autoroutes - questions - August/service stations/warning tr

Grateful for information on a number of questions

I will be travelling Calais - Brittany on saturday 2 Aug and returning on Saturday 16 August. Are these leikely to be mega busy dates or are French holidays more spread outr than they used to be?

Is there a website showing aires with fuel and restaurants on autoroutes so that we can plan our stops?

Is it true that from 1 July motorists have to carry a warning triangle and a reflective jacket (is that one per passenger?)

www.franceautoroutes.com/

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According to Bison Fute the 2nd August is classified as a black day on the roads and the 16th August a red day. However that said I think it will be much worse if you were heading South.

Yes from 1st July you must have a warning triangle and 1 refective jacket.

To find the aires you need to get onto the web-site of the company that runs the autoroutes that you will be using.

This map should help you.

autoroutes.fr/en/asfa/french-motorway-compan…

Good luck

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This is what the AA say about warning triangles/reflective jackets:

%26quot;The introduction of the regulation concerning the compulsory carriage of a reflective jacket will now come in to force on the 1st October 2008 (initially this was due to be introduced on the 1st July 2008). It will be compulsory for all French registered vehicles to have a reflective safety jacket on board which must me kept inside the vehicle and it will also be compulsory to carry a warning triangle. The authorities are yet to confirm whether these requirements will apply to foreign registered vehicles. This advice will be updated as soon as confirmation is received.%26quot;

So, seems that you don%26#39;t have to HAVE them, but certainly won%26#39;t do any harm to get hold of them. Looks like it will be one per car rather than passenger.

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Removed on: 1:21 am, October 06, 2009

Bastille Day!

Hi,

We%26#39;re going to Paris for 3 days (1/2 days on Sunday and Tuesday). Our only full day (Monday) is Bastille Day - at the risk of sounding totally ignorant, will the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, shopping centres be open?

Also, on Sunday night I%26#39;m thinking of booking the Bateaux Parisien cruise, then having dinner somewhere near the Eiffel Tower. Will there be restaurants open on a Sunday night?

Thanks!

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I%26#39;ve just read somewhere that all the Metro stations will be closed on Bastille Day. Is this true? We%26#39;re staying in Mairie de Clichy (quite a way away from everything).

Also, we%26#39;d like to go and see the firework celebrations at Trocadero - does anyone know what time it all kicks off, or roughly what time I should be there by?

Thanks... I apologise for the millions of questions!

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Hi! Both the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre will be open, as well as most other museums such as the Musée d%26#39;Orsay. The Louvre is free on Bastille Day, but it is always busy every day so I would recommend going early in the day.

Restaurants will be open as normal on Sunday night, and the metro is definitely open on Bastille Day BUT it will be absolutely packed!

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Sorry forgot a couple of points... shops will be closed on Bastille Day and the fireworks kick off after dark around 10ish. Trocadero is the best place to watch them but people start congregating there late in the afternoon / evening so it will be busy busy busy :o)

Enjoy yourself!

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Doh! I missed three words out...

*A lot of* shops will be closed (not all)

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PHEW!!! Thank you so much. I hadn%26#39;t realised it was Bastille Day until just now (just finished uni exams and my brain hasn%26#39;t yet recovered fully), and I was beginning to panic, especially since our hotel is relatively out of the way! I really appreciate the advice.

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Removed on: 3:20 am, October 06, 2009

Any "must sees" on the road from Paris to Dijon?

Hello, in the middle of September, after spending 3 days in Paris, my wife and I will be driving from Paris to Dijon. Does any one have any suggestions for %26quot;must sees%26quot; along the way?

By the way, we will be leaving from Gare de Lyon, on Friday at around noon. This should allow us to miss the morning traffic and not get caught in the evening rush, right?

Thanks!!!

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It depends which way you go but using the autoroute:

If you come off the A6 autoroute at exit 21 and go to Noyers (very pretty medieval village, used for films etc) then onto Montbard for a great abbey, Fontenay, which was owned by the Montgolfiers (the Balloon people).

Not far from the Abbey is the source of the River Seine.

Dijon itself is lovely - one of my favourite towns in France. All of Burgundy is lovely. Have a wonderful trip!

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You would practically be driving past Fontainebleau, so although it%26#39;s not very far out of Paris, it seems like a good opportunity for a visit eh??

http://www.uk.fontainebleau-tourisme.com/

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Removed on: 2:19 am, October 06, 2009

Weekend trip from Paris

Hello!

My finance and I are going to Paris for our honeymoon (!) and are hoping to do a small trip of 1-2 nights outside of the city. Something quaint, romantic, relatively close, not too expensive, and accessible by train. (Is that being too picky?) :-) Like a small town or coastal getaway.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I%26#39;ve been looking everywhere, and getting nowhere it seems.

Thanks!

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Bayeux?? - Mediaeval, Famous and fabulous Tapestry

Rouen?? - Great Cathederal, lovely city

Arras?? - Fabulous restored flemish style buildings around 3 large squares, good restaurants, good markets.

Reims??? - yes I know it%26#39;s not small, but it%26#39;s a great place to visit, and a FAST train goes there now, plenty of Champers and a fab Cathederal

Chartres?? - not too sure about the train for this one, but again a fantastic Cathederal, and great restaurants.

Deauville?? - Easy to get to by train, costal, great beaches, grand hotels %26amp; Casion

Le Touquet?? - Chic %26#39;Paris Plage%26#39;

St Malo?? - stay %26#39;Intra Muros%26#39; and walk the walls!

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Removed on: 2:16 am, October 06, 2009

Car rental from Paris to Strasbourg

Hi everyone!

My brother and I would like to rent a car to drive from Paris to Strasbourg next September.

Does anyone know what the best car rental companies are?

