My son and I are planning a trip from Australia, arriving in Paris on the 1st July at 6am.We will have 2 days in Paris then on the 3rd we plan to leave for my auntie���s place in Marceille. We plan to stay there for 4 days (4th ���7th), then early on the 8th we will catch a train to Bordeaux then Sainte Foy La Grande to spend a week at Plum Village with a Zen Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh and about 400 other people from all over Europe. We leave there on the 15th to make our way back to Paris, leaving for home on the 20th. My son has a young friend who will be in Bordeaux for the holidays so we hope to catch up with her and her family for a day, leaving us another 3 full days in Paris.
I���m hoping that someone can advise me on a few matters. Firstly, is it worth taking a scenic route to from Paris to Marceille (my Aunt is actually in Saint Maximin La Sainte Baume) via Lausanne, Milan to Genova (TGV0 then to Nice (TEN)
OR TGV to Lyon, Chambery, Genova then TEN to Nice
OR as my aunty suggested, Paris, Lyon (TGV), then Grenoble, Sisteron, Marceille (TEN and coach). This trip will take 10 hours. (Not too sure about this one for my 17 year old son).
Also does the TGV go too fast to enjoy the scenery if we choose one of the other two routes?
If we are unable to catch up with my son���s friend when we leave Plum Village would it be best to have the extra day in Paris (that would be 6 days all up) or spend a day or so in the Pyrenees such as Foretd��� Iraty (Basque ponies and standing stones) or some other nice little village around there or near Bordeaux - or anywhere nearby for that matter.
We won���t have a car and we would be looking for inexpensive accommodation.
I would really appreciate any advice whatsoever; it all feels a little daunting just now.
Thankyou
Deanne
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If I%26#39;m reading you correctly, you%26#39;re going from Paris to Marseilles? in one single day, your day #3. If you don%26#39;t mean Marseilles (which is the whereabouts of a Saint Maximin that I know), ignore the rest of my response here because I have no idea where a Marceille would even exist.
A single day is insufficient to get there via route 1 (Lausanne, Milan, Genova) or via route 2 (Lyon, Chambery, Genova, Nice).
Route 3 (Lyon, Grenoble, Sisteron, Marseilles) is actually doable but still a bit silly for a single day. You%26#39;ll get to look out the windows of the trains but that%26#39;s about it. If you had two days to do it, Route 3 becomes much nicer.
TGV will be fastest on the Paris-Lyon stretch, but not too fast to enjoy any scenery. There%26#39;s really not much to see but prototypical French countryside, so the fast pace is just about right. You%26#39;ll get the gist of it. The TGV route from Lyon to Grenoble isn%26#39;t any faster than any normal train.
If you%26#39;d actually like to hop out of the train to take a look on single day%26#39;s journey, I%26#39;d root for Lyon, Valence %26amp; Avignon.
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Deanne,
Here%26#39;s a website with a French rail map to preview which locations would be most convenient from any Point A to Point B.
…raileurope.com/map_of_europe/france.html
I know of a Sainte Foy about halfway between Bordeaux and Nantes. If that%26#39;s where the Plum Village is and you%26#39;re heading back to Paris with four-five days to hangout, you%26#39;ve got lots of choices.
I%26#39;m an engineer and my mind starts optimizing.
Sainte Foy already puts you off in an interesting spot off the beaten path.
An optimal path is directly through the Loire Valley. You can see many chateaux when you%26#39;re out there. I%26#39;ve never been in there and got some great ideas from another Travelforum member IrishRovr.
However, more uniquely, you can swing wide west on the way back to Paris through Brittany; and save the Loire Valley for your next trip because that is so convenient from Paris as opposed to Brittany.
It%26#39;ll be July. Both Brittany and the Loire Valley will be packed with tourists so if you%26#39;d like to head to the Pyrenees that%26#39;s a neat option too. In fact, that%26#39;ll be a good spot to catch the Tour de France zip through...very fun because these are critical stages where the leaders breakaway from the rest.
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WOW! I%26#39;m impressed, DarthAnonymous! You have pretty much covered the waterfront here, I think.
The only thing I would add is that a lot of the things you are proposing, as well as some of DarthAnonymous%26#39; suggestions, would be much easier done by car than by train.
For example, if you wanted a taste of Alpine scenery, you could take the TGV to Lyons, pick up a car, and drive to Marseille via (Chambery and) Grenoble, the Route Napoleon, Sisteron and Aix-en-Provence. Your various train itineraries are very time-consuming, and the amount of time you spend staring out the window at the Alps would not compensate for all the other long hours, IMO.
It would be better, I think, to do as DarthAnon has suggested and break your journey in Avignon for a few hours, which would be quite easy to do.
Likewise the area around Ste. Foy (if we are all talking about the same place), the Loire valley and Brittany, as well as the Pyrenees would really be better visited with a car.
If you are adamant about not renting a car, the Loire valley would be the easiest to visit using public transport.
Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great trip!
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Thanks guys so so much for all your suggestions. Yes it is Marceilles and yes Plum Village is 40 k from Bordeaux.
It%26#39;s friday night and I%26#39;ve had a big week at work but tomorrow I%26#39;ll have a good look at all your suggestions and at my maps and I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;ll have more questions tomorrow.
Thanks again
Deanne
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Hi to my helpful friends
My husband says no way will I cope driving on the %26quot;wrong%26quot; side of the road along what he likens to the highways you see on the James Bond movies with the high speed car chases and cliff drops ��� that is after doing my homework and deciding I could catch the TGV from Paris to Chambery and then have a 300 k trip ��� maybe 4 hour drive to Marseilles.
So looks like I���m back to the drawing board. I will look into Irish Rover���s suggestion. Will have to look up how long it will take on the train. Best to get to the South and forget about the alps I suppose; four days is short enough to spend there.
Thanks again for your advice
Deanne
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