Storing luggage at Angers train station?
 

Does anyone know if you can still store luggage at the Angers train station?

Or is this no longer allowed due to security issues?

I'll be dropping my rental car off in Saumur & thought it would be nice to take the train to Angers & spend a few hours there before going to Paris - but would rather not tow my suitcase while exploring Angers.

Thanks for the help.

Highly unlikely but not sure - only the largest stations with security baggage X-ray machines have them - only a handful in the country - even Nice does not have one

99% sure not in Saumur or Angers

France and Britain are the worst countries in Europe for left luggage. Even in a big city like Rennes, there was no left luggage at the station on my last visit, but Nantes did have a left-luggage office.

When will you be traveling?

We will be in Angers TGV station in September, so I can definitely check it for you.

If you're going before then, I suggest you send an email to the Angers tourism office to inquire.

I have done this several times (not for Angers but other towns) and always have received helpful replies.

The answer is yes, with limitations:

http://www.gares-en-mouvement.com/in...r-1-fracl.html

Thanks!

And thanks BTilke for the link. I tried Google and couldn't find anything so I've bookmarked the link.

I'll be in Angers in 4 weeks :-)

Rail Europe has a list of French stations with luggage storage - i have a copy but can't find it. You could call BETS 800-441-2387 and ask if the Angers train station has storage lockers - but if BTilke says so then you can count on that - i could not get her link to open

I wonder why you couldn't get the link to open. I've been able to access it without trouble.

Then I was able to find this link via Google:
http://raileurope.typepad.com/info/2...ggage_ser.html
(Sorry, I don't know how to shorten it.)

It lists Angers as having luggage storage!

yes that's the RailEurope info i was referring to and if i had gotten link to open would have known that

thank you

The link is still working fine for me, no problems.

For future reference, if you want to find out about luggage storage in French train stations, the simplest way to Google is:

CityName gare consigne
or
TrainStationName gare consigne

should get you started; you can refine or search withing results after that.

BTW, why can't you return your car in Angers instead of Saumur? You can still take the TGV from Angers back to Paris.

Dropping off my car in Angers would be a possibility. But if I can store my luggage at the train station I won't have to pay for an extra day of car rental (which I'd have to do if I kept the car for the extra hour drive to Angers) and I would rather not drive in a larger town - Saumur is a lot smaller than Angers.

It's my first time driving in France & I'd rather avoid driving in large towns.

In case this thread comes up on a future search, I'll post what I found out last week.

Yes, there is a luggage storage facility at the Angers Train station. I believe it's closed for a few hours in the middle of the night, but otherwise accessible during most of "normal" hours.

The locker area is staffed, and everything that enters the area has to go thru an X-ray machine; while we had to go thru a metal detector.

The lockers have several sizes. We had to use the largest size for our 2 rollaboards (22" and 19"). The cost is €6,50 which is good for 72 hours (exact change needed, I believe).

How was the trip?

Incredible to me that the Angers station has lockers - not doubting the info

but in a recent thread on the Lille stations - much more busy and important i would think that they do not have such luggage storage or even in Nice i believe that for some strange reason Angers does.

Splain that to me?

The French paranoia about left luggage is baffling and entirely without logic. The restriction is imposed by the police, so there is no alternative to railway stations: bus stations, tourist offices, etc, are subject to the same restriction.
I assume some police forces impose a ban on luggage storage, and others are more sensible.
Railway stations in many other European countries have luggage lockers.

Yes only Britain, France, Italy and Spain have at times closed lockers due to various security problems

Britain and France seem to have the fewest

but other countries even tiny stations have a raft of lockers - self serve with no screening IME

I imagine they think large cities are much more likely to be a terrorist target. Makes sense to me. Angers isn't that small, I remember Blois had luggage lockers when I was there many years ago.

But it is only in the largest cities it seems lockers are open - Paris in several stations, Bordeaux, Lyon, etc.

I know of no station as minor as Angers having them open - no not a small town but not many rail travelers compared to much bigger towns without them - weird