Drive or Train from Nice to Lyon
 

Wondering what is the best way to get to Lyon from Nice. Is it best to keep our car and drive or take the train. We have 2 days to get there before our flight home. Would we miss alot by not driving and if so what should we see along the way. We will have already stayed in Avingnon for 5 days and done day trips from there. Thanks

I'd take the train, but I'm sure others will tell you to rent a car.

What daytrips are you planning from Avignon and will you be doing them via car or bus/train?

Haven't really planned our day trips yet as we will be with 3 other couples. Will have two cars there. We are then splitting up, two couples going to Paris and two of us going down to Nice area. We drop our friends off Friday night at the airport and then we have until Sunday to get to Lyon for our flight home. Any ideas?

Driving on the main hiway west from Nice is a nightmare. the speed limits are much higher than we are used to in the US. I would take the TGV from Nice to Lyon.

I'd recommend the train. We drove from Paris to Nice via Lyon last year, thinking it would be fun to avoid the main motorways through Provence and went along country roads instead. Big mistake. Absolutely hair-raising. Crazed drivers overtaking on narrow, steep mountain roads, on blind summits... The drivers around Nice are notorious. Stay safe and serene, take the TGV!!

Hi--we drove from Mougins (right outside of Cannes) to Lyon in May and had no problems at all. I think it took us between 4-5 hours and we took the autoroute the whole way--we are used to driving the autoroute and think it is wonderful. In general, we find French drivers fast but much better than those of many other countries. We went on a Monday morning, which I think helps a lot--stay off them late in the day on Fridays and Sundays. We frankly don't find that they drive any faster than the 70 mph in our own state.

Thanks for the information. Since we are driving down to Nice from Avignon and will see some of the sights is there really any advantage to driving back. What I am trying to say is will we miss anything by taking the train or should we just take the train and do our touring around Lyon.