My daughter and I will be in Nice late June. We plan to travel to Paris on Monday, return to Nice on Friday. Any thoughts on going by train vs. renting a car? I read conflicting posts about time and cost. Flying may be less expensive and quicker, but we don't want to fly. Any opinions greatly apprecitated.
Posted by
Nice, France
108 posts
If you don't want to fly, then yes I'd say go by train unless it's not a hassle for you to drive many hours. I find public transport for this kind of trip more relaxing. the id-tgv website has good offers for tgv trips. check their website at http://www.idtgv.com/en/
Some people complain the tgv is slow from Nice to Paris, but it's the section Nice-Marseille that is slower because the tracks are not tgv-type tracks. In any case, the trip by car is a 950km drive and it takes a good 9 hours, not counting the stops, which you will need. There is a motorway all the way, which means you'll have to pay the toll, for the whole trip it costs a little over €70.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Take the train. You could go one way on daytime TGVs and see the countryside flash by and the other way on the direct night train which would save you the cost of a night in a hotel and give you more daylight hours for sightseeing.
If you book well in advance (up to three months allowed) at www.tgv-europe.com, you can get discount fares. IMO, the best deal for the night train that would give you comfortable sleeping arrangements at a good price would be bunks in a women-only, 4-person couchette.
To keep the site in English and to avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site which doesn't offer discount fares, choose Great Britain as your country of residence.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
313 posts
I would defnitely choose the train, unless you just want a road trip or want to stop in towns along the way, which it doesn't sound like you do. What would you do with the car once you were in Paris? It would only be a headache there.
We've driven in France a fair amount, and your choices are for the most part either the expressway (toll road, limited access, somewhat isolated from surroundings) or secondary roads (much slower, roundabouts, and roundabouts...). On a long trip like that, we would prefer the relaxation of moving about the training, going down to sit in the dining car, etc., and enjoying the countryside.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32353 posts
Cathy,
I'd definitely choose the TGV over driving, especially as you're only going to Paris for a few days. Train will be much faster and most likely more of a pleasant travel experience.
Cheers!
Posted by
OP
Cincinnati, OH
38 posts
Well, it looks like the train wins - hands down! Thanks for all the input, in particular the web sites info. I was always ending up at rail europe and tickets seemed quite expensive. Thanks again!