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Road trip vs Train: Disneyland Paris to Loire Valley to Toulouse and Avignon

Hi,

We’re traveling in July with two kids and are trying to figure out the most budget-friendly and practical way to get to southern France, ideally with a few stopovers along the way.

My original plan was to travel from Paris to the Loire Valley for two days, then head to Disneyland, and from there take a train to Avignon and rent a car to explore the south. However, it’s turning out to be quite expensive to rent a car twice, and car rentals from Avignon seem to be significantly more expensive than from other locations.

This brings me to my second question: if we rent a car from Disneyland and keep it for the remainder of the trip, returning it in Nice, would that involve too much driving? With this option, we would drive from Disneyland to the Loire Valley (2 nights), then to Toulouse (1 night), and finally on to Avignon and onward through southern France. Are these routes generally easy to drive, and does this itinerary seem reasonable with kids, or would it feel too rushed or exhausting?

Posted by
6976 posts

Whether or not this is too much driving depends a lot on you and your family, and how well your children tolerate spending hours every day in a car. Given the driving time from the Loire, what is the purpose of a single night in Toulouse, other than to break up the long drive to Avignon? Have you looked at a car rental broker like AutoEurope for price comparisons? Autoroutes (the equivalent to US Interstates) are as good or better than what you might have at home. Be aware that tolls will likely be involved, and the cost of gas is not an inconsiderable cost factor. Look at ViaMichelin for distance, time, and costs of each leg of your proposed trip.
And have you considered taking the train from St Pierre des Corps (in the Loire? ) directly to Avignon? SNCF is the French rail company.

Posted by
2 posts

The kids wanted to see Toulouse machine museum but it's also to break up the drive. I've looked at Loire to Avignon but it's going back to Paris and then to Avignon making it a 5hr journey.