We will be traveling on TGV from Paris to Bayonne prior to Basque tour in May with a planned stop in Arcachon to visit oyster farms. Would like to take train from Arcachon to Bayonne on May 1st two days before tour starts. Does anyone know how the holiday might affect plans to travel that day? Would it be better to stay another day in Arcachon? Prefer two extra days in Bayonne before tour but trying to anticipate holiday impact on train travel that day.
Posted by
Citizen of the World
2006 posts
While trains are likely to have more passengers on the national holiday of May Day, you will have a seat reservation on your TGV train. Local and regional trains destined for major cities such as Paris, Bordeaux, Nice etc. are more problematic without seat reservations during May Day. I don’t think you’ll have a problem traveling from a town of 12K residents to a city of 60K residents, particularly as the sea temperature will still be chilly.
Have a great trip!
Posted by
France Southwest
2319 posts
On May 1st, as far as transport is concerned, it is mainly local bus lines which operate at best like Sundays.
Apart from very touristy places, shops, supermarkets, banks, administrative services are closed. Since Arcachon is popular with both French and foreign tourists, I suppose the place will be lively, especially if the weather is good.
That being said, I hope that the oyster farmers of the Arcachon basin will not be too depressed, they have just been banned from harvesting and selling their oysters for 1 month because of a norovirus which causes a sort of gastro- enteritis. There are thousands of tonnes of oysters to destroy. It is an economic disaster for them because it is the time of year when they sell the most oysters.
Posted by
Chicago
8550 posts
I am sorry to hear about the oysters. The same thing happened a few years ago and several of our Paris friends got sick over the holidays from contaminated oysters. You can't have an oyster industry and poor management of sewage. Too bad they didn't correct the problems after the last disaster.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10621 posts
You will have the answer to your question as soon as the tickets for May 1st come online for sale. If you download the SNCF Connect App, and try to book a ticket now, you should be given the option to be notified in advance of ticket sales.
Posted by
Washington DC
28065 posts
I landed in Nice on May 1, 2017; there was no intra-city public transportation available and only a very few taxis at the airport. I'd be very cautious about expecting to use transportation to get from the train station in Bayonne to your local hotel. I assume there will be some Paris transit operating, but I don't even know that for sure.