Lyon and the Alps
 

Hello Everyone,

I need your help on this one...I'll be travelling to the Alps in January/09 with my wife and 9-year old boy. We're spending few days in Paris, which I kindda know (been there before), but from Paris we're heading to the French Alps.

I'm still choosing the exact resort, but many of them seem to be within 100 miles range from Lyon. Considering driving is out of question (never drove in snow before and I'm really not confortable wih the idea), I guess my questions are:
- Should I take airplane or tgv to Lyon?
- Is it worth to spend a couple days in Lyon? If so, tips on where to take the kid are very welcome...
- Any other place/city more suitable for kids/families?

Really appreciate your help!
Claudio

Don't know much about Lyon , but here with some tips for traveling with kids: First, Limit their sugar intake. Second, pack a surprise pack- pack some surprises in your carry-on and give them one every 2 hours games/pictures, small puzzles, child magazines, kids books on your destinations,let them pick some things they'd want to ......

Most ski resorts are not super near airports; in fact, you'd probably fly to Lyon (or Grenoble) to get to the Alps. If you're questioning how to get to Lyon from Paris, definitely the TGV.

The Serre Chevalier ski domaine in the Haute Alpes is a huge, family-friendly ski area, and it is traditional as opposed to purpose-built, which means that its landscape is not ruined by huge concrete monoliths. You can get to Lyon from Briancon, the largest town in the area, by train. www.serrechevalier.com

Most of the resorts can be reached from Paris using the TGV almost door-to-door.

For the Haute-Savoie ones (Chamonix, Flaine, Megève, La Clusaz, ...), take the Paris - Le Fayet line

For the 1992 Olympics resorts (Val d'Isère, Tignes, Les Arcs, La Plagne, ...) i.e. the Tarantaise valley, it is from Paris to Bourg Saint Maurice.

Serre-Chevalier is a little more difficult to reach: it is better to take the night train to Briancon.

For Les 2-Alpes and l'Alpe d'Huez, you reach Grenoble 3 hours after leaving Paris.

For all of these places, you have buses who wait at the train station and ride the last 10 to 60 km (depending naturally on the resort)

Lyon may be less interesting for a 9 year old in the winter. I would simply take the train directly to the Alps. Once you have chosen your resort, use SNCF.com to find out how to get there. If you order the tickets three months in advance, you might get some very cheap prices.

Thank you all for the answers. TGV is on, Lyon is out and books on the destinations for the Kid is a great idea!