France
is a country that is easy to reach. Travellers
from
Britain who
don't
want to drive can fly to a choice of destinations throughout the country;
but if
you want to take a ferry or the Eurotunnel Shuttle and then drive, do
not underestimate the time needed to reach your destination, once you
reach French soil. From Calais to the furthest regions of the south of
France can be more than twelve hours' drive.
Fly
to France
Who
flies where in France? There
are major airports in most French cities, and smaller airports served
by "low cost" carriers in many more. The five biggest French airports
are: Paris Charles de Gaulle, Paris Orly, Nice, Toulouse and
Marseilles .
Traditional
carriers:
Major international airlines serve the five main French airports from a
range of cities throughout Europe and beyond. Here is a
selection of carriers with direct services to and from the British
Isles and the USA. This list is full, but not necessarily exhaustive.
There is no guarantee that airlines indicated fly the route every day.
In all cases, check flights before planning your route.
French
Airport
Carrier
Direct
Flights
to / from
Paris
Charles de Gaulle
(See also below for low-cost
carriers from CDG)
London
Heathrow, London Heathrow,
Manchester
London Heathrow
JFK, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Detroit,
Chicago
Toronto, Montreal, Houston, Los Angeles , Seattle, San Francisco
Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort worth, Miami, New York
Cleveland, New York
Atlanta, Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City
The
most
convenient means of travelling by train from London to
Provincial France is to
take the Eurostar (click for prices) from
London, Ebbsfleet or Ashford to Lille, and connect at Lille
to a French
TGV. There are direct TGV connections from Lille to a large number of
French towns and cities, including Bordeaux, Rennes, Nantes, Dijon,
Besançon, Avignon, Aix en Provence, Marseilles,
Montpellier, Perpignan
or Nice. By changing at Lille, travellers do not need to change
stations and haul their luggage across Paris. At Lille Europe station,
Eurostar trains from London and Brussels use the same platforms as
French TGVs going all over France.
The fastest
train service from London to Paris is now just 2h 35
minutes from city centre to city centre; depending on the season, there
are also direct Eurostar services from London to Bourg St Maurice in
the Alps, and from London to Avignon, in Provence.
But by changing at Lille Europe station you
can reach a large number of destinations across France with just a
single connection.
The Rail
Europe booking form on the left allows you to book your
European rail journey from London, Paris or other major European
locations. If the departure city or destination you are looking for
does not come up in the roll-down menus of the booking form, click on
the link below for further options and offers.
To
contact About France com, send an email to info
"at" about-france.com (Anti-spam
measure: replace "at" by the
standard symbol, and remove all spaces. )
