an eye on the departure screens on the ground level concourse, the train departure information will include details of which zone on the platform, each specific coach on the train will arrive at.
The coach number will be on your ticket, so head to the appropriate zone (think of the zones as you would gates at an airport).

On voie/platform 4, each zone has its own waiting area with seats etc.
The idea being is that you don't have wait on the (comparatively narrow) voie/platform for your train to arrive.
Instead you can take a seat (and shelter from the weather) and then step through the doors on to the voie/platform when you see the train pulling into the station.

At this platform level, there are other screens and ‘composition de train’ indicators, which give another opportunity to check in which zone your coach will be located.

Avignon Centre station lives up to its name with a location on the southern edge of the historic heart of Avignon.
Most of Avignon’s tourist attractions are within walking distance of Avignon Centre station, so if you are heading to Avignon city centre, target this station rather than Avignon TGV.

All TER trains to Avignon call at Avignon Centre and there also a few direct TGV trains per day between Paris and Avignon Centre.
When looking up journey details from Paris, these trains to Avignon Centre will have a longer journey time than the trains to Avignon TGV.
Although when you add in the transfer from Avignon TGV, the city centre-to-city centre journey time will be similar - and of course taking the train to Avignon Centre saves the hassle of making the transfer.

The best option for reaching a final destination in Avignon from the station used by the TGV and Ouigo trains can be to take a local/regional TER train on the relatively new local rail line that links Avignon TGV station with Avignon Centre station (gare).
The TER trains now have their own platforms at Avignon TGV.

There are generally 2x TER train departures per hour to/from Avignon TGV, but there can be a gap of an hour (or more) between trains.
The TER trains aren’t specifically timed to meet TGV trains to/from Paris to give optimum connections.
(If you have booked a train ticket(s) to Avignon TGV, you will need to purchase a separate ticket for the train on to Avignon Centre).

To avoid a long wait for a TER train to the city centre, the buses which depart from the bus station (look for the signs to the gare routiére) are an alternative.
Bus line 10 operates twice an hour and goes to Avignon Centre station, but the journey will take around 20 mins ; 4 x longer than the TER trains
Bus line 21 operates on a faster, more direct route to Avignon Centre station, but it operates much less frequently.
Note that the buses go to the main rail station in central Avignon, they don't take you any closer to the old town and the heart of the city.

The best option can be enquiring at the Accueil information desk, as to whether taking the TER train or the bus, will offer the fastest transfer.
The Accueil desk is located at the end of the main central concourse by the main exits down from voie/platform track 3; which is where the trains from Paris, Lyon etc will arrive.

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