# Easy Jet or train from Paris to Nice



## GrayFal (Dec 5, 2009)

I will be traveling with DD to Paris and Nice this June.

I will probably book an early morning return flight from Paris at the end of our trip so will fly on Easy Jet at 8:30 pm the night before from Nice to Paris and stay at an airport hotel. 

My dilemma is traveling from Paris to Nice - is it 'scenic' to travel by train?
I also believe it is a long trip - 6 hours??? 
I would not mind the time if it were a nice ride but if it is not, I would rather fly - flight time is 1 hour 35 minutes (add to that the time to get to the airport, check-in, wait....) and costs $68. AirFrance also does this route for about $85

The train can not be booked until a few months before but the fares seem to be $200+

Has anyone done this trip and what are your thoughts.


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## jlp (Dec 6, 2009)

We travel about every three or four weeks from Paris to Monaco. The train from Paris to Nice takes 5 hours and 40 minutes. There are several trains a day and one that goes from Paris to Nice, Monaco, and Italy. The last two hours of the trip follow the coast and is very lovely. There is a restaurant bar in the train and the trip is comfortable especially in first class. You can reserve online idTGV and choose your seats. I found Air France round trip tickets for June at 120€. The train tickets started at 35€ one way for second class and 55€ one way for first class. idTGV tickets, sold online, are usually cheaper than the normal TGV tickets. You could take EasyJet one way and return by train.


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## GrayFal (Dec 6, 2009)

jlp said:


> We travel about every three or four weeks from Paris to Monaco. The train from Paris to Nice takes 5 hours and 40 minutes. There are several trains a day and one that goes from Paris to Nice, Monaco, and Italy. The last two hours of the trip follow the coast and is very lovely. There is a restaurant bar in the train and the trip is comfortable especially in first class. You can reserve online idTGV and choose your seats. I found Air France round trip tickets for June at 120€. The train tickets started at 35€ one way for second class and 55€ one way for first class. idTGV tickets, sold online, are usually cheaper than the normal TGV tickets. You could take EasyJet one way and return by train.




Thanks so much for the info.
When I went to the idTGV website, there was a charge of 35 euro for luggage...is that for your first piece of luggage, any luggage, or 'extra' luggage.
We will be carrying one bag each.

I can book a ticket for 19 euro and then have to pay 35 euro for luggage - it is cheaper to buy two seats!

Am I missing something?


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## jlp (Dec 7, 2009)

You can take two pieces of luggage per person for free. The 35€ charge is only if you have more than 2 per person or if you have an animal cage. I've checked several dates in June and 2nd class starts at 19,00€ and first class seats are 39,00€.  You print your ticket online. You can choose to travel iDZen in a quiet car or iDZap which is a bit more lively and then choose your seat. 

You don't stamp your printed tickets at the train station but present them to the staff on the platform and they scan your printed ticket. You will see the IDTGV stand on the platform. The same train is part TGV "normal" and part IDTGV which only sells tickets online. Please notice that these prices are low but some of the tickets can't be exchanged. The website has lots of details and even a short video. Hope this helps.


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## Carolinian (Dec 7, 2009)

For the benefit of others, I beleive that $200+ quote came from Rail Europe, a third party site that often prices European rail tickets far higher than what you can buy them for directly from the railroad involved. Rail Europe should be avoided like the plaque unless you like overpaying.  The only thing they are good for is getting schedules, but the Austrian and German railroad sites will give you schedules all over Europe online.


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## GrayFal (Dec 7, 2009)

jlp said:


> You can take two pieces of luggage per person for free. The 35€ charge is only if you have more than 2 per person or if you have an animal cage. I've checked several dates in June and 2nd class starts at 19,00€ and first class seats are 39,00€.  You print your ticket online. You can choose to travel iDZen in a quiet car or iDZap which is a bit more lively and then choose your seat.
> 
> You don't stamp your printed tickets at the train station but present them to the staff on the platform and they scan your printed ticket. You will see the IDTGV stand on the platform. The same train is part TGV "normal" and part IDTGV which only sells tickets online. Please notice that these prices are low but some of the tickets can't be exchanged. The website has lots of details and even a short video. Hope this helps.


