You have all provided such wonderful advice on this site - of which I am thankful! I'm planning my first trip to Europe and France in June w/hubby. We are taking a tour which includes Paris/Provence/Nice. Tour ends in Nice, but we are headed back to Paris for 3 nights before ending our vacation.
Train or Plane from Nice to Paris? It appears train takes longer and is more expensive than flying. Although we must allow time for airport check in, etc. Will we be able to see much countryside from Nice to Paris on the TGV to make it worth the time, as I am anxious to spend more time in Paris. I value your input as I have never traveled in Europe. Which is the best option and why? Many thanks.
Nice to Paris: Train or Air?
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You could always take the sleeper
www.seat61.com/France.htm#Nice
My memory is a little vague but I think the last time we made that run, it was between 5 and 6 hours. Without looking at schedules, I assume that would be faster when you consider time necessary to get to and from airports, check-in, etc. I do the train -- easier all the way around.
Alan: Good thought, we did consider this, however, we've already paid for the last night's hotel and decided not to do this. Also, we would not see any countryside (nor would we if we flew).
I've heard most train stations are near the city centers. Is this the case in Nice? We are staying at the Radisson SAS.
How long does it take to get from Nice's city center to the Nice airport?
How early should one arrive at th Nice airport to check in for flight to Paris?
Nice's airport is fairly close to the downtown area. My guess is less than 30 min. It is like any airport, probably need to there one and half to two hours ahead of time. A big time consideration is the airport in Paris -- which one and the time to get into Paris.
if you can, fly from Orly - much better than CDG.
I've flown back, and it definitely was a lot shorter than the train, which pretty much eats up most of the day. It probably took me about 15 min to get to the Nice airport from my fairly central hotel. I really think flying is better if you just intend to leave Paris on a flight from the same airport. If you intend to stay in Paris a while, I guess that might make it more debatable.
A train was more expensive than my flight, and I just flew a regular airline (Air France).
Can't imagine why you'd want to fly, given the time to get through security, claim luggage and transfer into central Paris, plus hope that your baggage arrives with you. The TGV stops at the Nice train station and has several trips per day to Paris (5.5 hours downtown to downtown). The TGV is an experience in itself (or are you taking that on your scheduled tour?). You can make your own reservations online and print out your tickets at home, and there are discounted fares, although non exchangeable and nonrefundable. For good explanation and tips, I found www.slowtrav.com/france/trains to be very helpful. I've recently purchased TGV tickets from Paris to Nice and return to CDG.
Don't forget that by June the whole of the EU will have implemented the "one carry on bag" rule that the UK has - plus of course the liquid rule and all the other ritual humiliations that flying entail