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Hotel or B&B Recommendations for Chamonix, Lyon & Paris

Hotel or B&B Recommendations for Chamonix, Lyon & Paris

Old Dec 19th, 2014, 02:27 AM
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Hotel or B&B Recommendations for Chamonix, Lyon & Paris

Dear All,

We have finally decided on our first holiday to France in May 2015.

We will be arriving in Geneva in the afternoon and proceeding directly to Chamonix.

Have contacted a couple of companies recommended in my earlier post but not got any clarity for the price / timings etc. Any recommendations on how to proceed directly from Geneva airport by train / bus are welcome.

We plan to stay for four nights in Chamonix. Is it too much? Not sure which cable car will be open beside the Aiguille du Midi. Please advise on any other must do trips whilst we are in Chamonix. Kindly advise us for no frills basic hotel in Chamonix City Centre.

Then we will take train to Lyon. Will buy train tickets from SNCF or Capitaine Train whichever website works. Any recommendations on cheap tickets? Also please advise where to stay in Lyon. We will be in Lyon for four nights. Any must sees or must day trips from Lyon? Is Annecy an easy / cheap day trip from Lyon or Chamonix?
We are foodies and love to stay centrally with easy access to local supermarket, bouchons and weekly farmers market. Is the Warwick Reine Astrid conveniently located? Or any other recommendation for hotel / B&B?

Lastly, we will move to Paris for 4-5 nights. Will start a separate post for Paris.

Thanks for all your advise which has helped us to decide on our trip to France.

Kind regards,
SKPKCP11
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Old Dec 19th, 2014, 04:32 AM
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It would help to know:

What is your specific nightly budget in euros

Confirm that "we" is a couple who can share one double bed (standard configuration in europe) - if there are more or need separate beds you will need to search more thoroughly

Can you clarify desire for local supermarkets? Are you looking to get picnic stuff? Typically B&Bs or hotels do NOT provide any sort of cooking facilities - for that you would need to rent an apartment.
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Old Dec 19th, 2014, 04:38 AM
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Hi SKPKCP11,

Here's the website for info for getting from Geneva airport to Chamonix --

http://212.203.98.98/WD160AWP/WD160A...C_718320046?M4

Sorry it's such a long url; you can get to the same site simply by googling "gare routiere geneve," then clicking on the British flag to get the English pages.

Go to the bottom of the page to the drop-down menu and choose "Alpine Resorts." You'll get a pdf brochure with all the information on it. You can make a reservation and buy a ticket on the same site.

Have fun as you plan!

s
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Old Dec 19th, 2014, 08:48 AM
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I'm not sure what you are asking about cheap tickets. For certain trains, you get cheaper tickets if you buy them a couple months in advance, or as far in advance as you can (usally they aren't discounted within a few weeks of travel), but other routes don't have discounts for advanced purchase.

I don't think Chamonix to Lyon does have any discounts, it's regional trains or a bus. Are you aware that going by train would take 2 transfers and about 4-5 hours? JUst so you know. YOu can do it in only one transfer if you take the bus from Chamonix to Aix-les-Bains and the train from there to Lyon.

It's easy enough to do a day trip to Annecy from Lyon if you don't mind the 2 hours each way on the train. It's cheap enough, about 25-30 euro each way.

I'd stay in the center in Lyon, between the two rivers. There was a thread on that recently with some suggestions. I don't stay in super budget places so can't recommend one personally as I stayed in the Mercure Beaux Arts which was near place Bellecour and very nice. That's a good location and near lots of great small restaurants.
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Old Dec 19th, 2014, 09:08 AM
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The May timetable of the direct Geneva airport - Chamonix bus is not yet published.
Aiguille du Midi will run, Emosson will run from May 23rd, the other cablecars and cableways will not run.
The cog wheel railway to Martigny (Switzerland) runs all the year round.
Annecy lies on the railway line Chamonix - Lyon.
Warwick Hotel is about 2 km from the main railway station, 3 km from the historic center with many charming restaurants.
It can be reached by bus C1 (every 10 to 20 min) from the main railway station. For the historic center, you have to change buses at Pont Churchill Rive Droite or to take the metro (next stop about 1 km from your hotel, can be reached by bus 38).
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Old Dec 19th, 2014, 04:47 PM
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Dear All,

Thanks for the quick reverts. Any hotel / B&B recommendations for Chamonix in centre of town? Please help.

Looks like things will be closed in Chamonix. Besides doing the Aiguille du Midi and maybe cogwheel to Martigny not sure what else. Is the Montenvers train running in May? Looked up the site compagnie du montblanc but not got much clarity.

We means two adults and two children of 13 & 12 years. We usually go for a quad room. We never cook but enjoy picnic food and eating in local small restaurants - not the fancy ones.

Where can I get the bus timings and fares for Chamonix to Aix Le Bains and for train from Aix les Bains to Lyon? Is it SNCF or any of the other cheaper trains? Do I buy tickets in advance?

Please let the recommendations come in for Lyon hotel.

Kind regards,
SKPKCP11
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Old Dec 20th, 2014, 01:55 AM
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I never heard about buses from Chamonix to Aix-les-Bains.
Train Timetables you may be interested in:
http://www.chamonix.com/pdf/train-hiver-2014-15.pdf
http://cdn.ter.sncf.com/medias/PDF/r...cm70-28064.pdf
http://cdn.ter.sncf.com/medias/PDF/r...cm70-28039.pdf

May timetable Montenvers:
http://www.chamonet.com/item_files/c..._timetable.pdf
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Old Dec 28th, 2014, 05:31 PM
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Hi
We stayed in Lyon for 3 nights in Oct and loved it. We would highly recommend Les Loges du Theatre - Anne is a wonderful host.

http://www.les-loges-du-theatre.fr/

A few things we enjoyed was a river cruise, walking tour of the town and the miniature cinema museum. A tour of the Traboules would also be good (we didn't do one as there wasn't one on during our stay - but it looked fascinating).
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