Please sign in to post.

Southern France Itinerary or Flights to Southern Europe

Posted by (Far East, Canada) on

We’ve booked direct flights to CDG for 14 nights in early October. Since we’ve already explored Paris, we’re planning just a couple of nights there before heading to southern France.

Our plan is to take the TGV to Avignon, rent a car, and spend a few nights in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence—a favorite from a past trip, so it feels like a good starting point. On a previous trip, we took the train from Paris to Nice, which was fairly straightforward, but we may skip Nice this time. On another trip we visited Nîmes, Arles, Toulouse, and Lyon, so this trip we're focusing on smaller towns.

While planning the rest of the trip, we also thought about flights to southern Europe (Portugal, Spain, and Sicily). Return flights are around $400–$500 CAD (including bags and seat selection), but the logistics of airports and transfers are complex than taking the TGV. It may also include an airport change in Paris.

Has anyone flown from Paris to southern Europe? If so, can you give me advice on whether or not to pursue this? We've been to Spain a few times and also visited Portugal, from Porto to Lisbon with several stops between. Sicily is on our list of places to visit.

Posted by
8448 posts

Flying from Paris to southern Europe is just like taking a domestic flight at home. Just use Google flights to search wherever you want to go and try to get direct flights but book it directly with the airline on their website. Since you say you're going to be in St Remy look at flying from the airport Marseille so you don't have to go all the way to Paris.

Posted by
728 posts

I'm flying from Lisbon to Paris and from Toulouse to Lisbon in October, so haven't done it yet, but the flights were direct and cheap and included my regular carry on. I already had the flights to/from Lisbon, but decided I wanted to explore France instead. I'll still spend several days in Portugal before flying home. I'm not sure what kind of advice you're wanting though.

Posted by
147 posts

Since you say you're going to be in St Remy look at flying from the
airport Marseille so you don't have to go all the way to Paris."

I should've been more clear, we are either going to southern France or southern Europe. The flights will originate in Paris.

"…but the flights were direct and cheap and included my regular carry
on.

We use the Rick Steves carryon bags, one is regular and the other is rolling. Both require 'Plus' fares. It is possible they will be above Ryanair's 10kg or Easyjet's 15kg weight limit for carryon.

Posted by
2151 posts

My preference, mainly because I've been wanting to go there for ages, would be Sicily. Spend all your extra days there. There is plenty to fill up 10 days/nights. (Hopefully I will get there in 2026.)

Posted by
2151 posts

Flying from Marseille is a smart suggestion.

Posted by
147 posts

Sicily is our preferred destination if we leave France. We're considering flying into Catania and departing from Palermo. Our flight from Canada arrives on a Sunday morning, so we plan to fly to Sicily on Monday or Tuesday to allow for any delays. Our return flight to Canada is on a Sunday, so we’d likely leave Sicily on Friday or Saturday, giving us around 10 nights to explore.

Ryanair flies to Sicily from Paris Beauvais (BVA) and is cheaper than EasyJet, which uses Charles de Gaulle (CDG). However, the cost and time of getting to BVA seem to cancel out the savings. Transavia flies from Orly (ORY), but we’re not familiar with them yet.

Does anyone have experience with these Paris airports or airlines and can offer advice?

Posted by
204 posts

Depending on where you are coming from, and your airline, you might be able to fly directly into Nice from the U.S. I am THRILLED with the fact that I can bypass CDG and fly into Nice which is a perfect jumping off point for Southern France and Northern Italy.

I fly from Atlanta on Delta, so YMMV of course, but maybe check into it.

Add Reply

Please do not reply to violations of our Community Guidelines.