Wigan - (Paris) - Monaco-Monte-Carlo return

[Gathursty]

I thought I might sound out my plan for next Summer's holiday for myself. I'll still have my 16-25 railcard but don't know the first thing about European fares or the French system.

I'd like to have a week based in Paris with one of those days or an overnight in Monaco (staying cheaply close to Monaco or somewhere a couple of stations away at least)

To possibly cheapen the English fares, I'm prepared to drive down to any station between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Denham Golf Club and park nearby using a ticket to London International CIV bought earlier in Wigan (tips on how I ask for one of these tickets codes-wise at the counter would be good too).

TIA

 

[Abpj17]

French rail is heavily discounted for under 26, you may find it cheaper to buy tickets once you are in France (but would loose any advance booking).

[And why between Aylesbury and Denham? bumping over a couple of lines would get you direct to St P or KX unless you particularly want the same line]

I am not sure there is anything cheap close to Monaco!

 

[Gathursty]

I would drive down the M40 into London so it would be more practical to take a Chiltern station, although I guess I could equally get to Huntingdon station in the same time and take the Thameslink route.

 

[reb0118]

One of these fares may be of use here?

 

[Clip]

Youll struggle with parking at Denham Golf club

 

[reb0118]

Youll struggle with parking at Denham Golf club

Maybe, maybe not


With regard to France. It is a lovely place but it can be shockingly expensive! Esp. to a Northener! Just imagine Catherine Tate's "Dirty Robbin' Barstewards" scene - "an' this were in bloody Paris!".

Avoid Paris if at all possible as a base. There is nothing wrong with a day trip though. The south esp. the Côte d'Azur or Riviera can also be pricey - I still remember £18.50 for two plates of ham & chips with a can of coke each! I was 16 so over 25 years ago!

p.s. It's not all doom & gloom there are some great scenic rail routes esp. in the Massif Central - train fares can be relatively cheap too.

 

[button_boxer]

One of these fares may be of use here?

Note that those particular tickets (with destination "Lndon Estar CIV") can only be purchased direct from Eurostar themselves, either as part of a "through booking" from Wigan to France on eurostar.com or by phone from their domestic telesales number. Tickets to "London Intl (CIV)" can be purchased from ticket offices. For some routes the two destinations are priced differently and have separate advance quotas - in my experience from MML stations the Estar tickets have always been cheaper than the Intl ones, but I'm not sure whether or not that applies to Wigan.

 

[30907]

If you're travelling solo then it'll cost more in petrol to drive south than you'll save on the fare. The euro saver fares are pretty good value compared with advances from the Wigan area and virtually unrestricted (even without a railcard).
For Paris-monaco Prems tickets (the SNCF version of Advance) will almost certainly be cheapest, bought online as soon as you can of course. Read up the relevant pages of www.seat61.com.
On the cote d'azur itself there is a very good value day rover ticket, which was called Carte Isabelle but IIRC has a new name, and gives you the highly scenic line inland from nice to tende. A definite plus as Monaco isn't where you'll find a cheap hotel!

 

[Gathursty]

Thanks for the feedback. I was just going to leave my car for the week on the residential street by Denham GC station as every other station in London seems to be heavily restricted or not free. :P

Those fares look good. I will just have to iron out my dates and keep browsing the Eurostar and seat61 website. As for hotels, I'm surprised by the drubbing of Paris. I thought it would be great to stay. In that instance, I may pick Montpellier or Avignon as I've been there a couple of years ago and they look pretty nice to return to, unless someone has any other cheap but decent ideas. Calais, perhaps?

I just hope that even the Advance tier tickets won't be extortionate (> £300 for Monaco and back).

 

[sonic2009]

I've seen something advertised last year when I was in Paris, about a service that runs from Marne Le Valle - Marseille, think it's called Quigo or something like that?

Does that help in anyway?

 

[globetrotter]

http://www.sncf.com/en/trains/ouigo "We go ..."

 

[Gathursty]

I've seen something advertised last year when I was in Paris, about a service that runs from Marne Le Valle - Marseille, think it's called Quigo or something like that?

Does that help in anyway?

It does thanks. I get the picture that the French system prefers you to book in advance. How much of an increase in price can a walk-up ticket be over there? Also any travelcards for Paris the touristy zones would be great.

 

[Myb]

Generally speaking the price gap between an Advance and a walk-up ticket would be lower than in the UK.

You can get a full view of the TGV fares on this nifty PDF file: http://www.voyages-sncf.com/ext/editorial/guide-voyageur/tarifs-tgv-loisir.pdf

Here are some key translated terms:
Pour un aller simple: for a one-way trip.
Tarif Prem's a partir de: Cheapest Advance ticket (non exchangeable)
Tarif Loisir jusqu'à...: Cheapest "Leisure" fare (still Advance purchase but exchangeable/refundable for a fee)
Plein Tarif Loisir PN: Full "Leisure" fare, off-peak period
Plein Tarif Loisir PP: Full "Leisure" fare, peak period

In addition to the "Leisure" fare, there is also a "Pro" fare not mentioned in the PDF (free exchange/refund), but it shouldn't be of interest as Leisure fares are widely available.

Ouigo has a specific fare system. Fares range from 10 to 85 EUR from Marne-la-Vallée to Marseille. All non-refundable.

*

For Paris you can use either a Mobilis ticket (1-day), or a Carte Orange for 7 days. Carnet tickets can also offer good value if you take less than 5 metro trips a day.
The Paris Visite tickets, geared for tourists, are usually bad value for money.
These tickets are available for zones 1-2 (enough if you stay in Paris center), zones 1-4 (to Versailles Castle) and zones 1-5 (to Versailles Castle + Disneyland + Roissy Airport).

*

Any other questions feel free to ask

 

[FenMan]

Carnet tickets can also offer good value if you take less than 5 metro trips a day.

With apologies for straying slightly off topic, my understanding is that a carnet (10 single tickets) can be shared between two or more people. I've done this several times e.g. buy a carnet of 10 tickets so two people can use 5 tickets each to travel around Paris. Was I breaking the terms of the carnet offering and, if so, how would RATP know?

 

[Myb]

Hi FenMan, you are perfectly entitled to share tickets from carnets. I hope the wording of my post didn't suggest the opposite (English is not my first language...). Apologies if it did.

 

[FenMan]

Hi FenMan, you are perfectly entitled to share tickets from carnets. I hope the wording of my post didn't suggest the opposite (English is not my first language...). Apologies if it did.

Thanks! No apology needed.