kelsey22

What would be the cheapest and perhaps, fastest way to get from Avignon to any airport or train station in London.

PalenQ

By train www.voyages-sncf.com or www.capitainetrain.com Avignon TGV station to Lille Eurostar station then hop on Eurostar train to London www.eurostar.com - book way in advance and you can get some real cheap fares on either one and only take about 4 hours all told Avignon to London - flying may be cheaper but not quicker overall. for lots of good info on these trains check www.seat61.com- good advise on discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

do not go via Paris or you'll take much longer but get a direct Avignon TGV to Lille Eurostar station train as this train does not go thru central Paris and no change of train needed.

Sassafrass

Hey, PalenQ, you are always on top of things. I do not need this now, but will remember it for the future!

sofarsogood

Cheapest and fastest rarely go together.

Avignon to London by train takes 6 hours.

City Jet offers seasonal flights from Avignon to London City airport that take 2 hours.

Sassafrass

Just curious, does City Jet fly from Nimes, or is there a closer airport to Avignon? I know the TGV station is out of the city, but not far, and the Eurostar goes to the city center in London.

If PalenQ is correct about the times if you bypass Paris, and given the time required to get to the airport and go through security, then get into central London, would the total time not be very, very close?

MarySteveChicago

Last week booked seats Marseille to Heathrow late June for $64 USD each.

MarySteveChicago

Disregard above post. $64 + taxes = $137 USD each

PalenQ

If PalenQ is correct about the times if you bypass Paris>

well I was estimating and not factoring in how long between trains it may take in Lille - actual travel time on train I think would be about 4.5 hours but I'll check could be 6.

but what do you come to Europe to see the Europe in between big tourist meccas or airports, tarmacs and only big tourist draws - the scenery Avignon to Lille to London is quite nice if not breathtaking - pastoral Burgundy, Flanders poppy-dotted fields then the Channel Tunnel itself is a treat then Kent the 'garden of England' - see something of Europe in between airports IMO.

PalenQ

Hey, PalenQ, you are always on top of things. I do not need this now, but will remember it for the future!>

Well thanks but not always on top of it
+ - just checked fastest Avignon TGV-London connection is 6 h 24 min minutes with 30-45 minutes downtime in Lille for the change.

But flying time of 2 hours means getting to the airport and then waiting for boarding - potentially late planes (trains like that rarely are late) - getting in from London City airport to probably the West End area could take about an hour or so - waiting for bags and again you miss out on the lovely Europe in between. (I appreciate the fact that folks who do this route often may want to fly - having seen the terrain before - I am talking about a newbie traveler over this route.

I would think flying could well be cheaper though.

sofarsogood

<<just curious, does City Jet fly from Nimes, or is there a closer airport to Avignon? >>

Avignon has its own airport http://www.avignon.aeroport.fr/Site-...ignon-Provence

kelsey22

Is it correct that there is a direct route from Avignon to London on the Eurostar? I will be there in July/August.

PalenQ

Well my info says that Eurostar is extending direct trains beyond Paris and Brussels - like now or soon going to German destinations direct from London. It makes sense that they would also do Avignon and south of France but currently I think not but keep checking - the change of trains in Lille is not that hard but takes more time obviously.

London to Amsterdam direct is also in the works.

PalenQ

Oh and there has always been a Eurostar London to French Alps ski train - runs overnight I believe but no sleeper facilities.

Anyone planning a seemless transfer to Eurostar trains at Lille Europa should be sure their ticket in France takes them to Lille Europa as only a few trains do - ones meant to tie in with Eurostar - most TGV Paris-Lille go to the nearby Lille Flanres station, connected by an about half-mile walkway to Lille Europa.

kelsey22

I am bumping my own topic as I am now thinking that I could spend a day or two in carcassone. Then fly to Stanstead...How much time would I need for it and where would be the best place to stay there

PalenQ

Carcassonne, the ancient (but Ersatz being pieced back from rubble in the 1800s) Cite Medieval anyway, is like a museum and won't take more than a few hours for the average tourist I would think - having been there several times.

If young or young at heart there is a youth hostel built right into the ramparts (or was years ago when I stayed there) - there are some hotels in the old city that hovers high above modern Carcassonne below it where you find most of the hotels and a real active regional city.

kelsey22

It looks beautiful at night and I just might try for one night. Thanks -

StCirq

Carcassonne deserves maybe half a day, unless you really want to check out the new town as well as the cité, but it's not much more interesting than any number of places. If you want to visit someplace really fascinating in the area from which you could likely fly to London, go to Toulouse. If not, fly from Marseille to London.

kelsey22

Thanks StCirq - I have to fly out of London - so I am trying to find a way to maximize what I see. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being in London but I have been there 3 times.

This is the plan so far and I would greatly appreciate input....I have 15 days - my last day I fly out of London midday.

VIENNA - 4 DAYS reunion
FLY TO NICE - 3 OR 4 DAYS
TRAIN TO AVIGNON - 3 OR 4 DAYS
AVIGNON....LONDON - this is where I can't seem to find a good plan

I would love any suggestions.

flanneruk

There's just one, 5.5 hr, train a week from Avignon to London, and that only between late June and early September.

There are more or less hourly, 6-7 hour, trains every day changing at Lille or Paris. Paris changes mean a trek across town and the nastiness of dealing with checkin at the Gare du Nord - the strongest advertisement for plane travel in the world: there are only one or two painless changes a day at Lille-Europe.

There is one direct flight a week on CityJet to London City, from May to the end of August. There are no flights from Avignon to Stansted (though if that's where you want to be, you can change at Amsterdam): there are a couple a week in summer to Southampton on FlyBe. It's about as fast from the plane at Southampton to Central London as at Heathrow: departing trains are actually closer to the aircraft than baggage reclaim is at Heathrow.

I really wouldn't hold my breath in anticipation of the Avignon-London railway journey, unless trains are a novelty. Good way to catch up on reading, though.

kelsey22

Thanks - good to know a out Southampton - if I stay in Avignon instead of going to carcassone then I would visit relatives I. Cambridge for 2 days. Still up in the air...