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Paris-Bruges-Loire Valley-Marseilles-London

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My Fiance and I are planning our honeymoon in Europe. We will be going for 17 nights...5 nights in paris, 2 Nights in Bruges, 2 Nights in the Loire Valley, 3 Nights in Marseilles and 5 Nights in London.

My concern is traveling between destinations. We will begin our trip in Paris but I am unsure of whether I should head to the Loire Valley or Bruges from Paris. If I go to Bruges from Paris, then I am basically traveling further away from the Loire Valley to then come back to it. However, if I go to the Loire Valley, which is much closer to Paris, it may be a pain to then get to Bruges. I also am trying to take into consideration the fact that I am heading to Marseilles from there. We will be in Marseilles for 3 nights because that is where my family lives so we will be visiting with them. I am unsure of what is best to do from Paris.

In addition, I am trying to determine the best way to travel between these designations. What is the quickest way to travel from Paris to Bruges? If I go to Bruges after Paris, what is the easiest way to then travel to the Loire Valley. (I am unsure of exactly where we will be staying in the Loire Valley but it will most likely be in or near one of the Chateaux east of Tours. My last concern is getting to Marseilles, either from Bruges or the Loire Valley. Should I travel by train or by plane and what location is best to travel from (train station or airport). From Marseilles to London seems simple enough as there are many options for direct flights.
My trip will be next August 2015...August 9-August 27.
Thank you in advance! :)

Danielle

Posted by
12040 posts

"What is the quickest way to travel from Paris to Bruges?"

Hop on the Thalys train to Brussels, then catch a Belgian rail train to Brugge. One ticket covers the whole trip. Note, however, that the portion run by Thalys obligates you to riding a specific train at a specific time in a specific seat (like an airline), but you can hop on any of the very frequent runs between Brussels and Brugge after that. This would allow you the option of lingering in Brussels, should you so choose.

Thalys also uses airline style pricing, so the longer you wait to purchase the tickets, the higher the cost.

Posted by
32701 posts

Danielle,

Congratulations on the upcoming nuptials.

It seems to me that it might be a good idea to consider Paris as the hub of a wheel with all your other points on the wheel.

France is very Paris - centric and the fast TGV trains and Thalys and Eurostar all focus on Paris.

So Paris - Bruges Thalys to Brussels and local train to Bruges.

Instead of going back to Paris for London you can take a 2:03 Eurostar from Brussels to London St Pancras and then return to Paris by Eurostar again.

Paris to St Pierre des Corps which is the TGV station in Tours is just 1:03, then another half hour or 40 minutes to Amboise and a bit more to Blois.

Paris to Marseilles is also very fast, about 3 hours.

Even with changing stations in Paris it is probably about the same time as flying or faster when you consider getting to and from airports and check in and security times, none of which are concerns on the trains.

If you do London at the end think of 2 things - Heathrow attracts a higher departure tax than many other places and the end of August will likely run you into the August Bank Holiday which can make your life a little difficult and fares higher.

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