Aix-en-Provence from Marseille: Train, Bus or Car? Times and Fares
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Aix-en-Provence from Marseille: Train, Bus or Car? Times and Fares

11/3/2026

Aix-en-Provence is 32 km from Marseille, about 45 minutes by TER train, a direct bus ride on lecar line 50, or 30 to 45 minutes by car. All three work. What decides your day is what you do once you arrive: the old town, the markets and the Musée Granet are on foot from the station, while the Cézanne landscapes need wheels. Below: times, fares and stations from the official operators, checked on 3 November 2026, and our own advice from driving this road since 1998.

Key takeaways

  • Distance: Aix-en-Provence is 32 km from Marseille via the A51 motorway, according to the Aix tourist office.
  • Train: the TER from Marseille Saint-Charles takes about 45 minutes on average, with a train every 15 minutes at peak times and a full-fare single at €10.90, according to TER Sud.
  • Bus: lecar line 50 runs direct by motorway between Marseille Saint-Charles and the Aix coach station, at €7 a single, according to lecar.
  • Car: 30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic; La Rotonde car park caps parking at €25 per 24 hours and has a 1.90 m height limit, according to the City of Aix.
  • Markets: the big ones run on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 8 am to 1 pm, according to the Aix tourist office; plan the morning around them.
  • Musée Granet opens at noon, Tuesday to Sunday, and is closed on Mondays, according to the museum.

How far is Aix-en-Provence from Marseille?

Aix-en-Provence is 32 km north of Marseille by road, up the A51 motorway, according to the Aix tourist office. By car that is 30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic, in our drivers' experience; the train takes about 45 minutes. This is a commuter corridor, not an expedition: people make the trip every day for work.

One trap before you look at timetables: Aix-en-Provence TGV is not Aix. The high-speed station is 15 km outside the city, with a shuttle bus to the centre every 30 minutes, according to the tourist office. For the Marseille to Aix-en-Provence run you want the regional TER to the city-centre station, simply called Aix-en-Provence.

Train, bus or car: which is best from Marseille to Aix?

The train is the best default: it is frequent, it avoids motorway traffic and it arrives two minutes from the Cours Mirabeau. The bus is the cheapest single ticket but shares the motorway with the cars. The car only pays off if you want the Cézanne sites or villages beyond the city.

OptionJourneyFrequencySingle fareArrives atThe catch
TER trainabout 45 min on averageevery 15 min at peak, 60+ trains a day both ways€10.90 full fare (€7.70 with a ZOU! Malin card)Aix-en-Provence city station, 2 min from Cours MirabeauYou are tied to departure times; do not book to Aix TGV by mistake
lecar line 50 busset by motorway trafficfrequent; check the lecar timetable€7, or €56 for 10 tripsAix coach station, next to the city stationSame traffic jams as a car at 8 am and 5:30 pm
Car30 to 45 minon your schedulefuel, plus parking up to €25 / 24 ha city-centre car parkParking fills on market mornings; 1.90 m height limit in most car parks

Sources for the table: TER Sud for the train, lecar for the bus, the City of Aix for parking, all read on 3 November 2026. Drive time is our own estimate.

How does the train from Marseille to Aix-en-Provence work?

You take a regional TER from Marseille Saint-Charles to Aix-en-Provence station: about 45 minutes on average, with a train every quarter of an hour at peak times and more than 60 TER a day in both directions, according to TER Sud. A full-fare single costs €10.90, or €7.70 with the regional ZOU! Malin discount card.

The reason to prefer the train is where it drops you. Aix-en-Provence station is in the city centre, 2 minutes from the Cours Mirabeau and near the coach station, according to the tourist office. No transfer, no taxi. This line behaves like a commuter service: you buy on the day and take the next train.

How does the bus from Marseille to Aix work?

lecar line 50 is the direct bus: it runs by motorway between the Marseille Saint-Charles coach station and the Aix-en-Provence coach station, according to lecar. A single costs €7 and a pack of 10 trips €56. Only single tickets are sold on board, and a ticket is valid for 90 minutes, according to the lecar fares page.

