Crossings from England are much shorter. From the south coast Brittany Ferries operate four routes (Portsmouth to St Malo, Portsmouth to Caen-Ouistreham, Poole to Cherbourg and Plymouth to Roscoff) and Condor Ferries (www.condor ferries.com) operate two (Poole to St Malo and Weymouth to St Malo). The Condor ferries are fast, reaching St Malo in five hours. Hoverspeed (www.hoverspeed.com), Sea France (www.seafrance.com) and P&O Ferries (www.poferries.com) operate ferry crossings between Dover to Calais. Foot passengers can take bicycles on all of these (£5–£10 charge). A useful website for information is www.aferry.co.uk.
There are regular train services to Paris from all the French ports mentioned (although some, such as Caen-Ouistreham, require a ride into town to the main station).
Cyclists can also reach France by train from England. The regular Eurostar service (www.eurostar.com) via Ashford International in Kent and the Channel Tunnel departs from St Pancras International and takes about 3 hours to Paris Gare du Nord. Trains run every hour during the week from 5.30am to 7.40pm. You can also get off at Lille (2 hours from St Pancras) and take a high speed TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) to the Paris airport CDG where the Marne and Picardy tour (Route 2) begins. This TGV line bypasses Paris and continues on to the south of France.
It is also possible to travel direct to Avignon (Route 5) in the south of France from St Pancras by Eurostar on Saturdays from the end of May to mid-October, but you need to book well in advance. The direct services operate from St Pancras and Ashford in Kent to and from Avignon Centre station and the journey time is only 6 hours 15 minutes (an hour less from/to Ashford). Tickets can be purchased through the Eurostar contact centre in the UK on 08705 186 186, online at www.eurostar.com, at St Pancras and Ashford International Terminals or through registered agents. Check in at least 1 hour before departure. If you want to travel on other days of the week, you can use Eurostar and connecting TGV services in Paris or Lille to travel to or from Avignon (‘Eurostar Plus’ services). Lille is probably preferable to Paris since you have to get across the centre of Paris for your TGV connection.
You can take your bicycle with you on the Eurostar in a bike bag as long as its dimensions do not exceed 120cm x 90cm together with your panniers, otherwise they advise you to use the registered baggage service which operates between London, Paris, Lille and Brussels Eurostar Terminals. Registered items will be ready for collection within 24 hours of registering them. The charge for a bicycle (tandems not accepted) is £20, and £12 for all baggage up to 30kg. For more information call 08705 850 850 (in the UK). If 10 or more of you travel together a special group luggage service operates between St Pancras, Paris Gard du Nord and Brussels Midi with all your luggage loaded up in a secure compartment on the train that can be collected at your destination. Call 08705 850 850 for more information, or email [email protected].
The onward journey from Paris train stations is described below, and information given on taking bicycles on trains in France.
From the United States and Canada
It is possible to fly direct to Paris from about 30 cities in the United States, and from Toronto and Montreal in Canada. Major airlines serving Paris include:
Air Canada (www.aircanada.ca)
Air France (www.airfrance.com)
American Airlines (www.aa.com)
British Airways (www.ba.com)
Continental Airlines (www.continental.com)
Delta Airlines (www.delta.com)
Lufthansa (www.lufthansa.com)
United Airlines (www.ual.com)
Delta and Air France also fly direct from JFK to Nice, which would be useful for those wanting to do the Provence tour (Route 5). It is also worth considering flying to other European cities from the US or Canada from where you can easily get connecting flights or trains – London or Frankfurt, for example. Visit www.travelzoo.com for good value flights available from the US and outside Europe.
From Australia and New Zealand
Although it is possible to fly direct to Paris from Sydney and other major cities in Australia, and Auckland in New Zealand, most people prefer to fly to London via Southeast Asia and from there to Paris. It is also possible to fly via the United States, but this is usually more expensive and the journey time is longer.
Getting from Paris airports to central Paris
Cycling into Paris from either of her two airports is not recommended. To reach central Paris it would be best to leave your bike in its bag and make use of the regular transport services mentioned below. Once in central Paris, you can then either reach the relevant railway station for your onward journey by taxi or on your bike. Air France buses go to Gare Montparnasse in central Paris from both airports.
Paris is served by two airports: Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Orly. The majority of international flights arrive at CDG, situated 23km northeast of the capital. It has two main terminals: CDG1 and CDG2, the latter split into five halls (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D and 2F). The much smaller terminal 3 (formerly T9) is used for seasonal charter flights only. All Air France flights arrive at CDG2, as well as some international flights including Air Canada and Delta, but the majority of international flights arrive at CDG1. The two main terminals are linked by a free bus shuttle service, and there is a train station at CDG2 with an RER line to central Paris. There is also a TGV station at CDG2, enabling you to bypass Paris altogether if you want to go to Lille, Lyon or Avignon. For TGV departures from the Gare Montparnasse in Paris you can take an Air France bus from CDG (1 hour), or for central Paris jump on a Roissybus (RATP service); buses leave from both terminals. Taxis cost about 40 euros to central Paris from either terminal. Air France operates a bus service between CDG and Orly airports.
Orly airport is situated 15km south of Paris and has two terminals, Sud and Ouest. Air France's domestic flights go to most French cities from Orly, with fewer routes from CDG. Some international and charter flights arrive at Orly Sud from where there are several options to reach central Paris. Air France buses (Door K) stop at Montparnasse en route to central Paris, and Orlybus (Door H) will take you to the metro/RER station of Denfert-Rochereau not far from Montparnasse. Buses leave every 15 minutes and the journey takes about 30 minutes. There are also shuttle buses (navettes) to the RER (suburban railway) station of Pont de Rungis (line C) from where you can take a train to Gare d'Austerlitz, or a shuttle train (Orlyval) which connects the two terminals with the RER station of Antony (line B) from where you can take a train to central Paris. Taxis cost about 35 euros. It is possible to walk from Orly Sud to Ouest if you are taking a domestic flight from the latter. Air France also operates a bus service between Orly and CDG. Visit www.adp.fr for more information about both airports.
Getting from Paris train stations to your destination
There are six principal train stations