Hilda

We are going to France for one week, and are considering splitting our week between four days in Paris, and 3 days in St. Tropez. Is this a feasiable idea is we take the overnight TGV to Nice or St.Raphael? Is it better to drive?

rich

the train is ok but you miss everything. if you see something thats looks interesting, and you will, you can't stop to see it. my wife and i took the tgv from paris to avignon, efficient but boring. half way thru our second trip to europe it dawned on us that the train was for kids, students etc. i'd drive any day.

alex

Drive if you wish to enjoy the scenery, but, the train is faster (the views from the TGV to Nice are mediocre).A plane is faster still. Even if you take the TGV you'll need to drive or find other transportation from Saint Raphael, the closest train station to Saint-Tropez(if your interest is in saving time it makes little sense to take the TGV to Nice, as the train will beat a car along that leg). You'll also need a car in Saint-Tropez, not that you can actually drive or park in the town. In town, you can walk everywhere. All the good beaches are away from the center of town. A car is also the only good way to access the surrounding hills and mountains.

Andre

Hilda,

Fly to Nice on EasyJet or Air Lib Express.

www.easyjet.com
www.airlibexpress.com

It's the fastest and cheapest way to get there (unless you're a large family). Given the distance, this is the only way I'd combine both places in such a short time - even this way it's very tight. BTW, the overnight TGVs don't have sleepers - it's like taking a red-eye flight.

Rent a car at Nice airport.

Andre

VIncent

For heaven's sake, don't drive all the way from Paris ! The train might be boring but efficient, the car on the autoroute is boring, not efficient and expensive (you can check the tolls at viamichelin.com, it amounts to a nice little sum, and I don't know whether you are familiar with French gas prices...). Personnally, I would recommend a daytime TGV to Saint Raphael, then it depends on the season: if you are heading there between now and the end of August, forget about the car, you'd be better off taking the coach to Saint Tropez and locally either walk or rent a scooter. Off season, it might be easier to rent a car directly from Saint Raph' station.