Nice France

My husband and I are going to Nice in April. We are looking to stay in a quaint B %26amp; B. Anyone have any suggestions? We are in our mid 50%26#39;s.

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Hello to rmoss53, a fellow buckeye. My husband and I are going to Nice in mid-March. I can%26#39;t provide any info regarding B%26amp;Bs. We have made arrangements to stay at Club No.1 Nice Cote d%26#39; Azur.You may want to Google them and check them out. I%26#39;ll do a trip report upon our return

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Thank you so much for your reply. What airline are you traveling on?

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We are flying to Paris on NWA and taking the hi-speed train from Paris to Nice. In my search for flights directly into Nice, I couldn%26#39;t find anything without a long layover and the tickets were very expensive. The price for round trip to Paris isn%26#39;t too bad, the train tickets were cheap, we enjoy train travel and the scenery along the way should be great. Really looking forward to visiting this area.

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Hi 2Goers - I am curious as to what train you are taking from Paris to Nice - is it the Eurorail? I had initially planned to take a ryanair flight from Paris to Marseille and then get a train from there to Nice. If you don%26#39;t mind my asking, about how much were the train tickets? I looked at Eurorail passes and they seem outrageously expensive. Thanks for any advice you can give.

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Hello Hcyates24. Glad to help if I can. Many folks here on TA have been of great assistance to me.

I am certainly not an expert but as I understand the situation, Eurail is a British agency that by contract with the french rail service has something like an exclusive right to sell %26amp; deliver french rail tickets to customers in the U.S. And they put a rather steep mark up on the price of the tickets. We had always used Eurail in the past until sometime last year when I read several different posts here on TA.

The french rail service is SNCF. THe website is%26lt;www.voyages-SNCF.com%26gt; Their hi-speed tain is iDTGV. It is a 5 1/2 hr. trip from Paris Gare d%26#39;Lyon to Nice. I purchased tickets in late Oct. 2008 for our trip in mid-March and paid 39. Euro for the Paris to Nice trip and 19 Euro for the return trip. I used my Master Card so my card added a 2% conversion fee. However, that was still much less than the Eurail price for the same tickets. I printed our tickets.

If you use the SNCF site, the further in advance of your travel date the cheaper the tickets are. Be forewarned that their site is NOT user friendly. I recommend some preparation even before going to the SNCF site. Go to %26lt;www.seat61.com%26gt; and read about french rail. Here on the TA Paris forum put %26quot;MorganB%26#39;s French SNCF Train Rail Booking Guide version 2%26quot; in the search box. I printed MorganB%26#39;s instructions and followed them as I struggled thru the SNCF site. Very early on the SNCF site you are directed to check a box indicating where you are located. If you check the US box you will be immediately transferred to the Eurail site. If you check the Great Britain box you will continue on the SNCF site.

I hope all of the above make3s some sense and is helpful.

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Removed on: 1:18 pm, October 16, 2009

rue de la foreste

We are considering an apartment on this street and can%26#39;t seem to find much about it. Any feedback from the Nice experts? Thank you.

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Check the exact address

there is nothing with that exact name but there are these :

Avenue de la Forêt

rue de Foresta

Route Forestière

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sorry, in such a hurry this morning.

Rue de Foresta.

Thanks SelkieNice!

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Try this to view a picture of the street - it%26#39;s good fun!

http://photos.pagesjaunes.fr/

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I ran up this raod this morning. It%26#39;s lovely and quiet, residential one side and in the shadow of the Castle Hill on the other. There is a winding road up the castle Hill and steps and views down to the Port. It%26#39;s at a higher level than the Port so the views look down on it. The antique shops are a bit further up towards rue Cassini. You can cut through to the Old Town via Pace Garibaldi/segaurane one way or walk down to the start of the Prom the other, popping out by the War Memorial. It%26#39;s a good location. Within a couple of minutes you are by the restaurants and cafes of the Port.

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Hi cercis47 -its easily done but all three roads are far apart.

rue de Foresta is pretty quiet but handy for the port and an easy walk to get to the old town going via rauba capeu at the bottom of the castle hill.

If you stay at Rue de Foresta , take a bus or walk up to the top of Mont Boron and see if you can see your house from up there and enjoy the fabulous view.

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Removed on: 8:16 pm, October 16, 2009

Reduced Lift Tickets

Hi, we are coming to Chamonix this weekend. Whenever we ski in the US, there are normally places to go to get reduced Lift Tickets. Does anyone have any suggestions for Chamonix?

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No such thing in Chamonix. The only reduction will be on 13April when it will be BOGOF.

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You very rarely get this in Europe. On the plus side though, the tickets are cheaper in the first place.

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Removed on: 10:19 pm, October 16, 2009

by train

Can you visit Dordogne valley by train without

renting a car and still see and have a good

experience?

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You can certainly get to the main towns by train, but I feel you would need a car to get about the area conveniently.

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Please see this Trip Advisor %26#39;inside%26#39; page for information

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187081-s302/Dordogne…

The current train timetable, storms and strike permitting, is at

ter-sncf.com/Images/AF15_Sarlat_Bordeaux_tcm…

The summer timetable does usually have a couple more trains running.

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Thank you - It does sound a bit difficult.

I will have to rethink my plans!!

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Don%26#39;t be hesitant about driving around the Dordogne - the driving rules in France are very much like the US (and same side of the road). Really, you wouldn%26#39;t have any major problem, and it is the best and easiest way to see the sites.

