Luxury France single-centre rail holiday to French Catalonia with hire-car
This 7-night rail holiday takes you to French Catalonia in the foothills of the Pyrenees and a stay in the spa town of Molitg-les-Bains amid the lush greenery and tree-clad slopes of this region. Your holiday begins with a Eurostar journey from London to Paris or Lyon depending on the season, where we include one night’s stay. Then you continue by fast TGV southwards following the route of the Rhone Valley into Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon, to Perpignan, where you collect a hire- car. It is a 40-minute drive from Perpignan station to your hotel, the Chateau de Riell, which is your base for the next six nights. Molitg-les-Bains, the village where the hotel is situated, is famous for its thermal springs and several marked hiking trails. Nearby places to visit include Prades, the hometown of Pablo Casals, Mount Canigou and Villefranche de Conflent with nearby Canalettes Caves. Spend a day at the Catalan coast in Collioure nestled in a bay on the Mediterranean and often referred to as the St Tropez of Languedoc-Roussillon. The city of Perpignan has a true Catalonian flavour. Discover the citadel and royal castle. Also interesting are the Gorges de la Fou, an impressive, narrow, slot canyon near the town of Arles-sur-Tech. Travel to Céret and stroll through the old town perhaps visiting the museum of modern art. After six nights in French Catalonia, you return to London by train in one day, taking the TGV back to Paris and then onwards to London by Eurostar.
Highlights
Paris • Molitg-les-Bains • Prades • French Catalonia •Pyrenees • Collioure • Mount Canigou • Perpignan • Ceret • Visit Gorges de la Fou
Day by day
Begin your luxury rail holiday to French Catalonia by Eurostar from London to Paris or Lyon, depending on the season. Departures are hourly to Paris and the journey takes approximately 2 hours 30 minutes. There is one direct Eurostar service to Lyon three or four times a week during the summer. It usually departs just before 07:30 hrs arriving into Lyon at 13:00 hrs. Check-in to your hotel for one night and spend the rest of the day exploring the city. Depending on the season, another option to avoid an overnight stay on the outbound journey would be to take a direct Eurostar service to Avignon. You would then arrive in Avignon just after 14:00 hrs and collect your hire-car for the three-hour drive to your hotel.
Enjoy breakfast at your hotel before boarding a train to Perpignan. If you are travelling from Paris, there is a direct service. If you are travelling from Lyon, you will need to change at Montpellier. You arrive at Perpignan at about 16:00 hrs. Collect your hire car and drive 40-minutes or so to your hotel in the spa town of Molitg-les-Bains.
You have five whole days in French Catalonia to use your boutique hotel as a base to enjoy the natural surroundings of Molitg-les-Bains. Your hotel looks out onto snow topped Mount Canigou in this thermal spa town in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Enjoy exploring on foot with hikes through the nearby forest-clad hills and orchards with plenty of time to unwind by the pool. A short drive away is the town of Prades, situated at the foot of the Canigou, home to a weekly farmers’ market and the Pablo Casals museum, once home to the Spanish-born cellist, composer and conductor. Another nearby town is Villefranche de Conflent. This fortified town dates from the 11th century and has the 12th century Church of St Jacques. Nearby, visit the Canalettes caves. Spend a day on the Mediterranean coast in the town of Collioure, just over an hour’s drive away. Situated in the Roussillon wine area, the town enjoys a pretty location on a bay. Continue south towards the Spanish border to Port Vendres where you find Vauban fortifications. Visit the historic city of Perpignan to discover the citadel and royal castle. Near to the town of Arles sur Tech, you can find the spectacular Gorges de la Fou. This is well-worth visiting and takes about an hour to walk. Céret is about a 1 hour 10-minute drive from your hotel. The old town is composed of narrow, winding streets and alleyways. Notable sights include the 12th century church of St Pierre, the old town gates, museum of modern art composed of works presented by artists who worked in Céret such as Picasso, Matisse, Chagall and Dali.