The bus is the cheapest option and the least predictable: it sits in the same motorway traffic as a car, so a departure at 8 am or 5:30 pm loses its advantage. Fares across the metropolitan network were reorganized on 1 November 2026, so check the current price before you travel.

Is it easy to drive and park in Aix-en-Provence?

Driving is easy; parking is the cost. Aix has 5,810 underground spaces in the city centre and 3,400 on-street spaces, according to the tourist office. La Rotonde, the obvious target, has 1,800 spaces, a cap of €25 per 24 hours and a 1.90 m height limit (3 m on level -1), according to the City of Aix. Fallbacks: Mignet (800 spaces, €25 cap), Pasteur (650, €20), Carnot (675, €20), Bellegarde (340, €20) and Cardeurs (125, €25, 1.80 m).

The tourist office suggests leaving the car at a park-and-ride at the edge of town: the bus to the centre is free for the driver and passengers, provided you ask at the car park reception, according to its park-and-ride page. On market mornings, some central streets are blocked or diverted, says the City of Aix.

Provençal market in Aix-en-Provence

What can you see in Aix-en-Provence without a car?

The whole old town. It is compact and largely pedestrian: from the station you walk the Cours Mirabeau, cut through to the Place Richelme market and reach the cathedral without a map. Our page on what to see in Aix-en-Provence lists the sights one by one.

  • Cours Mirabeau, the plane-tree avenue two minutes from the station. Walk it first, sit on it last.
  • The markets, every morning until 1 pm; the days are below, because they decide the itinerary.
  • Musée Granet, which owns 10 oil paintings by Cézanne, according to the tourist office. Open Tuesday to Sunday, noon to 6 pm, last tickets at 5:30 pm; closed on Mondays and on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May; €14 full price, €12 reduced, according to the museum. Large bags are not accepted under current security rules. Allow about 90 minutes.
  • The petit train, a one-hour guided circuit from La Rotonde, daily in 2026, with commentary in 8 languages: €12 adult, €10 reduced, €6 for children aged 4 to 12, free under 4 and with the City Pass, according to the tourist office.

Which Aix sights need a car?

The Cézanne landscapes. The painter's Lauves studio sits on the hill above town, the Bastide du Jas de Bouffan on the western edge, and the Bibémus quarries are a 7-hectare plateau out towards Sainte-Victoire, according to the tourist office. All three want a car, a taxi or a booked visit.

Seasonal: in 2026 the Lauves studio and the Jas de Bouffan opened seasonally and closed on 31 October, with booking required or strongly recommended, according to the tourist office. The 2027 dates were not published when we checked. The Bibémus quarries are visited by guided tour only, booked through the tourist office, and the site may close between June and September by prefectural order depending on the weather.

What are the market days in Aix-en-Provence?

Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday are the big days, and every Provençal market in Aix runs from 8 am to 1 pm, according to the tourist office:

  • Textiles, crafts and antiques: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, on the Cours Mirabeau, Place Forbin, Places Comtales and Rue Thiers.
  • Food and fish: every day on Place Richelme, and on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday on the Places Comtales.
  • Flowers: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday on the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville; Wednesday, Friday and Sunday on the Places Comtales.
  • Christmas: during the festive season the textile and flea market moves to Les Allées, Place Jeanne d'Arc and Avenue des Belges.

Two consequences. Markets are a morning activity: arrive at 12:30 and you see the stalls being packed away. And on a Monday the food market still runs but the Musée Granet is closed.

Half a day or a full day in Aix?

Half a day covers the old town properly; a full day lets you add the museum or a Cézanne site.

  • Half day, about four hours: an early train, the Cours Mirabeau, Place Richelme before 1 pm, the one-hour petit train, lunch and the train back. Skip the Musée Granet: it does not open before noon.
  • Full day, eight to nine hours: the same morning, then the Musée Granet from noon, then a Cézanne site in season if you have transport.
  • What to cut first: the Cézanne sites, because they need transport and a booked slot. Keep the markets and the Cours Mirabeau.

Can you visit Aix-en-Provence on a cruise call in Marseille?

Usually, yes, if your ship is in port long enough. Aix is about 30 km from the cruise terminal, 30 to 45 minutes by road, according to the Marseille tourist office. Large ships dock at the MPCT terminal north of the city and smaller ones at J4, by the MuCEM: our guide to Marseille cruise terminals explains which ship goes where.

