The first mention I ever heard of Arles was in a brochure from an elite tour company. They described Arles as such a quaint little town that there was not enough hotels to accommodate the entire tour group and so, the others would 'go on up the road' to Avignon. When I travel, I like small. That translates into walkable for me. That also means that I can get lost - and not worry about being lost. And so it was that the second time I went to France, the kid and I took the night train from Paris to Arles. The following year, we decided to bypass Paris altogether. We flew into Marseille and took a train to Arles. One of its advantages is the ease of day trips and connecting with the train or bus. From Arles, it's a hop and a skip to Avignon, Les Baux, Orange. The famous Pont du Gard is also nearby.
On my second trip I wasted time backtracking from Arles to Paris to catch the flight home. I am a real believer now in flying 'open jaw,' that's flying into one place and out of another. So, the next time, as mentioned we flew into Marseille. After train-hopping in Arles, Avignon and Orange, we went to Nice and caught the night train to Venice. Now, for some reason, one can't fly out of Venice without a stay over in London. I didn't want that hassle. When I visit London, it will be for more than a day. But I just kept pestering the airline reservationist and finally we found that I could fly out of Verona and get a direct connection in London to home. This open jaw ticket to Marseille and out of Verona was only $369 (this in March off-season). So, open jaws don't cost any more than flying out of the same place.