Thank you so much! :)

Ana Beatriz

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Hi Ana! I do not know of car rental companies, however, we just returned from Strasbourg and it was beautiful!!! We have lived in Paris a year, and this was our first time to Strasbourg...I fell in love immediately, and we have been all over Europe to many wonderful places! We only had 1 night there, and I wish it could have been at least 3 or 4...so I wish you the best!!! Someday I will get back!!!

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Hi,

Try www.avis.fr or brokers such as www.holidayautos.fr or .co.uk, www.autoescape.com .

But consider the high speed train TGV takes you to Strasbourg in 2h20 instead of 4 or 5 hours by car...

Bye,

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Ana-

We used EuropeCar when we rented a car for 3 weeks driving from germany to france. We had no problems with the company. We did drop off the car at Gare du Nord train station which i thought a nightmare but my husband and son thought exhilerating. If you do rent, try a rental location outside the Blvd Peripherique. It might be easier driving - any Parisians can help out with that info.... Driving was a breeze until the last few miles inside Paris.

Goodluck

LissafromArizona

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Actually the Gare du Nord is a good place to drive out of, very direct to the Peripherique, complicated to get back to with one way streets.

You may wish to to drive to Strasbourg and take a train back. If wishing to stop on the way, Nancy is a very attractive town.

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I so wished that the car company had advised us of the one way streets surrounding the station. We should have asked but ... we were thinking of the directions leaving Munich instead of the end of the trip. Also, that the drop off point was Underneath the train station. We found this by accident....

Good luck Ana!

LissafromArizona

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Removed on: 9:16 pm, October 04, 2009

Train from Monte Carlo to Cannes

Hi,

I%26#39;m over in Cannes for a wedding so will not really be travelling around and have limited time there in July. I%26#39;m going to Monte Carlo on the Sunday but need to get the train back to Cannes. Do you know if there is a website I can go to where I can look at the train times or get a map of the location of the train stations? Also roughly how long is the journey and the cost?

Thanks!

Angie

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Trains run along the coast, so it is quite easy to get from Monte Carlo to Cannes. I know that the train identified as Ventimille travels from Cannes in the direction of Monte Carlo, so you want the other one! Sorry I can%26#39;t remember the name of the line, but perhaps someone else can give you more information. An Express train would be your fastest train, and I think an Express will most likely stop at Cannes. Check on this, however, before you buy your ticket. The schedules are usually reduced on Sunday, so be careful about the last train to Cannes. The people selling the tickets are always helpful, so ask for help.

Hopefully, someone will join in with more info...I%26#39;m a start! If all else fails, you can pick up a schedule brochure at the Cannes station. It%26#39;s centrally located and about 5 or so blocks away from the beach area.

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Removed on: 4:20 pm, October 05, 2009

Eurail Pass vs Point-Point

Hello,

We are planning our first trip to Europe in Oct. We haven%26#39;t settled with which cities to scratch away, but i am starting to read about Eurail Pass. It seems a lot of people are saying Point-Point tickets should be the way to go. I was wondering, in order to take advantage of Point-Point, you should get it with the promo rate. For trips covering different cities, what if you are running a bit late or you want to change from one city to another? I guessed, it%26#39;s not possible with the Point-Point promo rate, and with Point-Point normal rate, i have to book way ahead in order to get the discount.

After some calculations based on the fare posted on individual train site, using the pass seems to work out better for us, maybe i am missing out something.

Paris - Brussels (stopover), thalys: 82, Promo 25, Pass Supplement 22 1st class (in euro)

Brussels - Amsterdam (2 nights) thalys: 55 , Promo 25, Pass Supplement 22 1st class

Amsterdam - Koblenz (stopover) ICE: 70, Promo 29

Koblenz - Mannheim (2 nights) EC/IC: 32, Promo 29

Mannheim - Zurich (stopover) ICE: 72, Promo 29

Zurch - Lucerne (2 nights) 25

Lucerne - Paris (TGV, 5 hours) to take flight to Prague, TGV: 107, Pass Supplement 22

Prague - Vienna (2 nights) EC: 30

Vienna - Venice (2 nights) EC: 70, Promo 29

Venice - Florence (stopover) ES: 38, Amira 25

Florence - Rome (2 nights) ES: 36, Amira 28

with non promo rate, total about euro 617 / usd 987

with promo rate, total about euro 381 / usd 609

Global Euro 15 day saver pass: usd 675 + 106 TGV supplement on 3 trips + 50 estimated reservation in Italy/Germany = estimated usd 830

What do you think?

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I know you didn%26#39;t ask me to comment on your schedule, but... I think you%26#39;re nuts. :)

Have you factored in the duration of each train ride, including checking out of hotel, getting to the station, leaving the next station and checking into next hotel? How much sightseeing time does that leave you in each city?

Other than that, I would go with the pass just to ease up the pain of your itinerary somewhat. This also gives you more flexibility over worrying about losing your %26#39;discount%26#39; on the promo tickets.

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Well you have done all the research and worked it out for yourself. Point to point tickets using the discounted rates are $221 cheaper than the pass but you won%26#39;t have any flexibility with your incredibly hectic schedule. If you think you might want to make changes then you should pay the extra and get the pass. If you are sure of your itinerary then buy the discount tickets. You can probably afford to miss 1 or 2 of the cheaper trains and still be ahead.

Please consider travelnutty%26#39;s advice. There is not much time to sightsee with this plan. You are going to spend 7 of your 15 days in trains and at train stations. That%26#39;s nearly half your vacation - are you sure that is what you really want to do?

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Thanks for replying... i agree, we have to take away some cities.. and i will just order the pass.

Thanks!

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Removed on: 4:17 am, October 06, 2009