plambers

Hi. Originally was hoping to fly into Toulouse at end of June 2016 and spend first week in Sarlat, second week in Goult in Provence and then final week in Paris, for Bastille day.
FF miles did not quite work out so now we are flying direct to CDG and spending first 5 nights in Paris, then we will take train to Bordeaux for a week in Sarlat and then second week in Goult.

Can book return trip in a few days-hoping to fly out of Marseilles but pretty sure we will have to come back to Paris for a night and fly out of Paris on Sunday, given the difficulty of using ff miles for 4 of us.

Is there anything I am missing here?

Thanks all.

tomboy

Not knowing where you live presents an obstacle to helping you with travel connections.

Not knowing what topic/aspect/item you feel might be missing is an impediment; could you narrow it down from "anything"?

traveller1959

The TGV from Avignon to Paris-Charles de Gaulle takes 3:10.

StuDudley

TGV from Paris to Bordeaux, drive to Sarlat
Lv 9:28 arrive 12:42, 2 1/2 drive

Train from Paris to Brive la Gaillarde
Lv 8:41 arrive 13:00, drive 1 hr 10 mins
Lv 9:41 arrive 13:54
Visit Collonges la Rouge on the drive to Sarlat

Check car availability - there may not be automatic transmission cars available in Brive. Also, in Brive offices close at lunchtime - depending on the day of the week.

Stu Dudley

jacolis

Hi,

Not sure where you are flying back to but there are connections to both Munich or Frankfurt from Marseille, which would allow you to fly Lufthansa (United partner) back to the US or Canada if you collect FF points with them. Or you could do the TGV back to Paris from Avignon as noted above.

On the way to Sarlat we did the route suggested by Stu above (Paris to Brive) arriving a time when the rental car place was OPEN (since it was closed for lunch the day we were arriving). We did request a standard car but got one that had paddle shifters (no clutch). It was very convenient.

plambers

Stu, no automatics in Brive so we need to TGV to Bordeaux. Where does train leave from? That is a perfect time-we could grocery shop and arrive for 4 pm arrival.
Our miles are with American. Want to avoid BA bc of the high taxes.
Will do my best to fly out of Mrs but pretty sure we will have to leave from Paris.
We no longer have our Paris apt rental (rented already!) but our Sarlat and Goult reservations are in tact. The only bummer is that we won't be in Paris for Bastille Day but part of me thinks doing Paris first might be best and then the rest is more relaxing.
Thanks all.
Stu, where do you find the train departures?

StuDudley

>>Stu, where do you find the train departures?<<

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Dates are in DD/MM/YY format. Normally, schedules are not available further than 4 months from "today". So put in a date within 4 months. Schedules are often different on weekends than weekdays.

Stu Dudley

Jeff801

The TGV from Paris to Bordeaux leaves about every 20 minutes from the Gare Montparnasse. It does not pay to get to the station too early as the trains are not generally available. Be certain that the train you board has the same number you have on the ticket. Adjacent track loading and frequent departures can yield a lot of confusion.

The train leaves arrives at the Gare St. Jean. Avis and Hertz are in the station,and there may be others. But, if you take the train to Libourne instead of Bordeaux, you can connect with the train that will get you to Sarlat in about an hour. You might then save with a local car rental even though getting an automatic transmission might be harder.

I would not take the drive from Bordeaux to Sarlat with a manual transmission if I were in your situation. There are too many intersections, roundabouts, and roadside distractions for one unfamiliar with a standard transmission. Please be certain to observe the speed limits, as there are many fixed and mobile speed cameras on the route, particularly between St. Emilion and Bergerac. Finally, as you drive into Sarlat from the South, which I think is Stu's recommended route, there is a large Leclerc hypermarket where you can buy some starter provisions for your stay.

plambers

Thanks all. We will definitely rent an automatic. We have a Mercedes-nothing like having a rental car nicer than your car at home.

Another question. Am quite sure we will not get ff flight out of Marseilles. Am trying to figure out if we should leave our Goult rental later on Fri and take the GTV into Paris and stay the night to fly out Sat or just fly out Sunday. I doubt there is a TGV that will get us to Paris by 7 am.

Thoughts?

StuDudley

We always fly out Sundays. Last night dining at the Train Bleu and staying at the Terminus hotel across from the Gare de Lyon. No traffic on Sundays. Don't cut your Provence trip short.

I abandoned airlines FF about a decade ago - could never get the flights I wanted. Now I get double $$$ on Capital One, and can pick any flight I want.

Stu Dudley

Christina

There isn't any way you can get to Paris by 7 am without going the night before. And what would be the point, you'd have to get up so early it wouldn't even be another night there. The train from Avignon to Roissy take about 3:15, so you'd have to be at the train station around 3:30 am at the latest to catch a train that would get there at 7 am. There aren't any trains that leave in the middle of the night on that route, the earliest one leaves is around 7 am.

YOu can't fly, either, because a flight would take about 1:30 from MRS, and no flights are that early, either. The only airline I know flies that route is HOP (a budget subsidiary of Air France) and their earliest flight MRS-CDG is 7:10 am-8:40 am. I've flown them, they are great for small cities in France.

PalenQ

In France always ALWAYS stay in your departure city the night before a flight - always chance of some kind of rail strike or national strike popping up - at least in Paris you can get a cab to the airport if all shuts down as they are liable to in this contentious domestic political climate between cost-cutting government and intransgient unions which are still very very strong in France, unlike the U.S.

PalenQ

and consider doing it my train - lovely scenery - see the real France outside of cities - get the top level of a TGV Dupllex - double-decker and take in Provence and Burgudny - just over 5 hours from Nice - shorter of course from Marseilles area. Score nifty discounts by booking months in advance - www.voyages-sncf.com or www.capitainetrain.com - same trains same fares - last one if said to be infinitely easer for Americans to actually get to book.

There is a night train leaving Nice at about 10 pm and getting to Gare du Lyon 7:30 am but again I would never trust a night train or any train in France now to get you there pronto.

For lots of great info on French trains in general check www.seat61.com - good advice on discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Again ride one of the world's fastest trains - about 190 mph and see some nice countryside to Paris IMO but go the day before and you may even want to stay at the airport in one of scores of hotels ringing it or a few right in the airport itself.