Barbara

My friend and I plan to spend 4 nights in Paris and Four nigths in Nice. Someone suggested that we travel by train to Nice and then purchase a one-way ticket back to Paris for our flight to the US. This bothers me. I understand that the train is supposed to be a great trip, very scenic. However, I would rather avoid the stress and just fly round trip. Is the train ride as beautiful as we were told? Are there frequent flights out of Nice? which airline do you recommend? I was told I would only be able to fly back to Paris via Orly then catch a cab to CDG. Please someone give me some sold advice.It would be much appreciated.

Chris

I found that the train is much less stressful than a flight. And if you figure out the time, it's the same or even less than flying (an hour to the airport, to get there a couple of hours ahead of time, an hour for the flight and an hour from when you land to Nice itself would be 5 hours -- the TGV is 4-5 hours, I think). <BR><BR>The trains rarely take the most scenic routes, but it is prettier the more south you go. <BR><BR>If you get a train from Nice to CDG, you won't have a problem with flights. Don't forget, "legal" connections (1 hour) don't give you ample time to get from one terminal to another. <BR><BR>The train is the way to go. But if you really want to fly, you might want to switch your travel plans for Nice first, then Paris -- and make sure you give yourself time to catch that Nice flight when you get in.

Rex

The advantage of flying might be more the cost savings than the time savings.<BR><BR>I can't tell if you have already purchased your trans-atlantic air travel or not. If not, then what you really need is an open-jaw itinerary. No reason to return to Paris (even though the return travel might still connect back via Paris or London or Brussels or wherever). There are non-stop trans-atlantic flights from Nice but to far fewer US gateway airports.<BR><BR>And you might also consider getting from Paris to Nice by air if you can get a "stopover" fare at a good price.<BR><BR>xxx-&gt; PAR<BR>then a few days later<BR>PAR-&gt; NCE<BR>then a few days later<BR>NCE-&gt; xxx (possibly via PAR)<BR><BR>and if none of this will work out affordbly for you, take a look at the new low 29 euro fares on http://www.airlibexpress.com/Airlib_front/processus/index.html<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Nice is nice

Barb-why don't you fly nonstop into Nice from JFK on Delta and then when you want to go up to Paris(if you chose to fly) hop on Air France( Nice to Paris)? Delta and Air France are codesharing so I think that you would save yourself some stress of different tickets,back and forth to Paris,etc. The train is nice if you have time but one of my memorable sights was coming over the Alps(flying) and seeing Nice and Monaco twinkling on the water's edge. Breathtaking!!!

greg

We have done similar thing. As other suggested, we flew directly into NICE then took a TGV to Paris. TGVs do not run on scenic routes, including this one. Yeah, those quaint villages up the hill look cute at the begining, but when it goes on an on an on for hours, there is nolonger much fun. The scene near the coast is pretty, but that is only a small part of the trip.

Jim

Barbara,<BR>My last two trips to France were with an open jaw ticket. Flying into Paris and back to the States from Nice. Works great and costs far less than either train or plane back to Paris for your return home. <BR>Many major airlines fly out of the Nice airport, and as Rex mentioned,you'll probably have a stop in Paris on your way to the states. <BR>Why waste days traveling back and forth from Paris?

Rex

&lt;&lt;why don't you fly nonstop into Nice from JFK on Delta&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>Did I miss something? Can we tell where Barbara's origination is? It could be Juneau or Key West from what she said, right? A connection through JFK might not make sense for all US destinations. Same goes for cities that have non-stop service to Paris. Why change in New York?<BR>

Christina

I don't think that train route is very scenic. There are lots of flights from Nice to Paris but it isn't true you can only go to Orly, I've flown back to CDG for a connection (on Air France). Air France always has flights to/from Paris from both airports (although more to Orly than CDG). There is a cheap airline, Air Liberte, which goes to Orly, as mentioned above. You can get RT tickets from them, also, very cheap, if the airline you're going to France on doesn't fly to Nice. Don't take a cab from Orly to CDG -- take the Air France shuttle bus. I don't think there are that many airlines that fly to/from Paris to Nice, I think there are only two: Air France and Air Lib.

Tom

Assuming you can still get the open jaw you want, don't assume that you have to fly trans-atlantic into or out of France. I have seen deals on Lufthansa, KLM and British Airways into France that beat all other carriers, some of the time.<BR>

Phil

Rex is very right: look at the cost.<BR>The leg from Paris to Nice will cost you only a tad more on your transatlantic fare, whereas the TGV tix will run between $ 150 and $ 250 R/T.

up

the thread goes higher.<BR><BR>hopefully the prices do not.<BR>