marseille (sp?), prague, dortmund help
 

I am going to those three cities in that order all in just over 2 weeks. I fly into frankfurt and out of frankfurt.

1) is this the best airport if i want to go into and out of the same airport?
1a) going into a sount france city and out of prague i don't think is available to me (could be wrong, travelling from aussie) so are there another 2 cities that i could use?

2) how would you recommend travelling between these cities?

I will be a few days in each place and not sure if i would NEED a hire car once actually in the city. I don't expect to be able do many if any day trips out of each city but between prague and dortmund i have scope for a few days extra in eithr city OR take a few scenes and a few stops along the way.

if you can understand what i'm asking then please help

Presumably, after flying into Frankfurt, you will take a train down to Marseille? I always opt for public transportation because it is efficient and fantastic in Europe -- not to mention much less $ than a car rental with gas prices high, etc. Alternatively, you could catch a intra-Europe Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Marseille to save you the time. I fly into Frankfurt and Munich all the time, then make connections to other cities in Italy, etc.

It's quite a jump from Marseille in the south of France up to Prague in the Chech Republic. That would be one long, long train ride. Again, you might consider getting flight connections between these 3 cities to save you on time.

Of the 3 cities on your itinerary, I know Marseille the best...I was just there 9 months ago (my great grandmother is from there). Marseille can be a bit intimidating because of the influx of mixed cultures, nationalities, etc but it makes the city vibrant, alive, and exciting. There are so many unique parts of the city that you could spend full days wandering around in the areas on foot - no need to rent a car. I walked from the St. Charles train station down to the harbor/waterfront, it took me about 20 minutes or so. There are lots of shops, restaurants, department stores along the way. Once at the harbor, you can take a boat out to the "Chateau D'If" - the famous setting for Alexander Dumas "The Count of Monte Cristo" and also "The Man in the Iron Mask". There are tons of seafood restaurants lining the harbor, serving Marseille's famous "bouillibaise" soup (gumbo type soup with seafood, spices), as well as great little crepe shops.

The bottom line: since you want to see these 3 places in 2 weeks, and accounting for your flying into/out of Frankfurt, I would recommend taking planes to each of these places initially. Then, once you are there, you can rely on public transport to get around.

Hi bh,

This is a somewhat unusual trip. Is there a reason why?

When in Dortmund my Great Grandfather did the paintings in Reinholdkirche. He did them in Berlin and Osnabruck as well. I'd be anxious to read your trip report.

Huitres

thankyou. I have not made any assumptions myself for transport. I ahve been thought about maybe flying into paris and out of frankfurt on the assumption that options for travel bwteen paris and marseille are better but sounds like frankfurt would still work well.

Are you saying to fly Mars. to frankfurt then frank. to prague? I'm thinking of organising flight tickets once there BUT its this July (i know yikes)

Ira, yes unusual, especially throwing dortmund in there but its work related but plenty of time to play.

John, i'll try and say hello to your great for you. lol

Hi bhuty2003:
I did not know you were considering Paris since you did not mention it in your initial itinerary plans. Yes, there are good connections between Paris and Marseille via train (the TGV Mediterranee' takes 3 hours to go from Paris' Lyon station down to Marseille's St. Charles station). Likewise, the Lufthansa flights within Europe are also available - albeit more expensive. It's up to you - it is certainly do-able to fly from Frankfurt to Marseille, I have done that before. Usually within a country, I take public transportation (trains) but I have traveled between France, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland via train as well.

I don't really know what you want to do.......since you mentioned being able to fly into Paris, you could then take the TGV down to Marseille, then fly to Frankfurt, then on to Prague. (If Frankfurt is your departing city, then go there last). My sister lives in Berlin and takes the train from Berlin to Prague about 1x a month - she said it is not too long of a journey (6 hours). Perhaps the distance from Frankfurt to Prague would be closer? If you can save yourself some money by taking the train, then go for it. The Lufthansa intra-Europe flights can be expensive if not originally ticketed into your itinerary. (They don't give last minute deals or breaks once you are there, so I suggest deciding now whether you want to take connector flights between Marseille and Frankfurt and also Frankfurt and Prague OR to go via trains. If planes, then you should purchase the tickets before leaving on your trip. Train tickets can always be purchased the day of travel, no problem there).

excellent thank you.

I ahve been to paris and its not really an itinerary stop, just a thought of entering europe from there as a link to get to marseille. I will also go to montpellier but don't consider that to be much of a problem. again thanks

Sounds like you have a plan! BTW, I was in Marseille and "le sud" in March and went to Montpellier too. (From Arles, it was a 50 min train ride). I loved Montpellier so much. (There's a great book written by an American family that went to live in Montpellier in the 1950s, very hysterical book, I was laughing with each page turned at the episodes they went through trying to grasp each other's languages, idiosyncrasies, etc). Montpellier has so much history, character and yet feels like a small college town because of the university there. If you have a chance to, visit the Jardin Des Plantes, France's 1st botanical garden created in 1591 by King Henri IV. The nearby public park area with its large pond/lake and stone monument make for a lovely afternoon stroll, rewarding you with some amazing views of the Montpellier cityscape and neighboring hillsides. Also, the Roman acqeduct behind it is amazingly preserved -- it's longer than its more famous counterpart, the Pont Du Gard near Nimes.

Whatever you do, have a great trip!

I agree that Paris may be a better gateway. TGV to Marseilles; Dortmund is 5.5 hours by train with one connection, and the low-cost Smartwings fly between Paris and Prague.

Between Dortmund and Prague, there are two budget airlines that you may use VBird flies from Niederrhein near Dusseldorf to Prague. € 39. Or Germanwings from Cologne-Bohn from around € 35. Train will take over 8 hours on this route.

Zurich is another possible gateway.

Hi

sorry to say, the aqueduct at Arceaux, Montpellier was built in the 17th C.

Peter
The Languedoc Page
http://tlp.netfirms.com

Hi

inter europe travel is cheaper by air than by train these days.

Many originate in London, so that is a possible entry/exit point.

Check out Ryanair, Easyjet, Thompsonfly, BMIbaby, etc.

Peter
The Languedoc Page
http://tlp.netfirms.com

wow very excellent information. thanks keep that coming if any otehr ideas. I can't do anything about any of them till monday so i'll take any ideas

hey and i like the side bits of info. keep that dialogue coming too. I ahven't made any plans or even much in the way of research about marseille or surrounds yet. i was just going to wing it, get accomodation wherever and enjoy the ride, but any wonderful hints would be marvellous.

You know what i really want...i great pizza. I was in nice once and had a nice one there so i imagine its easy enough but if anyone had soem really great pizza or any other local recipes in any of these locales then that would be a great discussion to get going to.

bhuty, (Great Washington Wine Buty!)
My "great" has been dead a long time so you may have to raise your voice LOL! I think in Marseilles you might search out the Bouillabaise