Which airport? LYS or NCE
Jul 11, 2009, 9:22 pm
#1
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Which airport? LYS or NCE
I plan to travel in the countryside north of Nice and south of Lyon. Which airport and city would be easier to navigate? I am speaking in terms of congestion and ease of renting and returning a car. I do not intend to drive in either city if I can avoid it. Thanks for any suggestions.
Jul 11, 2009, 10:02 pm
#2
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I plan to travel in the countryside north of Nice and south of Lyon. Which airport and city would be easier to navigate? I am speaking in terms of congestion and ease of renting and returning a car. I do not intend to drive in either city if I can avoid it. Thanks for any suggestions.
I would also check where is the cheapest car rental.
Depending how many of you are traveling together, it may even be a better deal to fly to Paris, rent there (many options) and do the nice drive to Lyon.
By the way, Lyon has some amazing food.
Jul 12, 2009, 4:30 pm
#3
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Much of a muchness, imo.
traffic:
NCE is on the western edge of NCE, allowing for a quick exit. That said, the whole coastline up to Cannes is fairly built up and you could get heavy traffic westbound in the evening rush hour.
Lyon is a much bigger city than NCE but the airport is sufficiently far away from town to avoid the more congested area. If you are heading south, you''ll probably take the A43 motorway (which is the Lyon bypass motorway). My recollection is of an easy drive but, to be fair, it has been a while since I have used it.
I would disagree with the previous poster about flying to Paris, unless there is an overwhelming reason fare-wise to do it. The motorways in the Parisian area tend to be substantially more congested than in either Lyon or NCE and it adds 300 miles and a good 4 to 5 hours to your journey (and motorway tolls).
Ease of renting/returning
Both LYS and NCE are fairly compact, easy to navigate airports and easy to rent/return.
If you are going to several locations between LYS and NCE you may wish to consider renting from one and dropping at the other: it is relatively easy to find a rental with no drop-off fee from the majors rental companies.
traffic:
NCE is on the western edge of NCE, allowing for a quick exit. That said, the whole coastline up to Cannes is fairly built up and you could get heavy traffic westbound in the evening rush hour.
Lyon is a much bigger city than NCE but the airport is sufficiently far away from town to avoid the more congested area. If you are heading south, you''ll probably take the A43 motorway (which is the Lyon bypass motorway). My recollection is of an easy drive but, to be fair, it has been a while since I have used it.
I would disagree with the previous poster about flying to Paris, unless there is an overwhelming reason fare-wise to do it. The motorways in the Parisian area tend to be substantially more congested than in either Lyon or NCE and it adds 300 miles and a good 4 to 5 hours to your journey (and motorway tolls).
Ease of renting/returning
Both LYS and NCE are fairly compact, easy to navigate airports and easy to rent/return.
If you are going to several locations between LYS and NCE you may wish to consider renting from one and dropping at the other: it is relatively easy to find a rental with no drop-off fee from the majors rental companies.
Jul 22, 2009, 2:35 am
#4
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Might want to think about flying to Paris and taking the direct TGV to Lyon from CDG. Takes about two hours. You can also go to several intermediate stations south of Lyon and rent a car at the station. This might cut down on your driving and wasted time. The TGV is FAST.
Jul 22, 2009, 6:11 am
#5
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did you consider Marseille airport - it's very good located and much closer to the area you're probably looking at than LYS or NCE. I'd prefer LYS over NCE since it's a very easy and efficient airport with quick highway access ...
Jul 22, 2009, 1:46 pm
#6
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Differences in fares or car rental costs might outweigh other factors, but I would favor LYS over NCE. It's easier to navigate internally and offers a good, simple connection to the main southbound highway.
Jul 22, 2009, 8:18 pm
#7
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Thanks all! I have flown into Nice several times and always have trouble getting out of town. My navigator has problems with maps and road signs. LYS sounds like the best choice to me. Fare is about the same to either airport.