Rail-drive touring holidays of France
A rail-drive touring holiday to France is a practical and satisfying way to combine the ease of a rail journey from London to France, with a chance to explore regions in France that lend themselves more to car travel than train travel. Typical examples of this are a rail-drive holiday to Provence or the Dordogne. You travel by train from London to Avignon or Bordeaux, collect a hire-car and use that for the duration of your stay in France, staying in one place or touring from hotel to hotel that we pre-book for you, before returning to London by train.
Rail touring holidays to France
A rail touring holiday of France is an excellent way of joining the dots of cities and important towns that can be reached easily by train and where you don’t need the use of a car when you’re there. A good example of this might be London to Avignon, Avignon to Aix-en-Provence, Aix-en-Provence to Nice and back, or London to Tours, Tours to Bordeaux, Bordeaux to Carcassonne, Carcassonne to Avignon and Avignon to London.
Our hotels in France
All the luxury hotels that are featured by Expressions Holidays have been selected to provide high standards of comfort, service and cuisine. Our hotels are renowned for their charm and character, quality of surroundings and service whilst providing rest and relaxation amid an atmosphere of luxury and style.
Train information
Eurostar offers almost hourly departures every day, with an average journey time from London St Pancras to Paris of 2 hours and 18 minutes. Not all trains stop at Ebbsfleet and Ashford stations in Kent, but parking is plentiful at both stations. The Eurostar trains have 8 coaches which are split into Standard Class, Standard Premier and Business Premier as well as two cafeterias. Standard Premier customers are served a light cold meal and enjoy a more spacious environment than Standard Class, while Business Premier customers receive a hot meal and unlimited beverages as well as lounge access. TGV trains operate at high-speed to destinations throughout France, usually via Paris necessitating a change of station having arrived at the Gare du Nord with the Eurostar.
We had a fantastic holiday and enjoyed it all. It felt well planned.Mr E, June 2017
Our rail holidays to France include
● Travel arrangements with trains as required● Sample touring itineraries to book as they are or adapt
● Flexible durations and multi-centre stays
● Accommodation in personally-selected 4-or 5-star hotels
● Additional travel arrangements such as flights, transfers, car-hire to combine with rail travel
Included in all our holidays
● Concierge service● Handcrafted helpful hints and local information provided with all our holidays
● Personal service by your sales consultant who looks after all aspects of your holiday
● Full financial protection with our ATOL (3076) for all holidays including a flight and our ABTOT for all non-air holidays
