The house is approximately 750 kilometers south from the Charles de Gaulle airport (which is north-east of Paris). Assuming you are flying from North America, you will likely land at the CDG airport. There are several choices once you get to Paris:
- By train – take the TGV to Avignon. There is a TGV station in the Charles de Gaulle terminal 2 building, so you can walk from the arrival gate to the train station. The train ride to Avignon takes about 4 hours. The TGV is very comfortable, travelling at about 200-250 KM per hour. You really don’t know how fast you are going unless you watch the ground just outside the windows, and you can nap in the first class seats. The TGV has both a first and second class section, and has smoking and non-smoking cars. If you are a non-smoker you must remember to request non smoking as the French are still heavy smokers. The scenery from the train is great. The house is about a 30 minute drive from Avignon. No toll roads.
- By Car - If you choose to drive from Paris, unless you really want to enter the city itself, take the AutoRoute and try to avoid the Periphique – there is a bypass or two from the airport to the southbound expressways. The drive is about 750 kilometers –and with stops usually takes about 8 hours You may want to stop overnight around Macon or Lyon, which is about half way. The time change makes it tough to stay awake for this kind of driving. This driving distance will take between 1 and 2 tanks of gas (or a tank of diesel) and about 160 FF for the tolls.
- Fly to Marseilles or Avignon. Marseilles is an international airport and has several flights a day from Charles de Gaulle airport. The flight to Marseilles is an hour and the drive to the house takes about 1.5 hours. Part of the drive from Marseilles to the house is on toll roads. You can expect to spend about 40FF depending on your exit. The flight schedule to Avignon is far less flexible. Although the drive is only about ½ hour from Avignon you might spent longer waiting to get a connecting flight.
Costs for these options can vary depending on how good a shopper you and/or your travel agent are. First Class TGV tickets can cost 150 US$ per person or more (return). We have found the cheapest total cost from Toronto is to fly Air France Toronto to Paris and then Air Inter (Air France domestic) Paris to Marseilles. If you choose this option and fly return from Marseilles to Paris to Toronto all on the same day, the down side is the tight connection – usually about one-half hour. Even though the drive to the airport is usually only 1.5 hours you need to leave the house relatively early to ensure no traffic delays as well as returning any rented car. There is an 11:00 am flight Marseilles to Paris, and a 1:30 flight from Paris to Toronto. The terminal is huge so you might be in for a jog. We have never missed the connection though because there are usually several other passengers on the same flight. Air France seems to be a little more flexible than most North American carriers in ensuring that all international passengers make their flights. Your luggage is checked through, so you only have to get yourself and your carry on to the plane. These prices are based on 1999 experiences for Air France and 1998 for the TGV.