8 Travel and Arrival Information

All participants are expected to make their own travel arrangements and must arrive in Aix on the first scheduled day of the program. Participants who choose to arrive earlier are responsible for making their own housing arrangements. APA program staff is not available to assist with early housing arrangements and luggage cannot be left at the program office.

Arrival by air:

The closest airport to Aix-en-Provence is the Marseille-Provence airport (MRS); it is located near a city called Marignane, so it is also sometimes called the Marignane Airport.

Arrival by train:

There are two different train stations (“gares”) associated with Aix:

1. The gare SNCF Aix Centre-Ville is located right in downtown Aix about 1 block from the APA program office;
2. The AIX Gare TGV is the high-speed train station and is located about 15 minutes by bus outside of Aix. You may arrive by train by first going to downtown Marseille (Marseille-St. Charles) and from there taking a local train or bus to the downtown Aix train or bus station.  If you are traveling from Paris, you may take the TGV (express train) directly to the “Aix TGV” train station (NOTE: The TGV train will stop for only 3 minutes at the Aix TGV station, so be prepared to disembark very quickly!). If you arrive at the gare TGV there are regular shuttle buses (“navettes”) you can take to arrive in downtown Aix. For more information, consult: https://storage.googleapis.com/is-wp-61-prod/uploads-prod/2024/08/Metropole_lecar_40_Gare-Aix-en-Provence-TGV-Aeroport_hiver.pdf    

Whether you arrive by plane or by train, we strongly recommend that you take a taxi when you first arrive in Aix, because moving around with a lot of luggage can be difficult and very tiring.

Arrival Day

The program has reserved rooms for you to be shared with other students for the first two days at the Adagio Aparthotel, 3, rue des Chartreux – Tel : 04 42 37 98 98. The cost of this stay is covered by the program. 

You are responsible for getting to the Aparthotel Adagio between 2:00 p.m. and before 6:00 p.m.  or to your French family’s apartment on the first day of the program

1. From the Marseille-Provence Airport
   1. You can take one of the blue shuttle buses, which go directly to Aix. Look for the sign “Navette Aix-en-Provence – Aéroport”. These buses will take you to the bus station (gare routière) in Aix (note: the bus makes a stop at the gare TGV on the way). These shuttles run every 30 minutes, and cost 10 euros.

2. From Aix TGV
   2. You can get from the TGV station to Aix with a shuttle bus, which will drop you off at the bus station in downtown Aix. These shuttles run every 30 minutes and cost approximately 6 euros.

3. From Marseille (St. Charles) – the train station in Marseille
   3. You can take the train or the bus (both located in the St Charles train station) to the center of Aix.  Both run every 10-20 minutes.

Once in Aix, here are Google Map directions to the hotel Adagio:

From the downtown train station

From the Aix bus station

Taxi  

Taxi in Aix:  04 42 27 71 11

Approximate fares to get to downtown Aix (Hotel Adagio) by taxi:

• From Marseille-Provence airport: 70 euros
• From Marseille railway station: 60 euros
• From Aix TGV railway station: 40 euros
• From downtown Aix railway/bus station to hotel: 10 ~15 euros
• Price per suitcase (on top or regular fare): 1 euro.
• Fares will be slightly higher (+10 euros) after 7pm. SHARING A TAXI WITH OTHERS FROM THE PROGRAM IS A GOOD FOR THE BUDGET!

Here is a map and key showing the locations of places you’ll want to know about when arriving in Aix:

1. APA Program office: 30, Ave. Victor Hugo
2. Aparthotel Adagio: 3 rue des Chartreux (this is where you will stay here for the first few days before moving into your apartment or rented room)
3. Bus station (Gare routière): Ave. de l’Europe (where you will be dropped off if you take the airport shuttle or the bus from Marseille)
4. Aix downtown train station (Gare SNCF Aix Centre-Ville)
5. The Faculty Director’s apartment:  Le Libération 2A, 2, place du Général de Gaulle
6. FAC des Arts, Lettres, Langues et Sciences Humaines (ALLSH) / Service universitaires des langues (SUL) (University where most students will attend classes; 29, Ave. Robert Schuman)
7. Sciences Po (where students majoring in Political Science/International Relations will study; 25, rue Gaston Saporta)

The distance from the bus or train station (Gare Routière or Gare SNCF Aix Centre-Ville) to the Hotel Adagio is about ½ mile. Walking unencumbered would take you about 15 minutes. Walking with one or more suitcases might be trying, especially on top of jetlag, which is why we suggest a taxi. But it is up to you!

If you would like to print a more detailed map of downtown Aix to familiarize yourself with your future stomping grounds, one can be found here.

*Students wishing to familiarize themselves with the layout of Aix before arriving can find a map of the city center online at: http://www.aixenprovencetourism.com/wp-content/ressources/maps/plan-aix-cv-fr.pdf

and a map of Aix in its larger context here: http://www.aixenprovencetourism.com/wp-content/ressources/maps/plan-aix-periph-fr.pdf

If You Arrive Early

As mentioned at the beginning of this section, students are expected to arrive on the first day of the program. Prior to that day, program staff will not be available to assist you.  If you arrive earlier, you must make your own housing arrangements.  Here are some suggested places to stay:

• Check availability at Adagio Aparthotel,  3, rue des Chartreux – Tel : 04 42 37 98 98

Website:  http://www.adagio-city.com/fr/hotel-6796-aparthotel-adagio-aix-en-provence-centre

• Hôtel de France, 63 Rue Espariat – tel : 04 42 27 90 15

Website: http://www.hoteldefrance-aix.com/

• Hôtel Le Concorde, 68 Boulevard du Roi René – tel : 04 42 26 03 95

Website: http://hotel-aixenprovence-concorde.com/

If you decide to make a reservation in another hotel, make sure that the hotel is in the center of the city. Be aware that most buses do not run after 9:00 pm or on Sundays.