CDG to Uzes, travel advice please
 

We are considering our options,
a) hiring a car at CDG to drive to Uzes,
b) taking the TVG to Avignon and then hiring a car for a week, whilst staying in Uzes.

If car:
Question: Where would be a good spot to break our journey? we will be flying for at least 24 hours before hand and would probably only want to travel far enough to get out of the city area, spend a night and have a more relaxed journey the next day.
We are new to driving in Europe and on the other side of the road.

What are the driving conditions like out of CDG?

If Train
Can't guarantee the flight arrival time so am unsure of booking a train.
Possibly could stay near airport and take train the next day.

Since we are hiring a car anyway, would probably be cheaper to have car for another day and a over night stop than taking train.

Any suggestions?
Thanks for any advice.

I did the drive once from CDG to Provence and I would definitely take the train next time. It took an hour to get around Paris to the southern part of the city (lots of traffice on a week day). The autoroute is not very picturesque and the secondary roads will take too long.

You're going to be tired from your journey and the train is perfect for napping. Book a hotel in Avignon, get a good night's sleep and pick up the car the next morning and head to Uzes.

As an estimate for booking which train to Avignon, allow 1 hour for customs and to get your bags and another half hour to get to the train station at CDG. If you figure a train 3 hours after your scheduled arrival time you should be fine.

I loved Uzes - it's such a pretty small town. Perfect as a base.

Thanks Adrienne

That's exactly the advice I needed.

Any advice on Uzes? we have an apartment close to town

Lyn

Adrienne gave you some really good advice. Take the train and enjoy the trip down to Provence. We have friends who simply bought their train tickets when they arrived at CDG. It's more expensive, of course, but if your plane is delayed for hours and you miss a train you've reserved, you'd be out the money anyway!

Uzes is beautiful. Don't miss the market on Saturday morning--it's fabulous. I broke my husband's wallet at it. Go into the cathedral and see it. There's one wall on the left hand side of the altar that has the original medieval paintings on it. Amazing.

If you type "Uzes" in the search box you will come up with many posts about this lovely town. You will be very glad you chose to stay there. Enjoy Provence!

I have a wonderful memory of eating Sunday lunch at an outdoor cafe amidst the flowers in the market in the main square. We didn't do any sightseeing there since we needed some down time and the warm, sunny afternoon, all the gorgeous flowers, and lunch were enough. I'd love to go back. Have a great time.

Hi Lyn

We are doing a similar trip - flying from Sydney to Paris, spending a few days in Paris and then heading to Uzes by TGV.

I will be interested to hear how you find the driving. Please post a report on your return.

You mentioned, "driving on the other side of the road"

I presume you are American....you will be driving on the same side of the road. British countries drive on the left, not other Europeans.

Hi lyn,

You can get PREMS fares as low as 35E pp for the train from CDG to Avignon at www.sncf.com.

((I))

gracejoan - I presumed this person is from Australia or New Zealand based on 24 hour flying time and driving on the other side of the road! How interesting different perceptions are.

LynM - where are you from?

Here's a third option. On arrival day, take the shuttle in to Paris and book a hotel for the night near Gare de Lyon. This will give you a day and night to catch up on your rest if you need it, but also to enjoy Paris if you don't.

Then get up the next morning and take the TGV to Avignon, pick up a car and drive to Uzes.

When we've driven from Paris to the South, we've always broken it up into one or more stops. On one trip, we stayed overnight in Burgundy the first night and in the Northern Rhone the second. We like to stop and see things on the way south so six or seven hours on the autoroute is not for us.

On our upcoming trip, we are actually picking up our car at CDG and driving on the first day. Because I'm a little concerned about our lucidity after the flight, we are not driving very far--just to Amboise, where we can rest if we need to before continuing on to Bordeaux (although we will have another overnight stop on the way).

Take the train to Avignon from CDG--just sort of "suck it up" and do it. Stay the night in Avignon or Villaneuve Avignon (sp.?), taking a cab from the station. Pick up your rental car at noon the next day and set off. We loved Uzes. They have wonderful pottery shops all over town.

Thanks everyone,

Yes we are travelling from Australia.
(Helen J - Brisbane) We are not going till August so if you are going first, I look forward to your report.

My concern re the meeting the train is that we will be flying standby, but I will take your advice and will think about having a night in Paris. Least that way we can get over any jet lag and be ready for our trip.

Thanks, Ira I am keeping an eye on the PREM fares, but I think I have to wait till 6 weeks before,(is this correct?) least staying in Paris for a night would give me more chance at getting a cheaper ticket, if I am not tied to a certain time.

All your memories of Uzes have really got us excited.

Thanks Lyn