Mamafromdownunder

Hello All

We are visiting Pozieres for a few days in July. At this stage we will have a hire car just for the area. My question is how to get to Frankfurt from Poziers?

1. Do we drop the car off at Amines, catch a train to Paris, catch a plane to Frankfurt?
or
2. Do we drop the car off at Amines, catch a train to Frankfurt?

Any ideas on how to get there would be appreciated?

adrienne

I would never take option #1 as it will take you much longer to fly from Paris than to take the train. You'll already be at the train station in Paris then you need to get to the airport (30 to 45 minutes) and arrive about 2 hours ahead of your flight (if flying from CDG). You would almost be in Frankfurt before taking off from Paris.

So option #2 is the best method.

However...I could not find a town in France called Amines. Could you perhaps mean Amiens? It's really important to spell names correctly so you get where you want to go.

chartley

There are lots of different ways of getting from this area of France to Frankfurt, but my first thought was to get the train in Lille and change in Brussels, and possibly Cologne as well. The journey takes just over 4 hours, and you should book your seats in advance. You can check details on the Deutsche Bahn website - the English version is at http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/.

Do you have a particular reason to stay in Amiens? I wondered if it might be better to take the train from Paris to Lille and rent the car there. You could then return it to the same place. Once you had the car, you could stay in whichever of the towns in the area was central to the places you decided to visit.

Checking locations on a map, I realised that Pozieres is very close to the Thiepval memorial, so you certainly should not miss that. The memorial is huge and covered with names - the names of men whose remains were never found. You should also try to be at the Menin Gate in Ypres at sunset when the buglers from the local fire brigade sound the last post. You would not be alone.

Although this area does not fit most people's idea of a tourist hotspot, it gets lots of visitors, especially English-speaking ones, and it is quite easy to make a day-trip there from London or Southern England. It has also become a destination for British school parties. Despite that, it is still possible to find yourself in a small cafe where no-one else is speaking English - well, not at that particular time.

adrienne

Lille to Frankfurt is a shorter journey, if the OP means Amiens.

klondike

Lille is a major train hub while Amiens is not. I, too, suspect it is faster to use Lille-Brussels-Germany than to return to Paris to head to Germany from there.

PalenQ

Lille-Brussels then Thalys or ICE train to Cologne, change for Frankfurt.

check www.bahn.de/en the German Railways web site for exact schedules and booking of part of the trip at least - I think the route via Cologne would be quicker than via Paris - Cologne is now just an hour by train from Frankfurt via the high-speed line. For lots of great stuff on European trains I always spotlight these IMO fine sites: www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

buying tickets for Brussels to Cologne and then to Frankfurt well in advance can get nifty discounts but those tickets are sold in limited numbers on each train and often sell out early and are also virtually non-changeable and are refundble minus a stiff penalty.

PalenQ

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/que...fasScrollDir=2

Actually checkin www.bahn.de it looks like going via Paris is the quickest even though some of those links have you going back to Paris on a regional train then taking the Thalys direct to Cologne but most going via TGV-Est direct from Paris to Frankfurt - from about 5.5 hours to 7 hours all told.

Mamafromdownunder

Yes it is Amiens I do apologize all.

Mamafromdownunder

Wow I am so overwhelmed about the information Palen, Klondike, Adrienne,Chartley,this is exactly what I was hoping for. We have NEVER been to that part of the world EVER, been to Croatia, Rome but not France.

What we are doing in the area is seeing the Thiepval memorial, as we have a fallen family member buried there. The time we are planing to get there is exactly 100 years since his death, so my husband wants to pay a visit, so do I. So not knowing the area is one of the reasons I chose Amiens as our base. By the sound of things I may check out Lille. I havent had a chance to check out the route, nor to tell hubby this valuable info so we can work out our new plan.

As it stands now, and in my view Lille-Brussels sounds good to me. Hiring a car in Lille is better for us then. We could stay there and see the area and all the memorials there are, including our visit to Poziers. I LOVE THE LAST POST being played at sunset, thank you so much for that tip CHARTLEY. kisses and hugs to all.

