joanne_a

Hi, I'm finalizing my summer trip plans. We are flying into Paris from NYC, arrive in France at 7:25 a.m. I know we'll be a bit jetlagged but my husband are pretty good at this. We're going to have our 14 year old son with us. The first night, we stay in Paris, first time visit for all of us to France and yes, I know it's not enough time in Paris but we plan on going back alone later in the year. Then we are driving to Beune, spending the second night there at the Hotel Les Remparts (maybe, still checking out hotels). The next day, we are driving to St. Remy de Provence to meet friends who rented a villa there where we will be staying the whole week. The last day/night of our trip, we drive straight back to near the Charles de Gaulle Airport and spend that last night there - catching a 9:22 flight home the next morning. Okay; I'm not thrilled with the flight schedules but we're limited on vacation time and I already booked them. So, my question is - how bad or good (please say good!) will the driving part of this be? My husband LOVES to drive. I figured that it will be roughly half way from Paris to Beune - 3 hours or so, not counting getting lost. We're going to be as leisurely as we can; my attitude is that we're staying in the South of France so that is where I'll focus on this trip, then come back - because I'm sure we'll love it - and do all the places I so badly want to see, such as Versailles, museums in Paris, etc. Am I wrong to expect this car ride to be scenic and beautiful? Or will it be like driving from Philadelphia to New England, nice but a lot of driving. How are the roads in France on this route? Any recommendations, suggestions? I'd really appreciate it; I'm having misgivings about how this is set up now and I could really use some advice!

ezlivin

Since your husband loves to drive, as I probably do, then you'll find the French highway driving a far cry from US Intertstate driving. You won't find as much (hardly any, as a matter of fact) left lane hoggers that drive at or below speed limits. It's more organized with very fast drivers graduating towards the leftmost lanes.

You will negotiate highways A6 from Paris to Beaune and continue on via Lyon where you will take the A7 to St. Remy. These are major highways with lots of tolls, but a blast to drive with European spec'd cars.

The only hassle, depending on where you will pick up your car in Paris, will be navigating to the Paris peripherique (the major road around Paris) where you will look for and take A6 Sud to Beaune/Lyon. It's not a big deal if you ask your car rental agency for directions and you can navigate the driver with the help of a good city map.

BTW, you also picked a good mid-way stop at Beaune (4 hours from Paris). It's a very nice Burgundian wine town with lost of good restaurants and nice Burguncian wine country surroundings.

adrienne

The French autoroute isn't particularly scenic. I drove from Paris to Apt with stops in Beaune and Valence (don't even ask why Valence since there's nothing there! but that's where we ended our second day). I wouldn't do it again! If my goal was Provence, I'd take the train to Avignon and then pick up a car. It's less stressful.

I liked Beaune and the area - rolling, lush green hills and the fields of yellow rape seed in bloom were lovely.

Even though I don't recommend driving, stopping in Beaune will give you a look at a completely different area than Paris and Provence.

cigalechanta

We love driving the scenic D roads and lesser ones unless we are in a hurry than we'll take the costly autoroute. Once you gert the hang of the road sogns "In the direction of" you will find it much easier than the states.
Also, the hotels and B&Bs are posted, NOT HERE!

Underhill

Portions of the Autoroute du Soleil (especially in Burgundy and south of Lyon) are very scenic, especially the sweep down the Rhône Valley from Valence to Avignon. A nice thing about the autoroute is the number of well spaced rest stops: anything from a grassy picnic area with toilet facilities and water to cross-overs with cafeterias and restaurants--there's even one nice one with showers. Most have shops for local products; in Burgundy some carry Georges Blanc sauces, which are great to bring home. You can pick up food for a picnic and then stop at a scenic spot and enjoy your meal.

MorganB

I would have to say the autoroute is the way to go considering the distance / amount of time you are allowing. It will be an easy drive. Dont exceed the posted speed limit of 130 kmh as they are serious about speeding here now. As someone else mentioned, left lane is for passing or high speed driving. The autoroutes are in excellent condition but expect to pay the tolls that keep them that way.

If it were me I would personnally take the train and skip Beaune since you are just doing a stop over there. The train is much faster. You can be in avignon in under 2.5 hours. If you get a prem fare they can be as little as 25 euros each way. Keep in mind that gas is about $4.50 a gallon. So add up the tolls and gas if you are trying to save cash by renting a car. A 2nd class train ticket can be had for as little as 25 euros one way via the Prem's fares.

Have a great trip!

PS If you do rent a car, get a deisel, much cheaper to operate than gas.....

