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Vienna to France plain or train? Which city France to arrive to eventually end in Paris

As part of a 23 day trip with at least 12 days for France in September
The Last 6 days we will be staying in Paris. For a cdg flight home.
We were in Colmar via tgv for our last trip with Paris and rented a car in Colmar to wander Alsace for a day which we really enjoyed the freedom and options it gave us to venture.
For this trip Was thinking southern France or another section of the wine region to wander and enjoy with a car.
First question is where can we or should we fly into from Vienna
Second What area can we explore for 6 days without feeling rushed. Should we base in one place and venture around.
Third would like to TGV into Paris for that portion and not drive in. Which may restrict choices
Fourth question. Was planning apartment rental in Paris either the 5th arr or 14th arr close to 5th. We rented in the 4th last time and really loved Paris. Any input would be welcome.
It will be are First time in Prague/Vienna.
Thanks

Posted by
3169 posts

I’d recommend Lyon. Quite a bit to do and see in the city itself and some nice day trips available - Rhône Valley and the Beaujolais Wine Route.

Posted by
399 posts

You might have a look at the Vienna airport website for departures to see what French cities are available for nonstop flights. A quick look just now for today shows Marseille (for Provence), Nice (for Cote d'Azur) and Lyon, but others might be possible depending on season or day of week. If you wanted to do Provence it is easy to pick up car at that airport and explore even if you do not go into the city itself. You can then train easily from any of those cities into Paris. You might check the drop off premiums but you can also pick up the car in one place and return another. For example for Provence pick up at Marseille airport but then drop at Avignon TGV station which is only about a 3 hour train ride to Paris. Or for Burgundy pick up at Lyon airport and return at Dijon TGV station.

Posted by
1439 posts

Lyon is nice. Are you going anywhere after Prague and Vienna? You might want to visit the wine region of the Wachau Valley 90 minutes by train from Vienna with Krems, Melk and Durnstein on the menu for a couple days. Lots of castles on the Danube River with a dedicated bike trail to see them from. Other wine regions coming into France from Vienna or Prague with TGV links to Paris are Dijon ( half of all French wine is produced here in the Burgundy region ) and the historic walled city of Beaune.
At the moment flying into Vienna in September is about $300 less than Prague. You should sign up for fare alerts from Skyscanner or Googleflights into Vienna/ departing from Paris.
VRBO ( Vacation Rentals By Owner) is a good site to get a start on checking out Paris apartment rentals, in addition to agencies handling short-term apartment rentals.

Posted by
1371 posts

Hello, below are two apartment agencies I have used in Paris.

Cobblestone Paris, https://cobblestoneparis.com, they have units throughout Paris. Not all units have elevators or A/C if needed. The company is ran by a couple and the business has been mentioned over the years in RS Paris Guidebook.

Apartments du Louvre, https://www.apartmentsdulouvre.com, they have two buildings located within Paris. A family ran business, both buildings have an elevator and the units have A/C.

Enjoy your trip.

Posted by
10221 posts

It's Best to fly from Vienna. The train is quite long.