Sue
ps...am of to check out all the links now. Thank You all watch this space.

Mamafromdownunder

Hey Guys,

I checked bah.com page...BEllow is what I found. Could someone please explain this to me. It looks like we need to change trains. Is that right?

Lille Flandres Su, 26.07.15 dep 16:08 IC 19725
Intercity
Kortrijk Su, 26.07.15 arr 16:47
Transfer time 1:18 h
Adjust the transfer time

Kortrijk Su, 26.07.15 dep 18:05 IC 2316
Intercity
Bruxelles-Nord Su, 26.07.15 arr 19:32 5
transfer 45 min.
Adjust the transfer time

Bruxelles-Nord (Rue du Progrès) Su, 26.07.15 dep 20:40 BUS42307
IC Bus
Subject to compulsory reservation, Regional train tickets are not valid, 2nd class only, Snacks and beverages available, No entrainment of animals except guide dogs, Toilet on board, Free Wifi in Germany and abroad
Düsseldorf Hbf ZOB Su, 26.07.15 arr 23:25
transfer 45 min.
walking distance 350 m Adjust the transfer time

Düsseldorf Hbf Mo, 27.07.15 dep 01:47 ICE 540
Intercity-Express
Köln Hbf Mo, 27.07.15 arr 02:09
Transfer time 1:00 h
Adjust the transfer time

Köln Hbf Mo, 27.07.15 dep 03:09 ICE 827
Intercity-Express
Frankfurt(Main)Hbf Mo, 27.07.15 arr 04:48

PalenQ

You can get a train from Lille Europe station (1/2 mile walk from Lille Flandres station) to Brussels much quicker than going via Kortrijk but these are Eurostar or Thalys trains that may cost more and could be full. but check into that angle too.

I would always take an ICE train over any kind of bus any day.

adrienne

That's 3 connections. You do not want that train. There's a TGV, leaving an hour earlier, with only 1 connection in Paris. It takes an hour longer but I would not want to deal with 4 different modes of transport.

You can't get accurate listings 8 months out. You can look at current schedules now and purchase discounted tickets 90 days ahead. Use capitaine.com for buying on-line tickets for trains originating in France.

adrienne

The trains via Brussels have almost a 2 hour wait in Brussels.

You'll have to check schedules several months from now when next year's summer schedules have been posted. Things could change and more trains could be added for the summer.

Mamafromdownunder

Well a huge thank you everyone....I am beginning to understand....Great teachers

Mamafromdownunder

If there are any other tips you can give me...Please do....I hope that one day I can help you traveling around Australia....thank you so much.

PalenQ

I would use www.thalys.com too - the official site of
Thalys trains and I think they book 120 days out but not sure - could be 90 but I'd book directly from the source is all things equal - print your ticket at home not to pick up in Paris.

The Amiens-Paris ticket is probably a regional train with little advance discounts available if any and never a problem to get on - Thalys do book up.

Yes one change of train always better than 3 if only an hour or so longer.

Mamafromdownunder

Thank you Palen. Will check out that site as well

Mamafromdownunder

so we have ICE TRAINS, THALYS TRAINS, TGV TRAINS, EURO TRAINS, and few others I can not remember . Now this is my problem, why so many trains. Are they private entity not government run. We have suburban train lines and International, both run by the government. This is really confusing me.

Is there a website to go to that will explain train travel in France and rest of Europe for Dummy's.

So which train do we use to get to Frankfurt.....???from Paris

PalenQ

Are they private entity not government run.>

they are - those trains you listed - government owned - there are no Euro Trains - ICE and TGV are state-run by Germany and France - Thalys is a join venture with French and Belgian Railways I believe. But all that is irrelevant to you really.

Paris to Frankufrt is either TGV or ICE - whichever one is mos convenient for you - very little difference in fact.

FrenchMystiqueTours

To understand train travel in Europe use www.seat61.com.