Where to travel when in Paris?

Question

Hi!

I will be completing an internship in Paris from January to April 2009. Are there any countries I can visit on weekends and that are easily accessible by train or bus. And how much would that transportation cost?

Thank you!

Answer 1

I was just in France for 2 months (Jan-Mar 2008). I got to travel every weekend. I invested in a Rail Pass (5 country, 15 travel days in 2 months, last year it only cost $650 USD) It paid for itself in the first 3 weekends of traveling. You do have to order it online before you leave so they ship it to you at home (http://www.eurail.com/) Be careful because sometimes you need to reserve seats on a train prior to the travel day. For ideas of where to go, I was based in Nancy (Eastern France) and went to Paris, Brussels, Cologne (Koln) Germany, Amsterdam, Zurich, and Interlaken, Switzerland (This was the best place I went to, I highly recommend it!) If you don't have a rail pass, a round trip ticket can cost between 100 euros up to 300 euros or more. So plan ahead as much as you can. And see about a rail pass!

Answer 2

When in Paris, you can reach Brussels (1h30) or London (2h20) by train. The standard train ticket is quite expensive, but if you book two months in advance, you can get cheaper non-refundable tickets called "Prem's". For example, I could buy a Paris->Brussels ticket for €25.

You can reach the Netherlands from Brussels within one hour. You can reach Germany or Switzerland from Paris within 4 hours. However I would not do that such a short time like a weekend.

You can check train times and book tickets here: http://www.voyages-sncf.com

In Europe, for international trips, you can travel by coach with the Euroline company. Fares are usually cheaper than train, but coaches are slower than trains and do not travel as frequently. I give you the link but I do not think traveling by coach is relevant for a weekend.  

http://www.eurolines.com

Answer 3

The fastest trains will put you in few hours from : London(2h15), Amsterdam(4h), Brussel(1h30), Geneva(3h30),

By plane you can get to Rome, Prague, Budapest, Barcelona, Venice,... in less than 3h

Busses goes everywhere too in europe, it's the cheapest option but mostly the longest (eg. Amsterdam 8/10h).

Prices for trains and planes vary from 50 to 400 €. There's also good deals (plane/train+hotel) for w-e in most of the european capitals/cities you should check while in Paris.

My good advice : make early reservation for some capitals, Chrismas period is the most expensive one for transportation and hotels.

I live in Paris and travelled a lot in europe for week-ends.

Bon voyages !