Drive back to Perpignan and board a direct train to Paris. There is a train which leaves at 11:40 hrs. After a change of stations in Paris, travel by Eurostar back to London. You arrive in London just after 20:30 hrs.
What particularly impresses us each time we use your services is that ‘what we expect we get’ eg car hire, rooms selected, all with no hassle. Not sure how you do it!!Mr W, July 2022
Holiday price guide Prices from £1,760 per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room and including standard class rail travel. Supplement for standard premier/first class about £335 per person.
Holiday Code FRBR17
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury France single-centre rail holiday to French Catalonia with hire-car
Begin your luxury rail holiday to French Catalonia by Eurostar from London to Paris or Lyon, depending on the season. Departures are hourly to Paris and the journey takes approximately 2 hours 30 minutes. There is one direct Eurostar service to Lyon three or four times a week during the summer. It usually departs just before 07:30 hrs arriving into Lyon at 13:00 hrs. Check-in to your hotel for one night and spend the rest of the day exploring the city. Depending on the season, another option to avoid an overnight stay on the outbound journey would be to take a direct Eurostar service to Avignon. You would then arrive in Avignon just after 14:00 hrs and collect your hire-car for the three-hour drive to your hotel.
Enjoy breakfast at your hotel before boarding a train to Perpignan. If you are travelling from Paris, there is a direct service. If you are travelling from Lyon, you will need to change at Montpellier. You arrive at Perpignan at about 16:00 hrs. Collect your hire car and drive 40-minutes or so to your hotel in the spa town of Molitg-les-Bains.
You have five whole days in French Catalonia to use your boutique hotel as a base to enjoy the natural surroundings of Molitg-les-Bains. Your hotel looks out onto snow topped Mount Canigou in this thermal spa town in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Enjoy exploring on foot with hikes through the nearby forest-clad hills and orchards with plenty of time to unwind by the pool. A short drive away is the town of Prades, situated at the foot of the Canigou, home to a weekly farmers’ market and the Pablo Casals museum, once home to the Spanish-born cellist, composer and conductor. Another nearby town is Villefranche de Conflent. This fortified town dates from the 11th century and has the 12th century Church of St Jacques. Nearby, visit the Canalettes caves. Spend a day on the Mediterranean coast in the town of Collioure, just over an hour’s drive away. Situated in the Roussillon wine area, the town enjoys a pretty location on a bay. Continue south towards the Spanish border to Port Vendres where you find Vauban fortifications. Visit the historic city of Perpignan to discover the citadel and royal castle. Near to the town of Arles sur Tech, you can find the spectacular Gorges de la Fou. This is well-worth visiting and takes about an hour to walk. Céret is about a 1 hour 10-minute drive from your hotel. The old town is composed of narrow, winding streets and alleyways. Notable sights include the 12th century church of St Pierre, the old town gates, museum of modern art composed of works presented by artists who worked in Céret such as Picasso, Matisse, Chagall and Dali.
Drive back to Perpignan and board a direct train to Paris. There is a train which leaves at 11:40 hrs. After a change of stations in Paris, travel by Eurostar back to London. You arrive in London just after 20:30 hrs.
What particularly impresses us each time we use your services is that ‘what we expect we get’ eg car hire, rooms selected, all with no hassle. Not sure how you do it!!Mr W, July 2022
Holiday price guide Prices from £1,760 per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room and including standard class rail travel. Supplement for standard premier/first class about £335 per person.
Holiday Code FRBR17
Our prices include
● Second-class travel on all trains, with standard class on Eurostar (first and standard premier can be booked at a supplement)
● 1 night’s bed and breakfast in a superior room at Hotel Bourgogne et Montana, Paris or 1 night’s bed and breakfast in a classic room at Hotel La Cour des Loges, Lyon
● 6 nights’ bed and breakfast in a superior room in the castle at Chateau de Riell, Molitg-les-Bains
● Hire of a group B car for 6 days in French Catalonia
● Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints
Our prices do not include
● Early check-in or late check-out at any hotels (although we can arrange this on request at additional cost)
● Any other services not mentioned above, such as transfers, entrance fees and meals except daily breakfast at each hotel
● Personal holiday insurance. This is essential and cover should be in place from when you book the holiday.
