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Post by robandshelley on May 19, 2009 8:54:55 GMT -5
Hi all. We want to do an all day at Chenonceau in Sept. I have been scouring old posts on both forums and am trying to zero in on the best option.
Here are the conditions:
1: No car.
2: Would like to wait till day of or day before to buy train tickets to guage weather.
3: ONE chateau. We are not 27 countries in three days types.
It looks like we will need to take train from either Montparnaisse or Austerlitz (sorry for spelling errors) to Tours? Then local bus or local train to Chenonceau.
I am having trouble navigating sncf sites to get times, even with MorganB's great guide. How early can we go and when is the last train back to Paris? And prices? I know they will vary quite a bit depending on time and day, but need a good ballpark range. It looks like $75 to -$120 each?
Is it easy to go to tourist office in Tours and get local train bus details? My French is pretty basic.
Any help would be great!
Rob
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Post by Anne on May 19, 2009 9:47:18 GMT -5
Hi Rob . I guess that you've used the voyages-sncf.com website ? I'm not surprised that you've had trouble with it, it sometimes behaves strangely . I've tried it with some random September date and got weird results, so I tried again with a May date and it worked .
You can do either Austerlitz-Vierzon-Chenonceau or Austerlitz-St Pierre des Corps-Chenonceau (both in the 30-35 euros range one way) or Montparnasse-St Pierre des Corps-Chenonceau (in the 45-60 euros range one way because the train to St Pierre is then a TGV) . There are many schedules to choose from, you can reach Chenonceau as early as 10:10 and you can leave as late as 20:03 . This is for a week day, there may be less options on week-ends (although I don't advise you to visit on week-ends, it will be much more crowded) .
Try again with a May date too, and then try with your possible dates in September when your trip is getting closer .
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Post by robandshelley on May 19, 2009 10:42:38 GMT -5
Hi Anne, thanks. Someone on the "other" forum just said that the teg slow train would take 3-4 hours. Is that right? So we would want the TVG fast train. I wonder how far in advance we would have to get tickets to get the price down?
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Post by PariS on May 19, 2009 11:01:36 GMT -5
Rob, we went to Chenonceau in Dec. '07 by TGV and it was about 150€ round trip (2nd class) for the both of us. We purchased our tickets same day at Montparnasse (to St Pierre des Corps) as we wanted to play it by ear according to weather and whim. We hooked up with a tour van in Tours, so I'm not sure how the local train or shuttle works there...sorry! I don't remember the time our train back to Paris left, but we had ample time to walk from the train station to a local eatery for an early dinner before departure. I'm thinking it was maybe 7 or 7:30? It will be a wonderful outing for you!
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Post by Anne on May 19, 2009 11:36:10 GMT -5
The Corail+Ter option does indeed take 3 to 4 hours (usually 3) depending on how long the waiting time for connection is .
Of course, total time for TGV+Ter is usually quicker but will also depend on the connection time . Like for example the quickest option in the morning is Montparnasse 9:10 - Chenonceau 10:31, but then you've only got 9 mns to change train in St Pierre des Corps . A bit risky IMO . A return option would be 18:58 - 21:30, which is 2 hours 32 mns because waiting time in St Pierre is then 1 hour 10 mns .
As far as I know, train tickets can be bought 3 months ahead, but that's not what you want, right ? Plus, the really cheap TGV tickets (which get sold out very quickly) are the Prem's, but they are neither refundable nor exchangeable .
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Post by robandshelley on May 19, 2009 11:57:49 GMT -5
Hi again Anne,
Thanks for the details. I am curious, did the tour van drop you at Chenonceau and pick you up later or did you go to more than one stop?
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Post by PariS on May 20, 2009 1:07:27 GMT -5
We had 2 stops, Rob. We visited Chenonceau and Chambord. There were 4 or 5 other people in the van with us, and the driver dropped us at each chateau for several hours, telling us what time to come back to meet her. We had ample time to wander thru each chateau and were able to spend a bit of time in the gardens as well. We didn't feel rushed, tho if we had wanted to explore the grounds extensively we wouldn't have had time. I think we had about 2 1/2 hours at each place. The driver didn't go with us into the chateaux--we were on our own to tour at our pace--but she did provide some interesting information as we drove from one place to another, pointing out other chateaux and giving a bit of history that we enjoyed. My husband and I sat in the front with her, and she didn't mind answering our numerous questions. I wish I could remember exact times, but from what I recall we caught a fairly early train from Montparnasse (about 8 am?) and arrived at St. Pierre des Corps sometime before 10. We caught a taxi for a short ride into Tours and were dropped at the tourist office where we purchased the tour tickets. The tour we chose didn't leave until 1, so we had several hours to wander and eat lunch. Our driver was kind enough to drop us at the train station on the way back, which saved us a taxi fare. As I said above, we had time to walk to a nearby place for a bite to eat before boarding the train back to Paris, and as I recall were back to the hotel before 10 pm. This is the tour company we used (the website doesn't seem to be working, but you can see the info at least). www.chateauxexcursions.com/index2.asp?locale=Tours&idjour=2&idlang=fr |
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Post by robandshelley on May 21, 2009 8:25:35 GMT -5
Ok. So the tourist office is not near the train station in Tours? I thought I read that it was right across from the station, so I must be confusing stations.
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Post by PariS on May 21, 2009 9:03:29 GMT -5
I don't know where the train station is in Tours itself. From what I had read before that trip, St. Pierre du Corps is the station that served Tours from Paris, so that's the route we took. At any rate, it was a very short taxi ride (5 minutes? 10 tops). Maybe I should have done more homework?!  |
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Post by Anne on May 21, 2009 9:39:01 GMT -5
Actually, St Pierre des Corps is only a banlieue town of Tours, yet its train station is the main one in the area due to the fact that the "real" Tours train station is actually a cul-de-sac .
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Post by robandshelley on May 21, 2009 12:11:11 GMT -5
OK. Thanks for all the help. 117 days and counting.
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Post by willow on May 22, 2009 8:22:48 GMT -5
I did 2 days in Tours but took the train to St Pierre des Corps.
It was a very short taxi ride to the Tours tourist office. I did two different van tours and I prefered one over the other. Acco-Dispo was better but booked up faster. But as Annette mentioned they drive you to the Chateau get you your ticket and set a time for you to return to the entrance. I did not feel rushed and I got to see alot of chateaux.
The first day I saw Chenonceaux, Amboise, Clos Luce, Cheverny and Chambord. You could split the trip and do only the first three in the morning or only the last two in the afternoon.
The second day Villandry , Azay-le-Rideau in the morning. This trip was with Acco-Dispo and I loved the driver Pascal. He was very informative and did his best to make us feel welcome.
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Post by willow on May 22, 2009 8:23:14 GMT -5
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Let the riot begin! LOL - 
hahahha