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If you don%26#39;t rent a car, all you%26#39;ll see are the major towns, and that%26#39;s not where the sights will be. I know in Sarlat, there%26#39;s a man with a taxi who%26#39;ll take you around to a few places, but most of the good sights (castles, prehistoric caves, etc...) are fairly far apart.

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Hi again

Thanks for all the responses, I am wavering between

Annecy and the Dordogone valley- my first trip

to france and with two 14 year old boys!

I just watched a Rick Steves viedo and fell in love with the Dordogne valley.

Anyone know what the weather might be like 2nd week

of April and can it be done in 4 days traveling to

and from Paris, it looks like its a all day train

ride and then I could rent a car in Sarlat.

Thanks!!!

M

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Getting trains all the way to Sarlat might be time consuming - you should make better time over all if you go to either Brive or Perigueux from Paris, and rent a car there (the major train stations always have car rental agencies right at the station, including the major US companies you know, so you can reserve on line from home).

If your arrival city is Perigueux, you are already in the Dordogne (it%26#39;s a very old city, the church in the medieval area probably dates to around 1200 and there also are modest size Roman ruins). Brive would be maybe an hour or so from Sarlat, but also close to many other interesting attractions.

I suggest getting a guidebook to see what%26#39;s near the cities where you might be arriving, so you can plan from that. This is my favorite part of France, so I%26#39;m a bit prejudiced - I don%26#39;t think you can go wrong, any time of year (April should be much less crowded than later, so you will have many places more or less to yourself). Have a great trip!

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Annecy is beautiful but Dordogne seems like there would be more to do with your boys, we are taking our children to see the cave, some castles, etc. in the Dordogne, we haven%26#39;t been there yet. I am also curious about the weather in April that is when we are going. Anyone know the weather for this time of the year?

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Well I was last there in July 2008 and it rained every other day!

Have a look at www.wundergound.com for Bergerac - that%26#39;s the airport more or less in the Dordogne and prowl around the weather history. That should give you a good idea.

April 2008 varied from a cool 15C to a ridiculous 26C (almost 80F)so looks like anything is possible.

I hope it is better than last year for my next visit in June.

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Removed on: 5:18 pm, October 13, 2009

March Weather in Villefranche

We are thinking of visiting Villefranche for a few days mid-march. Does anybody have experience of the weather at this time? Is it Mistral time? If so any problems with temperatures?

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One of the reasons why the stretch of coast around Nice became so popular with tourists is that it is affected very little by the Mistral which, when it does arrive is just a stiffish west wind and nothing like the ferocious storm that batters western Provence.

Most days in March will be sunny with temperatures 15 to 18C but it will feel much warmer in the sun and it is quite possible to get burnt. However, there are wet spells in March and,if you were unlucky, you could get a day or more of heavy rain.

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Thanks for the info, Londonbob. Sounds like you know the area quite well. We%26#39;ve only been in the area in summer previously so were unsure. We%26#39;re thinking of staying at the Welcome Hotel. It seems to have had some good write-ups and looks to be a very picturesque location.

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We have a flat close to the Welcome. Good hotel but I reckon now somewhat overpriced. when the flat is rented I stay at the Darse, which is a great deal cheaper and much better value.

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Removed on: 2:18 am, October 16, 2009

Driving from Chamonix to Strasbourg, any ideas?

Cross posted in Switerland forums. Looking for some thoughts and advice. We will be heading to Strasbourg from Chamonix in June. Originally we thought we would take the train from Geneva, which takes about 4 1/2 hours. I%26#39;ve recently looked into keeping our rental car, and driving to Strasbourg instead through part of Switzerland, which according to Via Michelin will take about the same amount of time, but will allow us to stop and take in the scenery.

That being said, does anyone have experience doing this drive, and are there any worthwhile stops to make along the way? We%26#39;ll have our 7 yo daughter with us. I%26#39;d like to get to Strasbourg in the early afternoon so as to spend some time there as well, since we are only staying overnight then headed to Paris the next day.

Basically looking for good places to make pit stops, find something to eat, maybe see an interesting sight or two. Thanks for your help!

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Removed on: 11:19 pm, October 16, 2009

paris on Easter

Hi

Our last day in Paris will be on Easter, we are staying at the Marriott by the airport for the last

night to catch a early flight.

Want to come into Paris for the afternoon and have a

nice meal and walk around. any suggestions??

Thank you

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Hi

Consider taking the RER B into Paris getting off at ST Michel/Notre Dame, heading to the Cathedral for a visit, then to the Left Bank and the

Bouillon- Racine for lunch...

www.bouillon-racine.com/en/home/index.html

After, weather permitting a walk through the Luxembourg Gardens:

paris-walking-tours.com/palaisduluxembourg.h…

Wander the streets back towards the river and the RER back to the airport...

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Thank you- That sounds wonderful!!!

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Boullion Racine is a wonderful little restaurant. I%26#39;ve eaten there many times and it%26#39;s always the same. Good, reasonably priced food with a friendly staff.

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Getting into Notre Dame cathedral on Easter Sunday is quite a feat. Lots of locals and hundreds of visitors come to see the crown of thorns and hear the choir. Seats are reserved and getting in requires standing in line for a considerable amount of time. I%26#39;d reserve that for another day and head to a museum.

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Removed on: 4:22 pm, October 15, 2009