PBProvence

Having driven this route many times, I can attest to the fact that the northern part of the trip is not very scenic at all. It's also a long drive - especially now that you can no longer exceed the speed limit of 130 kmph.
Taking the autoroute, it will take you a little over 3 hours (if traffic around Paris is clear)to Beaune, and another 4 to 4.5 to St. Remy, depending on the traffic around Lyon.
So returning the day before your flight, it will take up the best part of the day. You might consider taking the TGV from Avignon to CDG on your return - it's about a three hour and fifteen minute train ride.
Patricia

Gretchen

Since you already posted this question--it would be much easier on you, husband and 14 year old to just take the train from CDG to Avignon and drive around Provence where the scenery is much more fun than between Paris and St. Remy. The logistics of staying one day in Paris are daunting, especially since the very next day you are renting a car (somewhere) and finding the highway, etc. Take the TGV back to CDG and spend your last day in Provence relaxing instead of driving for 8+ hours.

joanne_a

Gretchen, you seem kind of rude. The reason I posted this again was because I am having second thoughts about all the driving and I wanted to hear from people who had done this drive and could offer helpful advice, instead of your repeated "take the train." I obviously realize that this is not going to be the ideal scenario; but I'm trying to make the best of what we have limited options with. It's good to get helpful advice from others that posted, such as the information about the highways and rest stops. We have decided to take the train back to Paris on the day before we leave to avoid the long drive, but in the future, Gretchen, your attitude in helping others could use more than a little adjustment. Don't post a reply to my posts or any others if you're going to be rude.

Gretchen

I apologize--I didn't mean to be rude and am sorry it came that way. I thought perhaps you had lost your other thread. I have ridden from Paris south to Limoges on the autoroute and stopped at some of the rest stops. It was not nearly as much fun as our drive through Normandy on the secondary roads, never using the autoroutes, nor were the sights very picturesque. Tolls are also expensive on the autoroutes. And you do say "drive straight back to CDG" so that was my reason for suggesting taking the train to CDG and having a nice final day in Provence. We did the TGV to Avignon from CDG and it is so easy, particularly after an overnight flight. And now with the Prem fares perhaps available it is even more attractive. And I did consider my suggestion of where to rent your car in Paris to be helpful in order not to be driving in the city.

adrienne

Joanne - Wow - I think you totally over reacted to Gretchen's comment. She only mentioned you had already posted the question of driving. And, she repeated her advice in more detail than on the previous post. When you post here asking for advice you open yourself up to any sort of advice and comment and should take it or not as you choose rather than attack a poster.

Gretchen - I think you're very gracious to apologize when it was not necessary.

StephenG

We need more posters like Gretchen, precise helpfull information and nice enough to follow-up on what was clearly misconstrude. Can anyone tell me more about the Prem fares. They seem really cheap. How do they work?

StCirq

Stephen: I agree about Gretchen's post. I looked at this thread and decided to ignore it, as it seemed all the useful advice already given to the poster in her previous thread had been totally ignored.
As for PREM fares, they are special promotional fares on the major TGV routes, usually 20-25 euros one way. If you go on the SNCF site and click to the Reservations screen from the main page, the PREMs fares are always listed in the top left-hand portion of the screen. They change all the time, so if you're hunting for a particular route, keep checking. In addition to being cheap, you print your ticket right out on your computer, so you don't have to stand in line at the train station. Nor do you have to run your ticket through the orange composteur machine. A good deal!

hopingtotravel

Actually I was very glad someone asked this very question. I've all but eliminated the train in my own planning because: I need more than one small suitcase, my husband doesn't mind driving, I don't want to do the ticket hassle, we can pull off and look at Vezelay or Dijon if we want, and won't have to worry about possible strikes. I'm coming to realize that most experienced travelers in France do prefer the train. However, this will be a first time trip for me--so I'm probably set in my ways. Either way, advice on this forum has been valuable!

Underhill

Train travel is usually a very good approach, but driving works well too, especially in the circumstances that hopingtotravel mentions. I really enjoy the train, since we seldom get to travel in that fashion here at home, but it seems to be becoming less practical given security problems. And I do like the freedom of driving--our trips really seem to begin when we hop in the car and take off.

yipper

Hi.
Last July we drove from Paris to Nice in one day. It was 9 hours and obvioulsy Provence will be shorter, about 6 hours. the highways were fine. It was easy driving. The tolls are expensive, but affordable. there are places to stop for food and gas and we packed a picnic. there were rest areas for the picnic. It is not like going from Philly to NE, because there is no NYC to deal with. The scenery is farm land and more farm land. The road takes you around Lyon and we did not have a traffic jam. I did not mind the ride, but I would not do it again. I would take the train. It was a long day. We also had our reasons for doing this, that seemed logical at the time. Enjoy.

Gretchen

Now THERE is information!! Good job.

selltile

we are going to do almost the same drive--from Paris to Beaune and then to Provence and on to Nice. We will definately go by car and let the ways of the road take us for a few days. WE never get lost but we have had a few non planned journeys. Thanks for the info so far

Underhill

The drive through Burgundy is beautiful: all those vineyards, some canals, some châteaux. Below Lyon you get into more vineyards and then perched villages and ruins of castles. It's a route we've travelled quite a few times, and we always enjoy it.