My Husband and I are planning an 18 day trip September 12. So far my plan is to fly direct from Miami to London, stay 5 days there with a day trip to Bath. Then take the train to Nice, stay 3 days. Then rent a car or motorcycle and spend another 5 days maybe Aux or Avignon? Then train back to Paris and stay 5 nights before getting a direct flight from Paris to Miami. Any ideas or recommendations would be greatly apprciated. Thanks so much for your time.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Aux? Aix, Auxerre, or some place I'm too stupid to know about?
Posted by
OP
Jupiter, Florida, USA
3 posts
Typing too fast. Aix-en-Provence. Thank you for pointing that out for me.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
I'd look at flying to Nice, since the train will take you all day. (You could travel by train as follows: London 5 > Paris 5 > Provence 5 > Nice 3 > Fly home from Nice.) Aix is a charming town but a bit far from many of the sights that people like to see in the area. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you can have a splendid time there and it depends on what you want to do. If you have wheels I would stay in a smaller city like Arles or town like St Remy versus Avignon. A good guidebook or three will help you make the best choices for you. Sounds like a great trip.
Posted by
Kansas
1175 posts
We always fly to London with our FF miles, spend 3-5 days, take the Eurostar to Paris for another 3-5 days, then the TGV to Nice, about 5-6 hours but the ride is wonderful. We usually stay in Monte Carlo and work out of there. You can easily fly back from Nice. We have rented a car and toured Normandy for 5 days or so after taking a train from Paris to Caen. You can also get to Portsmouth, see the naval history there, then take a ferry over to France. That is also a great ride. You have lots of great choices.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10188 posts
Sounds like a really good plan. Aix is a very intersting place, centrally located for going to Arles, into the Luberon, and north to Avignon and Orange. It's also a college town. Edit: just caught that you want to take the train from London to Nice. Too long as stated above. As Geoge said you can go first to Paris and fly out of Nice. So, london to Paris. TGV to Avignon to pick up car. And end on Nice to fly back probably changing at CDG.
Posted by
OP
Jupiter, Florida, USA
3 posts
Thank you so much for your ideas. I originally had a planned to start in London-Paris-Nice and fly home from Nice however there is no direct flight to Miami. We really hate changing planes. I like the idea of staying in a small towns. Thank you for your ideas :)
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4044 posts
Bristol has an international airport and from Bath is easier to get to than London. You could fly from there directly to Nice far faster and cheaper on easyJet www.easyjet.com Currently the daily flight is at 7 a.m. so you probably would need to overnight in Bristol but it's a nice old city for an afternoon of sightseeing, with an historic suspension bridge and some seafaring history.
Another strategy is to reverse your continental route. Fly Bristol-Paris (more choice) and stay there, then work your way south. You can fly back to the US from either Nice or Marseille on a one-stop for not much more than the basic trans-Atlantic fare.