dima

Hi,
This is my first trip to France. I will be traveling solo and do not plan to rent a car. Please advise if my itinerary is rational and not too hectic:
August 30 : Arrive in Paris at 11:20
September 3: Morning Train to St. Malo (plan to visit Mont St Michele and maybe something elese if time allows.
September 6: Morning train to Paris (CDG)airport to cath 3 pm flight to Nice. It looks like it take about 4 hours to get to the airport from St. Malo. I have a concern that I may be in a time crunch and would apreciate an advise.
Sept 6 - Sept 9: Nice
Sept 10: 8 am flight From Nice to US with a 5-hour stopover in Paris (CDG). I do not like this long stop over but do not know how to do it differently.I have a choice to fly back from Nice or paris (CDG)
Any suggestions will be gretaly appreciayed.

Dan

murphy89

Hi Dan,

I hope you'll get some other opinions too. It is a 4 (or 4hour train ride from St. Malo to Paris Gare Montparnasse if memory serves. Then you can hop over to the airport and of course you want to give yourself time and not be rushed - I think you can do it though. I still don't personally think Normandy (St. Malo is Brittany technically) and Nice make a lot of practical itinerary sense in this length of trip, but of course it is hard to go wrong in France - both areas will be lovely and it is your trip. On the day you arrive in St. Malo I would just stick to touring around town and leave Mont St. Michelle for the next day - the site is worth not rushing through and it is best to arrive as early as possible to beat the crowds. I liked St. Malo - are you thinking of staying there for 4 nights? You could resonably do that. Of the surrounding towns I would recommend day-trips to a few of the following: Dinan, Fougeres, Vitre and Rennes (Dinard is supposed to be lovely as well). In addition, you could swing by Cromburg (30min train ride from St. Malo) to see its chateaux.

Good Travels,

Murphy

dima

Thanks Murphy for the reply.
I am agonizing wheather I should stick to my original plan or to cut part of it (which one? Normandy/Brettany or Nice?). Here are more details:

According to my plan, I will spend 3.5 days in Paris, then 2.5 days in St.Malo/Mont St. Michele, and then 3.5 days in Nice. I plan to go FROM sT. Malo to CDG by eraly morning train and fly to Nice either at 15:40 or 18:15. I do not know if I have enough time to get from St Malo to CDG to catch 15:40 flight? Even if I do, do you think it is too much for one day? Are there direct fast trains from St. Malo to Nice? Any idea how long it will take and how much it can cost?

2. I can fly to US from Nice or Paris. The flight from Nice departs at 7:25 with a long 5-hour stop in Paris CDG before 14:00 flight from CDG to US. I can survive 5 hours in the airport but it will be a very very hard travel day.

Are my plans too ambitious for 10-day trip with too much time on the road? Should I cut part of my plan out? Which part? Nice or Normandy? I will not dye without Nice beaches but I would like to get a sense of southern France.

So I am kindly asking for either critique of my itinerary with advice for a better one or confirmation that my plan is going to work.

Thanks in advance.

Dima

TimS

For the amount of time you have, I think you should consider eliminating one destination. Since you'd like to get a sense of southern France, that would mean choosing Nice and saving St. Malo for your next trip. (Assuming you will return can help you to have a more relaxed trip.) It would also give you more time in Paris (a good thing).

But as the previous poster said, it's your trip so you decide. You certainly can fit everything in and you can easily get to CDG from St Malo in time to catch a 15:40 flight to Nice. If you leave at 07:50, you will get to Gare Montparnasse at 11:10. It will take approximately one hour to get from Gare Montparnasse to CDG by Metro and RER. Or you could take the Air France bus (two buses/hour so service is not as frequent as the Metro/RER).

There are no direct trains from St. Malo to Nice. Most routes take you via Paris and require taking the Metro from Gare Montparnasse to Gare de Lyon where you would catch a TGV to Nice. Coincidentally, if you leave St. Malo at 07:50, you don't have to go to Paris. You would go St Malo-Rennes-Marseille-Nice, arriving at 18:44. Go to www.bahn.de, the German national rail site that has timetables for most of Europe, to see your options.

If I were going from St Malo to Nice by train, I would pick a convenient time to go to Paris and then take the night train from there to Nice. No hotel expense and more daylight hours for sightseeing.

Nice makes a great base for short day trips. Train and bus service along the coast is frequent and cheap. You can also take buses to some of the nearby hilltop villages.

Are you booked all the way through on one ticket from Nice to the US? If so, your five-hour layover will feel like a long time. However, if you're flying on different airlines that aren't codeshare partners and on separate tickets, you'll have to claim and re-check your luggage and meet the check-in deadline for a flight to the US. In that case, the layover won't seem so long.

Whatever your final itinerary turns out to be, you're going to have a great time. Enjoy France!

blackduff

Dan
Couldn't revise your plans about using a rental car. This would really bring your trip into focus. Plus, you would get some beautiful French country driving towards Nice from St.Malo.

