should we (2) buy a france-benelux saverpass or rent a car?
the small villages are inaccessible by train but train is more restful than driving... the rail drive pass confuses me...
Does anyone know the driving times:
1-brussels to arles, and, 2-arles to montbard.
also, what would the cost for a metro pass in paris including versailles and airport lines (staying in 4th-5th or 6th)
Posted by
Portland
3594 posts
Lori,
If you go to www.viamichelin.com, you can find the driving time for your destinations. It works like mapquest. You type in the start and end cities, and it gives the time, costs in fuel and tolls, directions, and a map.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If you pick up a car in one country and drop it off in another, you'll be subject to a large drop-off fee.
Point-to-point train tickets should be cheaper than a pass. Book well ahead of time at sncf.com to get PREM'S (discount) fares for a direct Brussels-Avignon TGV. Take either a bus or a regional train to Arles. Faster than driving--and probably cheaper because of tolls. If you want a car in Burgundy, try to get PREM'S fares for Avignon-Dijon. Pick up a car there and drive to Montbard. Turn in the car in Auxerre and take a train to Paris. Or turn in the car at Orly airport so you don't have to drive in central Paris. If you want help booking on the SNCF site, just ask. I recommend www.autoeurope.com for car rental. They have a toll-free US phone number.
To give you advice on the best transportation pass, tell me what day of the week you'll arrive in Paris, what day of the week you'll depart, and what day you plan to go to Versailles. Will you be flying out of CDG?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Another option would be to take the train from Brussels to Avignon, pick up a rental car there so you can explore the area around Arles, drive to Montbard so you can have the car for exploring some of Burgundy, and then turn it in at either Auxerre or Orly.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
This advice may not do you any good, but the most efficient way to string these destinations together would be Brussels-Paris-Montbard-Arles, flying home from Marseilles.
If you already have non-changeable return tickets from Paris, you have a number of choices. You can take trains to Arles--there is even a night-train option, via Lille--or you can try to score a cheap flight to Marseilles. (No, I've never done that--but in your shoes I'd at least check it out.)
On a tight itinerary driving this route just eats up too much time.
Or, you can travel from Brussels to Paris, stay for a few days, and then take the TGV to Montbard. Work your way south however you choose and take the TGV to Charles DeGaulle the day you leave. (There are several trains from Provence that do not stop in Paris.)
The only rail pass that might make sense for this is the France saver pass, 2nd class--and even then you might be better off with point-to-point as Tim suggests.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
By the way, are going to Montbard to visit the Fontenay Abbey?
If so, I hope I am not out of line in suggesting that you spend as little time in Montbard itself as you can manage. The Abbey very much excepted.
It is a dreary place and there are so many wonderful things to see and do in Burgundy.