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TRAVELLING TO FRANCE
We do not make travel arrangements, but are happy to give advice and make suggestions based on our own experience. Please see below information, contact numbers and links you may find useful when making your own travel arrangements. We try to keep this up to date, but things are changing all the time, so please check:
One of the joys of choosing France as your holiday destination is that you have a choice of ways of getting there. If you are concerned about the environmental consequences of flying, or just don’t like flying, the train is an enjoyable option, and your journey can be part of the fun of the holiday. Having visited Paris by Eurostar, and also made the journey from Devon to Aix-en-Provence using the French rail network, we can recommend the French trains as a relaxing, clean and efficient way to travel.
You can take your car to the south of France on the train with Motorail 08708 371371 or 01732 520550. Prices are one way, allowing you to drive one way if you so choose. Destinations include Nice, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence. For anyone living in the north-eastern part of the UK and north-western mainland Europe, there is a new weekly motorail service which will take you and your car (or bicycle or motorbike) overnight from S-Hertogenbosch in Holland right down to the south of France, arriving fully refreshed on Saturday morning, ready to start your holiday! You can also take up to two pets with you. Click here for more details. Alternatively you could hire a car or bicycles when you arrive at your destination. Some of our properties are ideally situated for exploring the local area just using public transport.
Photo by Ian Britton, www.freefoto.com Now that Eurostar departs from St Pancras station, the journey from London to Avignon takes just over 6 hours (or just under 6 hours on the direct train in the summer!) Britain’s first 186 mph line has cut all journey times to the Continent by 25 minutes, making it much quicker to reach provincial towns in France. There are connections to Nice, Cannes and Aix-en-Provence amongst others, and several direct services in the summer - check the website for a full list of destinations. Eurotunnel 0870 5353535 or 01303 272222 (recorded passenger information 0800 0 969992) allows you to take your car on the train from Folkestone to Calais. There are three main rail companies in France; SNCF is the national train service , TER SNCF is the regional French rail system, and TGV is the fast train network . Rail Europe is the UK subsidiary of SNCF French Railways, and is the UK’s leading supplier of rail travel into France and Europe. A very useful site which should answer all your questions on travelling to France by train is http://www.seat61.com/France.htm Local train lines
Brittany There are railway stations at Roscoff and St Malo, so foot passengers arriving by ferry can travel by train on the regional network to other parts of Brittany. The same network can be used by air passengers arriving at Brest, Rennes or Nantes.
Côte d’Azur train line In 2005 a new train line opened connecting Grasse and Cannes, and going on to Antibes, Nice, Monaco, Menton, and Ventimiglia, all without changing. The trains are smart looking, modern TER double-deckers. They run regularly from 6am till about 11.30pm which means that if you are staying in a villa in Grasse you can have a relaxing night out in Cannes without worrying about driving. The train stops at villages on the way such as Mouans Sartoux and La Faryère. If you don’t want to hire a car you can visit the coast in the day time without the hassle of driving. For timetable click here . Train des Pignes One of France's most spectacular railways, the Chemins de Fer de Provence (00 33 4 97 03 80 80; www.trainprovence.com ) is a narrow-gauge railway that runs between the Gare du Sud in Nice and the town of Dignes-les-Bains in Haute Provence. This is well worth a trips, as the scenery is magnificent, and there are stops in some beautiful places.Tickets are €17.65 (2007). Trains from Nice airport The local TER station (Nice Saint-Augustin) is a 15 - 20 minute walk from terminal 1. From here you can catch trains east towards Nice, Monaco and all stations to the Italian border at Ventimiglia, or west towards Antibes and Cannes. The SNCF station is in the centre of Nice and buses leave both terminals approximately every 30 minutes from 7.53 am to 8.53pm. The journey takes 15 minutes. Telephone 00 33 4 89 88 98 28 __________________________________
For us, when we travel by ferry, the holiday in France starts as soon as we are aboard. We have found that check-in is far less stressful and time consuming than at the airport.There is room on board to walk around, comfortable seating to while away time with a book, the choice of shopping, cinema, listening to live music, taking in the sea views and fresh air…. and even a swimming pool on one of the boats! Renting a cabin affords extra comfort and privacy if required. If you take your car there are opportunities to stock up on French goodies from local markets and producers. As we are based in Devon, we use a French ferry company from our local port, and can enthusiastically recommend the buffet meal in the restaurant for a truly relaxing and delicious start to the trip…… In addition to all these advantages, by choosing to take the ferry or tunnel, your holiday will have less impact on the environment than if you fly. Although ferry travel is one of the greenest methods of travelling to France, ferry travellers now have the chance to be even more eco-friendly by offsetting their carbon emissions at www.ferrygreen.com for as little as £2. “A family of four travelling to France by ferry displaces less than a quarter of CO2 the same family would displace should they choose to fly”. Brittany Ferries 0870 5360360 or 01752 227941 www.brittany-ferries.co.uk Poole, Portsmouth and Cork to Cherbourg; Portsmouth to Caen, St Malo; Plymouth to Roscoff. Eurotunnel 0870 5353535 or 01303 272222 www.eurotunnel.com Folkestone to Calais. Recorded passenger information 08000 969992. Irish Ferries 08705 171717 or 0151 2366921 www.irishferries.com Rosslare to Cherbourg, Roscoff. LD Lines 08704 284335 www.ldlines.com Portsmouth to Le Havre. Norfolkline 0870 8701020 or 01304 218410 www.norfolkline.com Dover to Dunkerque. P&O Stena Line and P&O Portsmouth 08705 980333 or 01304 864008 www.posl.com Dover to Calais. Sea France 08705 711711 or 01304 828300 www.seafrance.com Dover to Calais. Transmanche 08704 201627 www.transmanche.ferries.org Newhaven to Dieppe If you came across us through our advert in Chez Nous, you may like to use their travel service for a competitive rate for ferry bookings; the reference to quote to Chez Nous is CNO2756, the phone number is 0870 4446600 or 01282 445588. __________________________________________________________________ >Flying to France
It has never been easier to fly to France from the British Isles. There is a great choice from our regional airports to Brittany, Provence and the Côte d’Azur. Our chart below is up to date at the time of writing - we will try and keep up with the new routes!
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