jackie

We're planning a trip to France for this August. Thinking about flying into Paris, then taking the train to loire for 2 nights, then train to Dordogne region for 3-4 days, then train to Provence for 4 days, then train back to Paris. Thinking about renting a car in each area - or at least in Provence and Dordogne. <BR>Does anyone know whether it is practical to take a train from Paris to Dordogne (either with stop in Loire or without?). How long would this take? <BR>Also- what about train from Dordogne to Provence? <BR>Which towns would it be good to base ourselve s in these regions and would it be practical to rent a car in each? <BR>Thanks!

marija

It's an easy direct train ride from Paris to Brive la Gaillarde (four hours or so). We picked up a car at the train station there and toured Dordogne. We didn't base in a single town but moved around.

jackie

What about Dordogne to Provence? <BR>

elvira

I know of no direct trains (Dordogne&amp;gt; Provence); the closest is Bordeaux to Toulouse or Marseille. You then have to change (sometimes with a long time between) trains to go to other areas. You are looking at 7 hours just to Marseille...<BR>It was a few years ago, but I remember my sister and I having an awful time trying to get from Les Eyzies to Nice. From where and to where were you planning to travel? You might be best off doing an overnight train to maximize time....

ahamel

<BR>Jackie <BR> <BR>From Brive as suggested above you can go as far south as Toulouse and from there I suggest a car <BR>In fact once you arr in th4e Dordogne it would be better and faster to go by car especially to provence

Sue

You could pick up car in Brive, return it there and take the train to either Nimes or Avignon. Leaving at 12:07, the Nimes trip is 5 hours with a 9-minute change in Toulouse; the Avignon trip is 6 hours leaving at the same time, hour layover in Toulouse. For rail schedules, check http://bahn.hafas.de; they are much faster than the French site (http://ter.sncf.fr) <BR> <BR>It is also possible to buy a French rail pass for a certain number of trips within a certain period, which might be cheaper than buying individual trips. (www.forsyth.com) The France Saver Pass (good if more than one is traveling) is $146 (2nd class) each person for 3 days' travel within a month period, and you can add days at $30/day. <BR> <BR>Like you, I prefer not to make an extended trip across France and instead let the train do the long-distance driving for me.

Joel

Jackie, Ahamel and Sue present the best options. Both get you into the Provence and the ride will be as interesting as what you do when you get there. Whatever you do, don't drive. It's a waste.

jackie

Any idea how long it would take to drive from Brive to Avignon? Is this any easy drive or would we be following lots of small roads, etc. <BR>Thanks.

Sue

I would figure about 10 hours. It is about 550 km as best as I can figure, and I usually plan 60km/hour. We drove about the same route with stopovers in Carcassonne and Sete (for pleasant day's drive).

Joel

I'm an American, but a licensed French driver. I lived there a few years. Measuring it out in the Michelin France Motoring Atlas and routing you via Montpellier and Nimes, it is exactly 440 km or 264 miles. I've driven the section from Rodez thru Millau to Montpellier several times and like all roads in France, they are excellent two lane roads. From Brive 90-100 km/hr (55 mph)which will keep you at the speed of traffic, is not a problem on these roads except when you're behind traffic, of course. At Montpellier when you get on the autoroute (A9), you'll pick it up to 120-130 km/hr (75 mph) just to keep up with traffic. I would definitely expect to make it in less than 5 hours exclusive of stops. There's a good little restaurant in the small town of Millau that you'll pass on your left. Exterior is painted white and has a lot of windows as I remember. Lunch would cost about an hour. <BR>All that said, better to take the train unless you find the connections inconventient. <BR>One other point, I suggest you drive at the speeds I'm suggesting as you will make the other drivers on the two-lane roads upset if you drive the posted speeds. To emphasize this point, when my wife and I were taking our driving exams, our instructor advised us well in advance to drive the test at a minimum of 5 km/hr over the speed limit or the examiner would flunk us for "lack of confidence". You will find that the roads are excellent and built for the 60-75 mph I'm suggesting.

Sue

Joel is right--for some reason, I figured the long way (our old trip). However, the first 220 km (half) is not on autoroute, and despite 55 mph speed limit, going through small towns and roundabouts slows you down, so I think less than 5 hours is a bit optimistic, but the trip is still do-able in a day. And you can make it a little bit shorter by making Nimes (a very nice place) your headquarters for a Provence visit.

bella

I too can vouch for Brive as a good place to pick up a car after the train trip. We did this a few years ago to save the hassles of driving in and out of Paris....don't be too hasty in moving on from Brive...nothing special but nice restaurants and quite an attractive place to get the feel of small-town France. Another suggestion is to pick up the car from Orly airport as it saves you from having to drive through Paris and yet gives you independent transport qiuicker (and longer, especially if you elect to return it there too)