I am planning a trip starting in Italy and then going to France and I need some advice on how best to travel. Specifically I want to go from the Cinque Terre to Brittany in France (St. Malo, Dinan), then on to Paris. I'd prefer to not spend a whole day traveling if possible, or stop somewhere along the way for the night.
Is this even possible? What's the best way to get to where I want to go?
Thanks!
bob,
The quickest and most efficient method would probably be to take a budget flight from Pisa to Paris. EasyJet operates on that route and currently has flights advertised for about €52.49 PP.
You'd first have to take a train from whichever of the Cinque Terre towns you're staying in to Pisa, but that's a relatively easy trip. Upon arrival at Paris / ORY, you would travel to Gare St. Lazare to connect with the trains to Brittany. The easiest method is probably the OrlyVal People Mover to Antony station, then RER "B" to one of the stations in Paris, and then connection to RER "E" for the short trip to St. Lazare.
This trip is still going to take the better part of a day, but it will be more efficient than a 15-25 hour train journey! There may also be flights from Pisa to Dinard using RyanAir (which I'm always reluctant to suggest) with a stop over in London, but I didn't check the details.
I've not tried this particular route but I know it's not an easy proposition. Go to http://www.rome2rio.com/, input La Spezia, Italy as your 'from' and St Malo, France as your 'to'. It will show you your options and various routes, none of them less than a full day and all of them involving many changes and/or different means of transportation. I think an overnight somewhere along the way would be your best bet.
I used La Spezia as the 'from' because I don't know exactly where in the CT you're starting your journey. Good luck with your planning.
One correction: the train station to Brittany is Montparnasse, not St. Lazare. It's right on the 4 metro line, easy to reach from the RER B. Otherwise, Ken has nailed it for that trip.
Bets,
Thanks for the correction. I didn't check this time, and assumed that Brittany would use the same departure station as Normandy.
