Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

trip to France - what to reserve in advance

trip to France - what to reserve in advance

Old Apr 25th, 2012, 06:49 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 149
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
trip to France - what to reserve in advance

We are planning a trip to Brussels and France in June. My DH has a business meeting in Brussels - hence the somewhat last minute decisions.

We plan to fly into Brussels and stay a few days with a side trip to Bruges one day. Then will take the train to Strasbourg and base ourselves there for 4 nights to explore Alsace. Then will take a train to Paris and spend 5 nights there before flying home. We do not plan to rent a car.

My question is - what should we reserve in advance? We already have plane reservations and hotels in the first two places - I'm working on Paris. Other than that

I assume we should book the train from Brussels to Strasbourg online?
I also assume we can buy tickets at the station for day trips from Brussels to Bruges and Strasbourg to Colmar. Is that right?

If we want to take a group tour of the wine route in Alsace, should we book in advance? (This one looked good, but I'm open to other suggestions
www.regioscope.com/?Rpage=english/?Rpage=)

For the final leg, we'd like to take the train to Paris from Strasbourg. Hoping to stop off in Reims and take a tour of a champagne cellar. Can we book all the way through and get off in Reims? Or should we book to Reims in advance and then get a local ticket from there to Paris? Should we book a champagne cellar tour in advance?

Is there anything in Paris, other than dinners in fancy restaurants, that needs to be booked in advance?

Thanks so much for your help.
jerirl is offline  
Old Apr 25th, 2012, 08:20 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,238
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
From your other post, you said you wanted time out of the city. Instead of Strasbourg, go to Colmar, about an hour south of Strasbourg.

I loved this town. It's quite quaint, down to the metal signs hanging out showing what type of shop it is.

Go to youtube and click on Colmar to see the amateur videos taken of this town. The town is called La Petite Venise, for its small canals.

http://www.ot-colmar.fr/en/

My personal favorite hotel is the centrally located Mercure Champ du Mars. It's a hotel in a park. Beautiful.

The designer of the Statue of Liberty, Auguste Bartholdi, comes from Colmar. He built numerous statues and monuments in Colmar.
Rastaguytoday is offline  
Old Apr 25th, 2012, 08:28 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 49,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You should book all of your train trips online in advance to get the best (PREM) fares. You can of course just go to the station and buy tickets, but you'll pay the highest fares that way.

I would personally rent a car for the Alsace portion of the trip. Strasbourg is a lovely town that can be enjoyed without a car for a couple of days, of course, but if you're interested in wine tours, renting a car and driving to some of the smaller towns along the Route du Vin is really the way to go.
StCirq is offline  
Old Apr 25th, 2012, 09:03 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 34,840
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You can't get discount fares for local day trips on the train when it is a nonTGV, regular type train (eg, TER) not going far. So don't worry about doing that in advance. For example, Strasbourg to Colmar is in that category. Bruxelles to Bruges would be also, even though in Belgium. Ticket prices don't change and you can't reserve a seat, anyway, it's only a 30 min TER trip to COlmar (and 60 min to Bruges from Brussels). regular fares for each are around 11 and 23 euro, respectively..
Christina is online now  
Old Apr 25th, 2012, 10:56 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 13,402
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I'm pretty sure you can't just hop off at Reims and need to book Strasbourg-Reims and Reims-Paris. The train from Strasbourg arrives at Champagne-Ardenne station 8 km outside of Reims and there's a tram stop a short walk away or you can take a taxi although I don't know if there are always taxis waiting. We took one to the station and it was 20 euros.

Trains from Reims to Paris are also TGV so will be cheaper if you reserve ahead although the walk up fare is not hugely expensive. Trains depart from the station near the town center.

Booking depends on which champagne house you want to visit. Some can be toured on a drop in basis, others have to be reserved. Did you have one in mind? Best to check directly with whichever house you want to visit. We toured Ruinart which only takes 8 per tour and should be booked far in advance. It was a very leisurely 2.5 hours including tasting so may be more time than you want to spend. Most of the other houses offer tours lasting about an hour.

If you have specific restaurants in mind in Paris you should book in advance. Ironically "fancy" restaurants can often be booked closer in as they aren't always full.
Patty is offline  
Old Apr 30th, 2012, 05:53 PM
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 149
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks to all who answered my questions. Patty, your detailed responses were especially helpful.

Since it sounds like you've been there, do you think our plan for Strasbourg to Paris is doable? If we take a 9 am train from Strasbourg, we would arrive at Champagne-Ardenne station around 11 am. We would then take the tram to town. Would probably want to walk around a bit and then have lunch. After that would like to do a tour of one of the champagne houses that includes a visit to the caves. (Ruinart looks good or maybe Martel.) We'd then take a train to Paris - only a 45 min trip. There are trains that leave at 18h20, 20h15 and 20h39. Is that reasonable or too much of a rush? Would it be better to stay overnight in Reims and go to Paris the next morning?
jerirl is offline  
Old May 1st, 2012, 06:56 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 13,402
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I think either would work (day stopover or overnight). We stayed in Reims and you can check my trip report http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ims-report.cfm for what else might interest you if you decide to overnight.
Patty is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Brian_Brooklyn
Europe
7
Apr 23rd, 2018 11:37 AM
adnil1962
Europe
12
Jul 9th, 2016 01:43 PM
cathy52
Europe
20
Apr 27th, 2016 03:35 AM
kaush
Europe
11
Jun 23rd, 2012 04:55 PM
Leburta
Europe
17
May 5th, 2007 07:36 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -