I’ll keep this one short and sweet!
From Italy, I’ll be heading to France for a couple of weeks in June, staying in Colmar, Lyon, and Perigueux. I’ve never been to any of these towns/cities, and I’m ready to fill up my Instagram and soak up the beauty of them!
Getting from Vicenza, Italy to Colmar, France at the best rate has required a lot of research, but I finally have FOUR trains booked in one day, going from Vicenza to Milan, from Milan to Lugano (Switzerland), from Lugano to Basel (also Switzerland), and from Basel to Colmar. I managed to get this rather epic journey for a little over $100 using Trainline. I’m on trains from the companies Italo and Trenitalia (Italian rail), SBB CFF (Swiss rail), and SNCF (French rail). The journey begins before 9am, and I arrive in Colmar around 6pm, if all goes as planned. Fingers crossed!
Photo of Colmar, France, courtesy of Frommer’s
I have an AirBnB in infinitely Instagrammable Colmar, right in the town’s cute center. From Colmar, I’m planning a day trip to Strasbourg and perhaps some other Grand Est/Alsace towns. I’ve purchased a SNCF Carte Avantage, to get some discounts on French trains.
Photo of Old Lyon, from hotels.com
After four days, I’m heading to Lyon, the history of which dates back to the Romans. Fortunately, this journey only requires one train, which takes about three hours. I had friends spend over a month in Lyon and heard wonderful things. I’ll be staying in the old part of town (“Vieux Lyon”), not far from the Roman Theatre and with a view of the cathedral from my bedroom window.
Photo from Frommers “Why Lyon is one of France’s most underrated cities”
After Lyon, I’m heading to Perigueux, in the Dordogne. There is no good way to get directly from Lyon to Perigueux, and since my partner is joining me and flying via Paris, I’ll be taking a train to Paris, meeting him, and then traveling down to Perigueux. It will be a long day!! But then we have 8 days in the beautiful Dordogne, visiting Bordeaux, St. Émilion, Lascaux, perhaps Sarlat, and just soaking up the region (which is high on my list as a possible retirement locale)! Perigueux has history back to the Romans and was an important medieval city. Our AirBnB is close to the river and the medieval Saint Front Cathedral, and I look forward to market days!
Saint Front Cathedral, Perigueux