Provence by Bus

Buses are the only public transport into most of the Provençal interior. Where the railway stops — the Luberon villages, the Alpilles, the lavender plateaux, the Verdon — the bus is what is left.

Regional buses of the Zou! network in Provence

They are cheap and they are infrequent, and the second fact is the one that ruins days out.

The one rule

Check the return before you set out. Rural services in Provence are timed for schoolchildren and shoppers: two or three departures a day, the last one often mid-afternoon, and frequently nothing at all on Sundays or through the school holidays.

Getting to a village is usually possible. Getting back the same day frequently is not. This is the single most common way visitors strand themselves in this region.

Zou!

The regional network is branded Zou! and covers the whole of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Two things make it worth using:

  • A flat regional fare of a couple of euros for almost any journey, however long — a two-hour ride into the mountains costs about the same as a short hop.
  • Tickets from the driver in cash, or through the app; no advance booking.

City networks are separate: RTM in Marseille, Lignes d’Azur around Nice, Aix en Bus, Orizo in Avignon.

The useful routes

From Avignon

  • Saint-Rémy-de-Provence — about 45 minutes, several a day, and the best bus connection in the region
  • Cavaillon, Apt, Carpentras — the market towns
  • Gordes and Roussillon — possible via Cavaillon or Apt, but thin, and the return is the problem

From Nice

  • Route 100 — the coastal service to Villefranche, Èze, Monaco and Menton. Slower than the train and far better looking. It is also usually full by the time it leaves Monaco.
  • Route 81 — into Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat village, every 15–20 minutes on weekdays
  • Route 82 / 112 — up to Èze village on the middle corniche
  • Route 500 — to Grasse; routes 600 and 610 reach Grasse from Cannes
  • Most coastal services stop running between 20:30 and 21:00 — a regular trap for anyone staying out for dinner.

From Marseille and Aix

  • Marseille – Aix — a coach every few minutes, about 30 minutes, and quicker than the train
  • Marseille – Cassis — about an hour, and it drops you in the centre rather than 3 km above it like the train
  • Aix – the Verdon — services to Moustiers and Castellane, seasonal and slow

From Arles

Long-distance coaches

BlaBlaCar Bus and FlixBus run between the big cities and to Paris, Lyon and Spain, at a fraction of the train fare and roughly twice the time. Useful for a budget trip; the stops are usually outside the centre.

Note that Ouibus no longer exists — it merged into BlaBlaCar Bus in 2019, and older guides still name it.

Airport coaches

  • Nice airport — tram line 2 into the city, plus coaches west to Cannes and Antibes and east to Monaco and Menton
  • Marseille-Provence — shuttles to Marseille Saint-Charles in 25 minutes and direct to Aix

Practical notes

  • Timetables change with the school year. The July–August timetable is different from term time, and usually thinner in the villages while being heavier on the coast.
  • Sundays and holidays — assume nothing runs in rural areas unless you have confirmed it.
  • Stops are often unmarked in small villages: ask where the bus goes from, and be visible when it comes.
  • Cash on the driver works everywhere; have small notes.

See transport in Provence for the overall picture, and transport in France for the national one.

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