I plan to spend Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in Lyon and leave out on Sunday. I'm visiting a penpal in case you're wondering why I'm starting there and spending 3 nights. I plan to finish the next Friday, Saturday, and most of the day Sunday in Paris before heading back to London. I've been to Florence and Rome so I won't go into southern Italy. One of my teachers from high school reccomended I visit Aix-en-Provence for a day or so. Any recommendations on places to visit in the region? Maybe in the south of France, Northern Italy, maybe even Germany or Switzerland? Also, how would you go about getting to Lyon from London? It's a unique situation because I'm not going round-trip from the same cities but I'm not going one-way. Just by a multi-city plane ticket from London-Lyon and then Paris-London?
Posted by
Rick Steves Europe
355 posts
Hi Dylan,
With the vast number of budget flights available in Europe, you could fly almost anywhere. See www.skyscanner.com for options. One trick is to put in your departure city, such as Lyon and put 'everywhere" for your destination. It will show you all the locations on any given day, starting with the least expensive flights.
If you just want to travel in France, then you might consider flying from London to Lyon (EasyJet has flights from Gatwick or Stansted for under $200 each way). You could also take the train via the chunnel through Paris, but this will take a bit longer (5-6 hours) and probably be more expensive (around $250).
From Lyon, you could take the train to Avignon for 2 days, then on to Nice for 3 days, then train (6 hours) or fly (1.5 hours) back to Paris for the weekend, returning to London via Chunnel on Sunday.
For both flights and train tickets, it's cheaper to buy ahead. You can buy flights via skyscanner and train tickets ahead at European trains stations, travel agencies or online. Chunnel tickets especially can be much cheaper if you buy them ahead, see www.eurostar.com or go into the ticket office at the St. Pancras station if you are in London. French tickets can be purchased through the French rail website, SNCF - www.sncf.com/en/passengers. or at any French rail station as you go.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
Okay so 11 days, 2 of which are travel days so 10 nights. 3 in Lyon and you don't say but maybe 4 in Paris (5 would be better).
That leaves 3 nights. I would not want to spend much of that in transit, so if it were me I'd pick someplace easy to get to. Burgundy a distinct possibility, but given the time of year I'd pick Provence.
Aix is in Provence but there is more to see and do in the Rhone valley, so think Arles, Avignon, or Nimes. Fly open-jaw into Lyon out of Paris or else one way to Lyon and take the train back.
Posted by
OP
North Carolina
32 posts
Adam, I have already been to Paris and am going to hang out with a friend for the weekend. I won't be doing any tourist stuff really. So I will arrive in Paris Friday morning and head back to London Sunday evening.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
Dylan, so just 2 nights in Paris. That leaves you 5 nights. What a dilemma!
I agree you could go farther, but you'd still get tremendous bang for your buck in Provence, and the transportation connections are excellent. Compare with Northern Italy, for instance. And you could day trip to Aix, if it's still near the top of your list.
Still I think this is a job for a mild-mannered guidebook or two. Where do you want to see that time of year?
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
I agree with Adam. With a base in Provence, you can see Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, Arles, Avignon, Nimes (my favorite), and more. I wouldn't stay in Aix, both because I didn't like it as much as the other places and because it's at the "edge" of the area and not as central as a place like Arles or Avignon.
Trains from Lyon to Provence are fast, and may still be affordable if you book now. If you have trouble booking on http://www.sncf.com (choose English at the top left, and select France as your ticket collection country), many report having better results from https://www.capitainetrain.com/.
And no need to "apologize" for visiting Lyon for three days. It's my favorite city in France after Paris.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10621 posts
Aix is a college town, so that would make a good base for you. There are students not only from France there, but the whole world, including several US overseas programs. You could make day trips from Aix but come back in the pm in time for the less costly restaurants and the night life. The only drawback is that some of the Aix students may be gone on fall break too.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
Aix is charming but there's not a lot to do there and it is not well situated to most of the sights in the Rhone Valley. Day trips are doable but entail needless travel. You can only enjoy so much lingering in cafes, even on the Cours Mirabeau.
So I agree with Harold though it's Dylan's call obviously. Maybe he has some specific Aix ideas or friends. It is handy to Marseilles.
Posted by
Dallas
1022 posts
What do you like to do? What did your teacher say about Aix that interests you?
You can get to/from Lyon by train via Paris though the time for getting the cheapest tickets is past.
www.eurostar.com
www.capitainetrain.com