You could dump the car in Nice and return back to Paris via the TGV.

It's a thought.

Blackduff

TimS

I forgot to give you prices for the train. The cheapest way is to book at www.sncf.com, but there are some things to be aware of to get the best fares. Using your date of Sept. 6, I did some dummy bookings. If I had booked St Malo-Paris (TGV) and Paris-Nice (TGV) together, the price was E128.70 (regular fare). If I had booked each leg separately, I could have gotten PREM (discount) tickets for E25 for each leg. The same thing was true for St Malo-Paris (TGV) and Paris-Nice (night train). Booking together, the price was E151.10, with a 2nd class couchette on the night train. However, booking separately I could have paid E25 for a PREM ticket for St Malo-Paris and either E35 for a PREM 2nd class bunk (six-person couchette) or E60 for a PREM 1st class bunk (four-person couchette). It's well worth it to pay more for the extra space and comfort.

PREM tickets sell out well in advance, especially on night trains. In fact, there was a warning saying "last seats available" for the night train. If you want to go that route, write again and I'll explain how to book your tickets.

GeoffHamer

The trains between Paris and St-Malo take about three hours or a bit more - and have done since the high-speed line opened between Paris and Rennes. From St-Malo to Nice, there are day train connections that do not involve Paris as others have pointed out, or the best way of saving time is to use the overnight train from Paris to Nice. I cannot see any reason to rent a car when much of the train journey will be on high-speed lines where trains do 186 mph.

dima

Thanks everyone for suggestions,
I will take into account your thoughts.
I have not booked my tickets yet so I have some flexibility. This will be a free friquent flyer ticket. I will be flying from Minneapolis to Paris and from Nice to Minneapolis via Detroit. The flight from Paris to Nice can be a part of it and will not cost me extra. Ther is an air connection from Renens to Nice. I am investigating.
Dan

dima

Hello,
I am planning to travel from St. Malo to CDG to catch 15:40 flight to Nice. It looks like there are direct trains from Rennes to Roissy CDG without changing trains in Paris. Did anyone use such connection? How long does it take to get from Roissy train station to CDG terminals (going to Nice)?
What is the difference between 2nd and 1st class TGV train?
Can I save money buying train ticket online from US in advance?
Question about the Nice connection. How to get from the airport to hotel Negresco? I will be renting a private appartment next to it.
Thanks.

Dan

MaureenB

I'd suggest keeping Nice on your itinerary. We were there this past May and loved it. It's a charming mid-sized city, with beautiful old Vieux Nice, the beach and promenade, etc. I will cut and paste my Nice trip report below, which includes some good restaurants and information about easy day-trips to St. Jean Cap Ferrat and Antibes (we especially loved Antibes). I took a cab from my centrally-located hotel to the airport, which was 30 EUR at 5 a.m. I think it would have been less during the day.

"Nice, three nights in May, 2006

We arrived in Nice in the early afternoon on Friday, via train from Santa Margherita Ligure. Our Hotel le Grimaldi (http://www.le-grimaldi.com/) was a short cab ride from the train station, 10 EUR for myself, my daughter, my gargantuan bag, and her two small ones. We were greeted graciously at the hotel, which immediately struck us as a good find.

The hotel is actually two Belle Epoque buildings back-to-back. One side is much prettier to enter, as it faces a nice church. The other side is fine, too, but a bit boring. I think the side on rue Grimaldi is the plain one, and the other side on rue Maccarani is prettier.

The man at the front desk carried my bag to the room, and showed us around. There’s a business center on the ground floor, with free internet use on their two computers, and a free printer to use. (Also wi-fi in the lobby, I think for a fee.)

Our room was a ‘classic’, twin-bedded room, which was quite large (for Europe), had a little balcony, a sparkling yellow and white tile bath with fluffy bright yellow towels, and nice toiletries. It was 150 EUR plus tax, and 10 EUR per person if we opted for the hot/cold breakfast buffet. They suggested we check out the buffet served till 10:30a.m. the next morning, and if we were interested we could sign on for it. The deal is that you have to buy it everyday to get the 10 EUR rate. Otherwise, per day, it’s 15 EUR per person.

So the next morning, we were happy to find hot eggs, proscuitto, yoghurts, cereals, cappuccino, assorted croissants, juices, etc. We thought it a good deal and quite convenient, so we enjoyed it each morning.

It's an easy walk to the train station (w/o luggage) from Le Grimaldi, and a slightly longer walk to the bus station. Easy walk of a few blocks to the grand promenade at seaside, just past the pedestrian zone. Also not far walking to Vieux Nice. The neighborhood felt perfectly safe, and we walked back to the hotel late each night.

For our first dinner, I had brought the name of a restaurant I’d found on Travel Talk, and the front desk agreed it was a good one, a local favorite in old Nice. It’s called Acchiardo, at 38 rue Droite in Vieux Nice. We headed over for their opening at 7 p.m., and were very happy with it. Really friendly and attentive service, very quaint and casual atmosphere, with a good menu. I had a steak dinner, which actually included vegetables on the side. My daughter had two different salads. We had bottled water and a half-liter of house red wine. When the bill arrived for 28.50EUR, I thought they’d made a mistake because it was so much less than I’d been accustomed to paying in Venice, Florence and Rome. But, no, it was correct. (We would have maybe eaten there another night, but found out it closes on weekend nights, believe it or not.)

We walked all over old Nice, then through the pedestian area to the promenade and took that way back to the hotel. It’s such a beautiful walk at night. The Chateau hillside is all lit up, the palm trees are lit, and the waves look so pleasant. It was how we ended each of our Nice nights, with that walk back to the hotel.

The next day we decided to take the short bus ride on the #81, to visit the Villa and Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild, near Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. (The bus is just 1.30EUR each direction, which you pay in exact change on the bus.) We didn't stop to see the Greek Villa, but it's also on that same bus route, near the Ephrussi. You can easily catch the #81 for your return trip to Nice, at any stop along the road.

It was a nice visit, especially to see the views of the sea down below on both sides of the hillside. I thought the price was a bit steep, at 9.50EUR for an adult, because the Villa isn’t really all that interesting (sorry!), but the gardens are pretty. There’s also a nice little café there, for a light snack or drink or meal, which was a welcome break from all our walking.

While we were there, a very strong wind came up, which caused quite a bit of white caps in the water below, and chased everyone in from the patio tables. The wind stayed with us for the rest of the day, but wasn’t terribly annoying.

From the Villa, we did the easy walk down to the port of St. Jean to walk around and check it out. There are nice boats in the little harbor, with cute restaurants and shops. It’s very tiny, so doesn’t take long to walk from end to end of St. Jean. We spent just about an hour and a half there, then caught the #81 back to Nice.

That evening, we returned to old Nice for dinner. We loved that neighborhood’s little streets, overall atmosphere, and cute shops. We found the Restaurant la Tapenada, 6 rue St. Reparate and had a very nice dinner. It was probably about 60EUR for the two of us, on their fixed price menu, with a bottle of house wine. Very nice little place, with friendly and attentive service. They even let my daughter trade her dessert for a salad. So she had two salads to start, one after the other, and they timed the arrival of our main courses perfectly. We were completely happy with our meal there.

The next day we decided we’d stick to the coast and see Antibes, which is a short 20-minute train ride from Nice. We were glad we’d chosen Antibes, as it’s beautiful. The sea wall makes a nice walk, and the Centre Ville is very charming.

We wandered its streets, shopped in a tiny clothing boutique, found a little place for omelettes (nothing special, but nice enough), then headed back to Nice by train after about four hours total. It was a good choice for a quick day-trip.

That evening we weren’t very hungry, so opted for the simple Pasta Basta, once again in old Nice. It was a nice meal, although not extraordinary. Good prices and decent service.

All in all, we were very impressed with Nice and the surrounding area. It’s a very pretty city, with a friendly attitude, sitting on a lovely shore. There are many options for things to do near Nice. We’d considered St. Paul de Vence and Digne, but with the beautiful clear weather, we were drawn to stay at the seaside, and were glad we did."

TimS

Yes, there are TGVs that go directly from Rennes to CDG. Service is infrequent, but you're in luck. If you leave St Malo at 07:50 as I suggested above, you can catch a TGV in Rennes that departs at 09:10 and arrives at CDG at 12:14. So forget my earlier directions on how to get from Gare Montparnasse to CDG.

You will not save any money by booking the St Malo-Rennes leg in advance. Just buy a 2nd class ticket (E11.80) at the station. PREM (discount) tickets for the TGV leg are still available for Sept. 6. Book now at www.sncf.com before they sell out, 2nd class for E25 and 1st class for E45. What do you get for 1st class? The seats are larger and the seating configuration is different so the car has fewer seats.

You print PREM tickets yourself, but be sure to NOT choose cancellation insurance. Having the insurance requires that the tickets be mailed to an address in France.

The TGV station at CDG is right beneath terminal 2. There are free airport shuttle buses between the various branches of terminal 2 and between terminals 1, 2, and 3.

To get to your apartment in Nice, either take a taxi all the way from the airport (fairly expensive) or take a bus directly to the Nice Ville train station and then a short taxi ride from there.

TimS

One more thing. The SNCF site is particular about wording. For your destination enter Airport CDG 2 TGV.

SAnParis

If you must go to Nice then do so. However, cut out the other portion of your trip. Personally, I would just stay in Paris & daytrip from there, if the need would happen to arise.

dima

ttt

beaupeep

I would keep all three things, take the train to St. Malo because the views are lovely but on September 6 forget the train from Bretagne to CDG/Paris and fly directly from Rennes to Nice on AirFrance in an hour and a half! They have a 10:00 flight and you could be on the beach by noon sipping a pastis. CDG is a madhouse anyway and you are wasting an entire day on travel.