Hi - after looking at flight times and trains from Avignon to Paris, it seems we need to spend the night in Paris before coming back to the States. I am concerned that we would have to return our car in Avignon, catch a train to CDG and then catch our flight home and it all seems rather tight. Do most of you do an overnight in Paris on the way home?

Why not return the car to CDG?

I'd never take the train from Avignon to CDG the same morning as my flight. I did it once from Lyon, and even that was a little hair-raising. Yes, I spend the night in Paris.

For me, spending the night in Paris before a CDG flight is the least stressful. If you have an evening flight and are energetic and not easily stressed, you could probably swing it all on the same day, but I don't like to climb aboard an international flight already tired. Much prefer to get a good night's sleep at the CDG Marriott and then head home in the morning.

Thank you. I think we will stay 2 nights in Paris at the end. Might was well enjoy it a bit.

We've done:

- Avignon to Dijon the day before our flight home, and Dijon to CDG on the day of our flight.

- Avignon to Beaune the day before our flight home, and Beaune to Dijon to CDG on the day of our flight.

- Avignon to Chambery the day before our flight, and Chambery to Lyon to CDG on the day of our flight.

- Avignon to Gare du Lyon in Paris the day before our flight, dinner at Train Bleu at the Gare, and then taxi to CDG for our flight home. We will do this again in July this year, starting from Grenoble.

- From the Loire last year, we drove to Chantilly the day before our departure, toured the chateau, stayed near Chantilly, and drove to CDG the day of our departure.

We would never stay at CDG the night before our departure. When you leave home for France, do you drive to an airport hotel and stay overnight the day before your departure????

Stu Dudley

in answer to stu - sometimes if we have a very early morning flight, we priceline an SFO airport hotel, for $45-50 and stay the night before. same with JFK or LHR.

Everyone's experience is different. I was in Avignon for the night before my TGV back to Paris. All was well to get there on time to spare. I did have a problem with my ticket...WARNING...It was the wrong date!. When I tried to get my seat, someone was in it and there was the language barrier. The ticket taker alerted me to the fact that they gave me the wrong date for my ticket, so I could not have that seat but he guided me to another but warned me that if the ticket holders filled the train I may have to leave.
Luckily akk wwent well. I got to Paris.

>>sometimes if we have a very early morning flight, we priceline an SFO airport hotel<<

Union Square in San Francisco to SFO is about 20 mins - I would rather stay there than at the airport (actually, we live less than 10 mins from SFO).

Stu Dudley