In this section: Car Hire | By Air | By Ferry | By Train

Car Hire

We generally recommend that you hire a car when you are with us so that you can take full advantage of what the region has to offer and to give yourself maximum flexibility during your stay. 

There are many car hire firms that serve the areas we are in.  Check with any of the travel websites for details.

If you'd rather not hire a car

For the Chateau de Rodie, we are able to arrange a number of personal pick-ups from Toulouse, Bordeauxc or Bergerac airports. These typically cost about €80 though if we are able to arrange shared journeys then the cost is lowered.

La Moliere is located about 35km east of Avignon and it is straightforward to get a taxi from there to the farmhouse. If you have decided to travel to us by train, the excellent TGV service from Paris only takes about 3 hours to get to Avignon and is quite an experience. Alternatively, we are usually able to arrange a small number of pick-ups at Marseille airport, depending on the precise timing of flights, etc. These typically cost €50 and are available on a first-come-first-served basis, so please check with us if they are still available.

 

By Air

Chateau de Rodie, The Lot, France
	The area’s main international airport is Toulouse which is well-served by many budget and scheduled airlines in the U.K. and is about a one hour drive from The Lot.  For example:
		B.A.	London Gatwick
		easyjet	London Gatwick, Bristol
		flybe	Birmingham

There are a couple of smaller airports served by airlines in the U.K which are about a one hour drive from The Lot.  For example:
	Bordeaux
		B.A.	London Gatwick
		bmibaby	Manchester, Birmingham
		Easyjet	Luton, Bristol
		Flybe	Southampton
	Bergerac
		Ryanair	Liverpool, East Midlands, London Stansted
		flybe	Birmingham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Leeds, Gatwick, Manchester, Southampton

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La Moliere, Saignon, Provence, France
	The area’s main international airport is Marseille which is well-served by many budget and scheduled airlines in the U.K. and which is about a 90 minute drive from La Moliere.  For example:
		B.A.	London Gatwick
		bmibaby	Birmingham
		easyjet	London Gatwick, Bristol
		flybe	Birmingham
		Ryanair	London Stansted, Glasgow (Prestwick), Dublin

There are a number of smaller airports served by the budget airlines in the U.K. which are typically between one and two hours from La Moliere.  For example:
	Avignon
		flybe	Southampton, Exeter
	Nice
		B.A.	London Gatwick, London Heathrow
		bmibaby	Birmingham
		flybe	Southampton, Exeter
		easyjet	London Stansted, London Gatwick, Luton, Bristol, Liverpool, Newcastle, Belfast
	Nimes
		Ryanair	Luton, East Midlands, Liverpool
	Toulon
		Ryanair	London Stansted

 

By Ferry / Own Car

It is not impossible to travel to our breaks in your own car but in most cases this will involve a journey lasting several days.  This could be a very nice trip though (traffic levels permitting).  The following is a very brief overview of the methods you might use, with the estimated journey time.  This timing mainly depends on how long you wish to drive for in a single day and whether your ferry crossing is overnight or not.

The Lot

Take the car ferry to Northern France.  Drive down through western France via Nantes and Bordeaux towards Toulouse.  St Malo/Caen to The Lot is approximately 425 miles.

Estimated journey time – 1/2 days (if overnight ferry)

Provence

Take the car ferry to Calais or elsewhere in northern France, then drive via Paris and Lyon to the Rhone valley.  This route can be extremely busy in high season.  Calais to Avignon is approximately 600 miles 

Estimated journey time – 1/2 days (if overnight ferry)

 

By Train / Car Hire

Travel by train is definitely a possibility and can be an extremely nice journey in its own right.  In contrast to the U.K., continental Europe’s rail network is sickeningly efficient as well as being eerily cheap, reliable and with a much lower environmental impact. 

And it would certainly be quicker than the ferry/own car alternative

A good starting place is Rail Europe (www.raileurope.com) which offers a wide range of rail journeys around Europe as well as loads of different rail passes.  For instance, a pass for five days’ travel in a 10 day period covering 29 countries currently costs about £179.  For 10 days’ travel over a 22 day period, the cost is currently £259.   These passes can then to used to construct your journey.  Or you could try InterRail (www.interrail.com) for similar pages.

In respect of our breaks, the following routes might work

The French high-speed train service (the TGV) is the envy of most of the world and with good reason. 

Our breaks in The Lot can be reached via London Waterloo to Paris followed by the TGV from Paris to either Bordeaux or Toulouse.  Total journey time would be about 9 hours and the current cost is about £250 return

One bullet train stands out in France and this is the train from Paris to Provence.  You could journey to our break in Provence by taking the train from London to Avignon which takes just 7 hours and currently costs about £200 return

See www.voyages-sncf.com and click on the British flag for more details.

In each case it should be easy to hire a car at the end of you train journey