dknyc01

All of my travel is US Domestic and would love help from anyone who travels/knows France.

I'm traveling in June to Fayance (the Provence-Côte d'Azur region?). I'll be spending 2 weeks at a workshop, and then maybe adding on a week to tour a bit of Italy (?) or perhaps other parts of France.

Re: Traveling - I've discovered that United doesn't fly into Nice, which is the closest airport, but rather into Paris (CDG) so I was thinking of taking a train from Paris to Nice and then renting a car.

Can anyone tell me about the availability and advisibility of train travel between CDG and Nice (vs. driving from Paris to Nice.) There are so many expert travelers on this list, I thought I'd ask for help.

I'd also welcome any thoughts about the area or add-on trips. My husband is coming along, hoping to do some biking, tour some wineries, etc...

Thanks for any help!

JOUY31

Nice is one the destinations in France where air travel is still the best option. The train takes only 3 hours to Marseille, but takes another 3 hours to Nice, vs 1h30 from either CDG or ORY. Except if you stop over and visit cities such as Dijon, Beaune, Lyon or Avignon, driving from CDG to Nice can be done in a day but is boring and tiresome (motorway all the way). I would fly from CDG to NCE and rent a car there.

BTW, I think it's Fayence

dknyc01

Thank you so much for your recommendations. Something made me think it would be "fun" to take a train - I think I've seen too many movies!

And I'm delighted to now know how to properly spell my destination. Thanks for all your help

Koby

If you have time, take the train.
If you want to see something of France (in case you’ve never been there), take the train.
If you want to experience high-speed train travel (in case you’ve never done that), take the train.

If you want to get to your destination as fast as possible, fly.

Inga

If you are not planning to stay in Nice and will be getting a rental car right away, flying can be easier than train. Signage leaving the airport is usually much better than any city-centered train station. If you are tired and/or it is dark on your arrival, negotiating through a strange city will not be much fun.

DBruce49

Hello fellow Austinite!

Here are a few initial thoughts:

1. The TGV stations at Aix-en-Provence and Avignon are brand new stations NOT in the centre of the cities. The one for Aix is actually in the country. I've rented cars at both without problems.

2. Flying into Nice can be cheap using EasyJet, for example, but if do so, be aware that several of the flights fly out of Orly not CDG. My wife & daughter once made the transfer from CDG to Orly but said that 3 hours was tight.

3. I prefer the TGV because you get a better sense of where you are going, even at 300 kph. I would take the train to Aix-en-Provence, then drive the to Fayence. The train takes about 3 hours, and it's about 1 1/2 hours driving. The drive is a bit nicer than from the Nice airport, I think. Also, connecting to a TGV is simple since the station at CDG is in the lower level of Terminal 2 where I've always arrived. A very relaxing way to travel -- nicer than flying in my opinion.

4. Consider Europebycar for renting. In France they deal with Citer, affiliated with National, but you get much better rates and pay in US $ prior to leaving. You are given a voucher, and only once did I have to explain to a brand new rental agent (at a small airport) what it was. Plus most of the time I have been upgraded to a nicer car.

5. I would suggest planning to stay in the south of France. There are many wonderful places with fabulous food, etc. within short drives. The Grand Canyon du Verdon offer vertiginous views (and sometimes narrow roads). In Moustiers Ste. Marie you can stay in a small inn owned by Alain Ducasse with a Michelin-starred restaurant (La Bastide de Moustiers); I've eaten there although was not able to stay.

Depending on your interests, you could relax on the coast, spend time in the Luberon (see A Good Year with Russel Crowe or read Peter Mayles), see Roman structures in Nîmes as well as the Pont du Gard not far away, ...

Plus think of the cycling opportunities!

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

MilesTalk

Is there a reason you need to stop in Paris? I know DL flies nonstop from JFK-NCE - though I realize you'd have to connect domestically, to me that seems preferable to connecting at CDG.

If you do want to see France, and have time to explore, then I would drive and stop along the way or take the train, perhaps also with a stop along the way. There are a lot of great places in France between Paris and Nice

dknyc01

Thank you though for your suggestions. I'm flying on a United reward ticket and they fly into CDG, from all I can tell.

DBruce - how wonderful to find my advice coming from a fellow Austinite! I finally went to Borders yesterday and bought a Fodors guide. After a bit of reading, I'm hoping to be a tad smarter about planning this trip.

The plan right now is to stay in France for the added week, and perhaps find a cycling tour that will allow us to see a few cities and get in some nice riding. I like your idea of doing the train partway, and then driving the remaining 1.5 hours. And I also appreciate the thoughts on rental cars. I just priced a Hertz rental and despite being President's Circle (which I suspect won't matter in France), a 3 week rental will cost over $1600 US.

Ilove2fly

Instead of flying to Paris, try flying into another European city and pick up a connecting flight with a partner airline. Star Alliance network includes several European airlines, so you should not have much problem finding a connecting flight. Driving in Europe can be expensive. The toll can be very expensive.

DBruce49

Since you will be there for 3 weeks, look into the lease/buyback option from europebycar. I think that works out better for 17 days or more, and you get a new car to boot. I will consider this option myself when we need a car for that duration.

Next time you are at Borders, you may want to look at Rick Steves's books on France and Provence. I find his accommodation recommendations are a bit too downscale for me but he is generally on the mark as to sights and taking your time to absorb a place.

Romelle

I took a combination of trains and buses from the southwest corner (Perpignon) to the southeast corner (Menton) in February a couple years ago. The trains were for the main run, although I used buses for a couple side jaunts.

The trains are a really easy way to move your body in France. My plan was loosely based on a brochure from the French tourist board called "Painters of the Light" which documented where most of the Impressionist painters lived and worked. I added a side trip from Cannes to Grasse to see the perfume factories and museum. Also wandered Monte Carlo for a day (the train there goes through the mountain and you catch an escalator down still through the mountain to the city). And finally visited Menton because it was having their wonderful/charming Lemon Festival.

Managed to miss Nice altogether so guess I'll have to go back?

I was six days in Menton, and one slower day even took a 10 minute train ride across the border to Italy just so I could have lunch there. The Menton train station is right in the center of the town, as is the Italian train station.

Then heading back, I trained to Avignon, stayed a couple days and on to Paris. While I had bought a pass good for 4 days in a month because of the savings on the longer runs, I easily bought the rest of the tickets from the machines in the stations.

Tons of possibilities - history, scenery, culture, etc. I'm glad you acquired the guide book. In my experience, that is the best way to start planning a trip.

Romelle