Can anyone offer advice on a holiday to France?

Question

I would love to travel to the south coast of France with my husband and 3 children. I am afraid of flying though and so we would need to make alternative travel arrangements. Has anyone travelled by train or car from the UK - was the journey a nightmare? did you stay over somewhere half way there?

Also, can anyone recommend an area on the south coast?

Answer 1

railway is the best, secure, easy, not expensive :

- london-paris and then paris-southern coast (montpellier, marseille, toulon, nice...)

go to voyages-sncf.com, and then choose "train"

Answer 2

from uk take the chunnel to paris & then either pick up your rental car-- or --train to southern france from paris & then pick up your rental car.  

you will need a car....you can drive or train south in one day or take several w/ stops along the way to visit castles, historic areas or .......

this is an extremely easy, civilized trip....a dream not a nightmare....even w/ 3 kids!!! i did it w/ husband & 2 kids....

try biarritz on the south coast, a small, famous beach town w/ tidepools for the kids --which also gives you options to drive to spain for trips.

Answer 3

the half way spot from Paris to the riviera is Burgundy (try Beaune...capitol of the vineyard area...magic historical small village...average priced hotels. if you can try not to stay all the way by the sea, there are some fabulous landscapes inside the country behind Cannes and Nice on the way to Gaperon. i would recommend if you drive even your way back only from the coast back up to Paris through national roads through the so called "Alpes maritimes" and then "Drome" , the Grenoble area.  Vine---cheese...landscape...vine...chees... !!!