Thanks again for your help...I was able to purchase two tickets - this is so much more reasonable the the other company/broker. I do see I can not change the ticket but we are checking out of our Paris TS and into our Nice TS that day so away we will go.

I would like to travel to Monaco for a day - I can get a ticket on that site as well.

You mentioned Italy - I could not tell if I could go to Italy from Nice using that site....what do you think?
I could PM you if u prefer.
TIA


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## GrayFal (Dec 7, 2009)

Carolinian said:


> For the benefit of others, I beleive that $200+ quote came from Rail Europe, a third party site that often prices European rail tickets far higher than what you can buy them for directly from the railroad involved. Rail Europe should be avoided like the plaque unless you like overpaying.  The only thing they are good for is getting schedules, but the Austrian and German railroad sites will give you schedules all over Europe online.



Yes, thank u so much for mentioning this to me...I now KNOW I overpaid in 2007 going thru the chunnel from London to Paris.

I usually consider myself a savy traveler - but Rail Europe and other third party companies are what come up when you google "train paris to nice"


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## jlp (Dec 7, 2009)

Feel free to send me an email. The iDTGV website doesn't sell tickets from Nice to Italy. There is one daily train that leaves from Paris (11h46) arrives in Nice, has a short stop there, and continues to Monaco, Menton, and finally Vintimille. From Nice you can get trains to several Italian cities but the train ride can be a bit long.

The timetable for the regional TER trains can be found at www.ter-sncf.com and then click on the line desired such as Mandelieu to Vintimille (Ventimiglia)

Bus n°100 leaves from the Nice bus station, costs around 1€, and goes from Nice to Menton on the Italian border.


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## Laurie (Dec 7, 2009)

Hmm.. what's the best place to find out about chunnel tickets and prices?


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## Carolinian (Dec 8, 2009)

GrayFal said:


> Yes, thank u so much for mentioning this to me...I now KNOW I overpaid in 2007 going thru the chunnel from London to Paris.
> 
> I usually consider myself a savy traveler - but Rail Europe and other third party companies are what come up when you google "train paris to nice"



Check the Links Directory at www.timeshareforums.com/links/index.php under Trains, Buses, and Ferries for websites of the railroads themselves.


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## Laurie (Dec 8, 2009)

Carolinian or jlp,

I didn't see cheaper chunnel ticket info in the TS4MS link listing, tho I clicked around and tried both France and UK ... I have only been able to find Rail Europe's pricing, so far. Do either of you have a quick link handy?


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## jlp (Dec 8, 2009)

I use the French website voyages-sncf.com to make my reservations. When I click on the bottom left hand side for English, I am taken to the site www.tgv-europe.com or www.eurostar.com


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## GrayFal (Dec 8, 2009)

Laurie said:


> Carolinian or jlp,
> 
> I didn't see cheaper chunnel ticket info in the TS4MS link listing, tho I clicked around and tried both France and UK ... I have only been able to find Rail Europe's pricing, so far. Do either of you have a quick link handy?



Try this one http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/train-ticket/London-paris?rfrr=HomeEdito_body_London - Paris

Access to the main train travel possibilities across all of Europe

 Reserve 3 months in advance and take advantage of our many promotions.
 Select the ticket retrieval method that is the most convenient for you.
 Travel from town centre to town centre with no changes. Save time and money!
 Travel by train and participate in protecting the planet's natural resources 

Postal delivery

Receive your tickets by mail in a sealed envelope within 7 business days at the address of your choice.

Retrieval in a French station

In France: you can retrieve your tickets in a French station with the bank card that was used to pay for it.


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