My family of four (with two kids, 9 %26amp; 13) will be spending 5 days in and around Provence in late March, with a base in Avignon, renting a car to explore during our time there.
When it comes time to leave, we%26#39;ll be traveling north to eventually Strasbourg (on a Sunday.)
And my question is: would it be better to take the train or to drive?
Via RailEurope, the train travel times to Strasbourg I find take 6 to 7 hrs, with a TGV train to Lyon followed by a local train from there to Strasbourg.
And via the Michelin travel site, the driving times seem about the same, taking the main highway as far as Lyon, then lesser highways heading northeast via Dijon, Bresancon and beyond. (But according to the trip estimates on the Michelin site the cost of the driving would be half the price of the train fare, for what that%26#39;s worth.)
Any thoughts on which mode of travel would make more sense?
What I can%26#39;t calculate are the unknowns (at least to me) like say, the scenery along the way, better viewed by car or train (?) or the traffic and the stress that comes with it, or the food opportunities, on the road verses on the rails. Or the problems with driving through small towns on a Sunday, and whether theres any place to stop for fuel, for the car or the passengers. Or whether it%26#39;s just ridiculously far to drive at all, etc.
Living in the western USA though, I should say, I%26#39;m used to driving 400 to 500 miles in a day to visit family on occassion, though not on French highways obviously.
Any advice?
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You can get to Strasbourg in less than six hours by train, with one change at CDG.
This is a much better alternative than driving, especially with children. Figuring a stops for lunch and for breaks, you would looking at spending all day in the car.
Train schedules, route map and tickets:
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
…raileurope.com/map_of_europe/france.html
www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/_SvHomePage…
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I tend to agree with Francophool.. Love that name
Take a two hour 45 minute train from Avignon to Paris and connect to a TGV train from there. Depending on the exact train schedules, this SHOULD cut your travel time a little bit.
Trains are most comfortable here and I think your kids would enjoy the experience.
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If you were hiring the car specially, I%26#39;d agree with the others about the merit of a train, though I also can%26#39;t find anything much less than 6 hours, even as a direct train (13.24 from Avignon, arrive Strasbourg 19.23) and this doesn%26#39;t include the cost, time and general aggravation of having to be at Avignon station on time.
However, as you already have the car, there could be benefits in using it, depending what you%26#39;re planning once you get to Strasbourg. If you%26#39;re wanting to visit Alsace wine villages, you definitely need a car. You can also load up and leave when you%26#39;re ready, which always seems an advantage with children.
The Michelin route is almost all autoroute, so no worries with driving through small villages and you can head north-east directly from Lyon, which is a long way before Dijon. There are regular stops (aires) about every 10km where you can take a break, which may be simple parking areas with toilets (occasionally %26#39;hole-in-the-ground%26#39;) or major facilities with fuel, restaurants, shops, etc. They are open every day including Sunday and always well-signed in advance, with detail about facilities and how far to the next stop - my travel atlas had them all marked, so it used to be one way of occupying children, counting down to the next stop!
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Francophool and toutou, I appreciate what you%26#39;re saying, and it makes a lot of sense, but I should explain that we will have come from Paris on the TGV to Avignon, which was one reason I was considering going to Strasbourg a different way. (In fact we may have gone to Paris from Strasbourg via TGV - that%26#39;s still to be decided.)
That%26#39;s why the trains I was looking at didn%26#39;t go as far as all the way back to Paris. And as Diz suggests, I thought it would might be interesting to skirt the alps there and meander into the Alsace and see a little bit different flavor of France than we%26#39;ve seen so far. And I guess then that speed isn%26#39;t my sole concern.
Still, for the time it takes that might not be worth it. But aside from travel time, are the towns and the scenery easily skipped?
(My daughter, who has bathroom issues, would no doubt easily skip the hole in the ground toilets!)
Merci!
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I think driving is also a great idea, especially if you have the time. Sounds like you do.
Alsace is beautiful, though I am no expert on it. To me, if you have the time to drive around France, each region is so different one to the next it is well worth it.
As to hole in the ground toilets. I think you are referring to the Turkish type toilets that perhaps appear to be holes in the ground, but that do, in fact, flush. I don%26#39;t like them either, but most places have normal toilets in this day and age (yes I said most).
The train toilets are not always tip top clean, but they are at least not holes in the ground. Just be sure to keep a small pack of kleenex in your purse as tissue is often missing..
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Well, if you take the train route through Lyon [the TGV station], you can get to Strasbourg in about seven hours.
I don%26#39;t know about you, but there is a certain amount of monotony with scenery viewed out of the window of a train, which is why personally I would opt for the fastest route.
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Regarding the turkish toilets, these would be more prevalent at aires [rest stops] with minimal services.
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Thank you all for your suggestions, it%26#39;s invaluable on-the-ground insight for the naive and unworldly (like me!)
I guess I%26#39;ve just got to do some more thinking about this.
It%26#39;s just hard to pass up opportunities - in any direction - when you feel your time is so short and so precious and there%26#39;s so much to see.
I%26#39;ve never been to France at all, but have longed to go forever. So I want to see and do everything but realize, sadly, that isn%26#39;t possible, or even desirable, because trying to do everthing might mean doing nothing particularly well.
C%26#39;est un dilemme!
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driven thu bits of colorado and lots of france
there are loads of great places in france and provence is wonderful
but I dont think there is a great deal on the road route avignon-strasbourg that you are missing out on if you take the train
si if you are just flying off somewhere from strasbourg and have no more time to tour around id take the train
but if you have moer time around strasbourg hang onto the car - because nearly all the freeways in france have a toll they tend to be quiet and the stopping off places usually have climbing frames and stuff to let the kids exercise
if you have time in strasbourg le petite pierre is a charming village set in some lovely scenery
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