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Versailles, then Provence

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I've been invited to stay with friends in a village in Provence whose nearest airport is Marseille. While I'm delighted to explore around that village and wherever my friends recommend, the only place in France where I really want a whole day is Versailles.

I've been to the Palace of Versailles twice, but each visit lacked time to explore the gardens and the outer buildings. I'm thinking of flying into Paris and going straight to the town of Versailles, staying there 2 or possibly even 3 nights. I understand the least crowded days are Wednesdays and Thursdays. But the time for which I'm invited to Provence is mid-July, so I expect the Palace of Versailles will be a "zoo" (I think the RS guidebook calls it that) no matter which days I go.

Leaving Versailles, it looks like the best way to get to my friends' place is to go back to the airport and fly Paris-Marseille. I would then book my flight back to the USA (NYC area) from Marseille. My friends tell me they've never found a nonstop between NYC and Marseille, so I will almost certainly have to change somewhere. I'm familiar with the advice on these forums to book directly with the airline and make sure all segments are on one ticket so that I wouldn't get caught out in case of a missed connection caused by the airline, bad weather, equipment repair, etc.

Any advice on this plan would be welcome!

Posted by
1637 posts

Versailles is always a zoo. So I would plan for whatever travel timeframe works best for your travels, because Wednesday and Thursday won't be any different than any other day in July. Enjoy your trip! Lucky you have friends in Provence!

Posted by
2814 posts

epltd,
There is a TGV train from Paris Gare de Lyon to Marseille's Gare St.Charles. This would be much easier than flying. It takes just over 3 hours. What village in Provence? If north of Marseille, the TGV stops at Lyon and Avignon (and some trains stop at Dijon or Aix-en-Provence also). Depending on where they are, you may want to stop at one of these places.

Posted by
3135 posts

Thanks! I did see online that there's a TGV, but the indication I got is that it only runs once a week. Can that be accurate? I would need to go on a Saturday.

Posted by
3135 posts

Correction, I now see there are TGV trains every hour. Better yet, you can book Paris to Aix en Provence, which is nearer to my friends' house.

Posted by
3135 posts

Actually now that I looked for the actual TGV scheduling, it's not as convenient as it looks on the surface. To get from Paris to Aix, you apparently have a lengthy layover somewhere because the journey shows as more than 7 hours. Then when I put in my dates to go simply from Paris to Marseille and back, it showed tickets aren't offered yet. I calculated the Max Senior pass at 79 Euros and found it's not worth it for me since I need to travel on Saturdays. It might end up being better to fly, but I'll figure it out.

Posted by
11573 posts

Transavia has inexpensive flights from Orly airport, which is closer to Versaille. I wouldn’t go all the way back to CDG airport. Also check to see if EasyJet, Ryan Air and other budget airlines fly Orly to Marseille.
Also the Spanish train, Renfe, should be traveling between Paris and Marseille in mid July. You can compare with SNCF.
It’s too early for train tickets but plane tickets are available.

Posted by
2814 posts

epltd,
Just looking at the SNCF site for next Saturday I see 12 TGV trains from Gare de Lyon, Paris to Aix-en-Provence, about 3 hours long each. When are you going? I think it is likely you are looking too far in advance and the schedule isn't up yet.

Posted by
3135 posts

Thanks, both of you, for the reassurance about train tickets not being available yet. I'll be going in mid-July.

I decided to buy my NY-Paris round trip flight now, and figure out the Paris-Marseille later. I would rather go by train, so I hope to wait until the train tickets become available.

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