Our own planning rule, from building these days around ship times: with fewer than about six hours ashore, stay in Marseille; from seven hours, an Aix half day works with lunch; from ten hours, you can add the coast. On a long call, public transport is fine. On a short one, two timetables (out and back) are two chances to run late, which is where a car waiting at the terminal helps. Whatever you choose, the cruise line will not hold the ship for an independent excursion, so keep a margin before all-aboard time. Our Marseille shore excursions page sets out how we plan around that.

Is a private tour worth it for Aix-en-Provence?

For Aix alone, honestly, no: the old town is walkable from the station and you do not need a driver to cross it. A private day becomes worth it when Aix is one stop among several, because the train does not link Aix, Cassis and Marseille in one day without long transfers.

That is our Aix, Marseille and Cassis day: 6 to 8 hours, from €550 for 1 to 4 guests in a Tesla or €700 for 5 to 8 in a van, priced per group, according to our own catalogue. The Aix portion is a guided walk of about an hour and a half through the old town, the market and Saint-Sauveur Cathedral, with tastings of local specialties such as calissons. We collect you at the address of your choice in Marseille or Aix, or at the cruise terminal, and bring you back there. If wine is the point of the day, the Aix wine experience starts on foot in the old town before heading to the estates.

Methodology

Distances, fares, timetables, opening hours and market days come from the official sources listed below, read on 3 November 2026: the Aix tourist office, the City of Aix, TER Sud, lecar and the Musée Granet. Some pages were contradictory or incomplete: the tourist office gives two different 2026 opening periods for the Cézanne studio, and lecar does not publish line 50 journey times in a readable form, so we give no figure for the bus. Drive times, the cruise-call planning rule and the description of our tour are our own, from our catalogue and our drivers' experience; they are not independently verified. Fares and opening hours change: check them before you travel.

In short

Aix-en-Provence is 32 km from Marseille. The TER train is the simplest way there, about 45 minutes and €10.90 full fare to a station two minutes from the Cours Mirabeau; the lecar line 50 bus costs €7 but depends on traffic; a car takes 30 to 45 minutes and is only worth it for the Cézanne sites or a multi-stop day. Go on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday morning for the markets, and remember that the Musée Granet opens at noon and closes on Mondays.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get from Marseille to Aix-en-Provence?

Three ways: the TER train from Marseille Saint-Charles to Aix-en-Provence station, about 45 minutes; the lecar line 50 bus between the two coach stations, €7 a single; or a car, 32 km via the A51 motorway in 30 to 45 minutes. Sources: TER Sud, lecar and the Aix tourist office.

How much is the train from Marseille to Aix-en-Provence?

A full-fare single on the TER costs €10.90, or €7.70 with the regional ZOU! Malin discount card, according to TER Sud on 3 November 2026. Make sure your ticket is to Aix-en-Provence station, not Aix-en-Provence TGV, which is 15 km out of town.

Is the train or the bus better from Marseille to Aix?

The train, in most cases: it avoids motorway traffic and arrives two minutes from the Cours Mirabeau. The lecar line 50 bus is cheaper at €7 a single and also arrives in the centre, at the coach station next to the train station, but at rush hour it is stuck in the same traffic as cars.

Is Aix-en-Provence worth a day trip from Marseille?

Yes. The old town, the markets, the Cours Mirabeau and the Musée Granet, with its 10 Cézanne paintings, fill a day without a car. Go on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday for the full markets, which close at 1 pm.

Can you see Aix-en-Provence in half a day?

Yes. About four hours covers the Cours Mirabeau, the Place Richelme market before 1 pm, the one-hour petit train and lunch. The Musée Granet opens at noon and needs about 90 minutes, so it belongs to a full day.

Can I visit Cézanne's studio in Aix in winter?

Not over the winter: the tourist office announced the Lauves studio and the Jas de Bouffan as seasonal, closing on 31 October 2026. Ten Cézanne paintings remain on view at the Musée Granet, open Tuesday to Sunday from noon. Check the 2027 dates with the tourist office.

Sources

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