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Travel Suggestions- March 2015

Posted by on

Hello,
I'll be making my first trip to France in a few months, and I couldn't be more excited. I'm going to be staying approx 15 days at the end of March, and I am hoping to see as much as I can in that time. I was hoping to spend between 3-4 days in Paris, then work my way down to the south of France (via train), hoping to maybe see the Loire Valley, Nice/Marseille/possibly Corse, then maybe somewhere in Champagne Ardenne on my way back up to Paris. My problem is there is SO much that I want to see, and the train map is a little confusing to me, so I'm not sure how many places I should try to include realistically, or what places are the best for this time of year (southern france looks beautiful, but it'll probably still be a little cold for the beach?). Any suggestions of places I should see? I've bought a few guidebooks but I'm still a little overwhelmed trying to plan this out.

Oh and I'm a 24 year old girl traveling alone, and I love doing outdoorsy things (hiking, biking, canoeing, etc)

Merci! :)

Posted by
4684 posts

One problem for your itinerary is that the rail network in France is very radial and centred on Paris. Getting from the Loire Valley to Provence without backtracking to Paris will mean either driving with your own vehicle, or possibly a domestic air flight. It is possible to get from Provence to Champagne avoiding Paris, via Strasbourg.

Posted by
16895 posts

From the Loire valley to Nice, you will normally backtrack through Paris. That's not a big timing delay, but often requires a connection by taxi or metro within the city, from Gare Montparnasse to Gare de Lyon. You can avoid that issue by choosing the 8:15 departure that runs direct from Tours to Lyon, Mon-Sat, with just one connection there to head south.

La Corse is a nice leisure-time destination, especially in summer, but I think you don't have time for a roundtrip ferry during this two-week trip, when there's so much to see on the mainland. Towns along the Riviera are served by frequent trains and buses.

If you are going to do this much train travel in France, including backtracking to Paris, then consider the France Youth Rail Pass, starting at $180 2nd class for 3 days of travel within a month, and extra days only about $20 each. At the same time that you order the pass online, you should also buy seat reservations for your 3 or 4 TGV trains, since seats are limited for pass holders. Read the whole page when you follow that link.

How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it; dos not sell tickets for France.

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