Anyone travelled to South of France by train?

[minxthemanx]

Fancied something different this year and liked the look of St Raphael/St Maxime area - went there many years ago. Have looked at easyjet flights, but wondered whether it would be any cheaper going by train. Can't find any details of price, as too early to book. Anyone got any rough ideas, or how long it takes?

Have a look on the seat61 site.
In the summer the eurostar goes to Avignon (might be Saturdays only) and you can change there for the coast.
Or change in Paris for the TGV.

We went to Strasbourg a few years ago.

This site www.seat61.com/ should give you all the info you need.

Train travel tends to be more expensive than flying but it is all about the experience!

You could search for a journey earlier in the year to get a feel for times and prices. Think you can book 3 months in advance.

This would be a fairly easy journey by train. You could either do the Avignon option above and then get a local train. Or you could get the eurostar to Lille and change on a train to Nice stopping at st raphael, or change in Paris and get on a Nice train. You could probably get there in around 7 hours. Seat61 is a good reference point. Contact Eurostar re: tickets (they sell some destinations beyond Paris).

Yes we went via the tunnel with our car down to the south of france when DD was 18m and i was pregnant. it was a fab way to travel - really exciting.

Thanks for that, I'll look into it.

I went to Avignon a few years ago, and changed at Lille (not Paris) as it's a very easy change (unless you want to make a trip to Paris part of the holiday) In Paris, you have to travel across the city, whereas in Lille, you stay in the station.

Really enjoyed the journey, esp from Lille to Avignon - the French trains are much more comfortable, with larger seats.