● Local tourist tax, usually between Euros 1 and 3 per person per night, and payable locally to the hotel
● Transfers in Paris or Lyon
Additional information This holiday can be arranged throughout the year. Additional nights can be added at any point on this itinerary. Timings can vary depending on the month and day of the week.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury France single-centre rail holiday to French Catalonia with hire-car
The hotel Bourgogne et Montana is a luxury, 4-star, boutique hotel in an 18th century building, elegantly and discreetly furnished, a short walk from the iconic sights of the Left Bank.
Superior room
Chateau de Riell is a boutique, 5-star hotel in a thermal spa town in the foothills of the Pyrenees in French Catalonia. This hotel of just 17 rooms offers gardens, cosy interiors and thermal spa facilities.
Superior room
Special offers
Call to make your booking and save an extra £50 per adult Call us instead of emailing us when you are thinking of booking a holiday and save an extra £50 per adult (in addition to any special offers that might be available). We want to talk to you to discuss your requirements and a phone call is usually the best way for you to define what you want enabling us to respond more accurately. We want to talk to you and you save an extra £50 per adult.
What particularly impresses us each time we use your services is that ‘what we expect we get’ eg car hire, rooms selected, all with no hassle. Not sure how you do it!!Mr W, July 2022
Holiday price guide Prices from £1,760 per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room and including standard class rail travel. Supplement for standard premier/first class about £335 per person.
Holiday Code FRBR17
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury France single-centre rail holiday to French Catalonia with hire-car
About Languedoc-Roussillon
An Expressions tailor-made holiday to Languedoc-Roussillon is a chance to encounter this most southerly region of French Catalonia, nestling on the Spanish border. The region is one that continues to delight and charm, offering plenty to discover during your holiday. The coast of Languedoc-Roussillon has long flat sandy beaches with a full range of water sports and golf at St Cyprien. Meanwhile the hinterland is surprisingly green, composed of gently sloping vineyards, Cotes de Roussillon, Banyuls and Rivesaltes and a whole host of fruit trees including peaches, cherries, plums and oranges. Further inland in Languedoc-Roussillon the Pyrenees rise, remarkably green and covered with trees and shrubs. To the north is the mediaeval town of Carcassonne, which rises like a mirage between vineyards and hills. Languedoc Roussillon also offers the fascinating land of the Cathars. With so much to see in Languedoc-Roussillon, a self-drive touring holiday is an excellent choice, either driving all the way from the UK or flying to the south of France before collecting a hire car. Visit other regions including Tarn and Provence to the north or Bordeaux and the Basque country to the west. Discover the Catalonian and Basque cultures by travelling along the Spanish border, or explore the valleys, fortresses and mountains of southwestern France. A rail holiday offers the chance to view the beautiful French countryside during the journey south, travelling by train to Carcassonne before exploring Languedoc-Roussillon by car, or stopping off in Beaujolais en route to the region.
Highlights of Languedoc-Roussillon
Sample the earliest cherries in France and other seasonal fruit. Take a visit to see the local ceramics and paintings, travel on the narrow-gauge railway from Villefranche de Conflent to Font Romeu. There are Folklore and music festivals in August. Gastronomy Sample anchovies, macaroons, Rousquilles aniseed biscuits. Local wines include Banyuls and Rivesaltes wines and Cotes de Roussillon wine. This is one of the most highly-regarded new wine regions of France.
Climate of Languedoc-Roussillon
Average air temperatures in Centigrade: Jan: 12.4, Feb: 11.5, Mar: 12.5, Apr: 17.6, May: 20.1, Jun: 26.5, Jul: 28.4, Aug: 28.1, Sep: 26.1, Oct: 21.1, Nov: 15.8, Dec :13.5. Source: Direction de la Meteorologique de France
