For the sixth successive year, Eurostar, the high speed passenger train service linking the UK with France and Belgium, is to operate direct weekly summer services from London and Ashford to Avignon in the heart of the popular Provence region of Southern France.

Tickets for the 2007 direct service, which will run weekly every Saturday from 7 July to 8 September, are to go on sale from Wednesday 10 January.

The train delivers travellers within a short walk from the ancient city’s walls in just over six hours from London’s Waterloo International station. The attractive fares start from just £99 in standard class or £249 in Leisure Select – offering roomier seats with meals and wine served at your seat.

Situated on the banks of the idyllic River Rhône and basking in sunshine for 300 days of the year, Avignon is a traveller’s gateway to the rural hideaways, chateaux, lavender fields, vineyards and mountains of Provence. Dominated by the awesome Palais des Papes (Popes’ Palace) – just one of the city’s buildings with UNESCO heritage status – the immaculately preserved medieval town offers boutique shopping or sightseeing among sumptuous mansions, churches and palaces.

Eurostar’s weekly Saturday direct service starts during the city’s annual cultural highlight, the world-famous Avignon Theatre Festival. Visitors and residents alike go culture-mad each summer as the best contemporary drama, music and dance from across Europe is showcased in every nook and cranny, from 18th-Century mansions to old convent buildings and secret gardens. As with the Edinburgh Festival, alongside the ‘official’ productions in Avignon are the alternative, somewhat chaotic fringe performances of le Festival Off, which sees nearly 500 young theatre companies from across France and beyond vie for audiences’ attention on the city’s pavements and squares.

Live performance is only the start to attractions for culture vultures in Avignon. Year-round, grand townhouses play host to museums of fine art, from the archaeological collections of the Musée Calvet, to the Impressionist exhibits – featuring masters like Van Gogh and Picasso – at the Musée Angladon. Or if delectable food and drink is your thing, celebrated Provençal fare is on offer at the many gastronomic restaurants around the city or in the leafy shade of the brasseries and bars clustered around Place de l’Horloge, with views across to the grand town hall.

www.eurostar.com provides a one-stop shop for travel, accommodation and insurance for Avignon, as well as all other Eurostar destinations, meaning it has never been easier to plan a dream escape to Provence. Simon Montague, Director of Communications, Eurostar said: “A wealth of cultural gems and beautiful sights await visitors to Avignon – all within reach in just over six hours direct from London. “It is a spectacular train journey through the heart of France and a much more environmentally friendly form of travelling than flying, so travellers can sit back and relax on the greener way to go short-haul to Provence.”

Travel to Avignon is available all year round with Eurostar Connections, combining services to Paris or Lille with an onward journey by French TGV. Fares start from £109 return.

2007 Timetable:
Outbound: departing Waterloo International 07.09; Ashford International 08.02 – arriving Avignon Centre 14.12
Inbound: departing Avignon Centre 16.30 – arriving Ashford International 20.34; Waterloo International 21.30