We had the people who live on either side of us over for dinner on Friday night and part of the evening’s discussion centered on our quartier and the parking—or lack thereof—for the residents. Our street isn’t very wide so any of the legal spots that become available are highly coveted. It was during this conversation that one of our guests said with a grin, “You two are the ideal neighbors” that I was then hoping to hear words like “quiet, respectful, and orderly”. But no; the real reason that we are popular is because we don’t have a car so we don’t compete with every other house on the block. That prompted a question about how we travel both locally and long distance using only public transport which coincided perfectly with an article I had just read about visiting France car-free.

In her article, “Vineyards, mountains and islands – how to plan a car-free trip to France”, author Genevieve Mansfield compiled a list of six vacation destinations for visitors without a rental car who felt that they were previously limited only to big cities. She wanted to highlight the extensive rail and bus network that we’ve happily accessed for decades and we wanted to see what suggestions she might have for our own future trips.

The Alps—Mention this mountain range and skiing naturally comes to mind but there are lots of summer activities as well with the bonus of escaping the heat at lower elevations. As an example, Ms. Mansfield recommends the resort of Valmorel for “relaxing in the spa and swimming in the nearby lakes with sandy beaches and pools to paragliding, hiking, and mountain biking.” 

The lengthy train station name is Moûtiers – Salins – Brides-les-Bains from which a shuttle bus serves this and many other resorts. To enjoy the mountain views from a less remote location, we’ve taken the train to Annecy and to Chambéry and if you click Topics & Tags at the top of this page you can access two other articles in the Mountains/Ski Resorts section.

Brittany Islands—For a more traditional summer destination, there is the Île d’Arz with sandy beaches and charming stone houses all accessible on foot. The main train station is Vannes with a 15-minute bus ride to the ferry for a 20-minute sea crossing. The much bigger island of Groix is via the station at Lorient, a bus to the port, and then 40 minutes on the ferry. If you’re just looking for a beach on the mainland, there’s a section in Topics & Tags with that title.

Wine country day trips from Bordeaux by train—With high speed trains taking only 2 hours from Paris, it’s conceivable to take one of these adventures without checking out of your capital city hotel. The first suggestion is an excursion we did ourselves while staying in Bordeaux. Saint Émilion was well worth the day we spent in what was called, “the French wine town that’s more beautiful than Bordeaux.” The website “Rue des Vignerons” will give you plenty of other ideas for trips via bicycle, minibus, taxi, and the train route that passes through Saint Émilion towards its terminus at Sarlat.

Aix-en-Provence—Painter Paul Cézanne was born here so there are many references to his life and work throughout this colorful and quaint town. Ms. Mansfield found it to be a great hub to reach other attractions in the area including Avignon and its Palace of the Popes. It’s also possible to visit the lavender fields from here, typically in bloom from mid-June to mid-July, with organized small-group tours probably being the best option.

Montpellier: Beaches, hiking and wine country—There are several mentions of this lively city on our blog including our first day trip there so we can understand why it was included on the author’s list. We found plenty to do downtown and public transportation will take you to the beach, to hiking trails, and to the vineyards.

Perpignan and the French Pyrenees—This was another one of our day trips from Carcassonne that we enjoyed immensely. However, we have yet to take Le Train Jaune (Yellow Train) that traverses 63 km (39 miles) through tunnels and above canyons and gorges on viaducts at 1600 meters (1 mile) above sea level.

Although we’ve been to many of these destinations it was nice to see them highlighted as reachable for others who don’t want to rent a car while on vacation. If you’d like more ideas, please click at the top of this page on “Topics & Tags” and then “Destinations in France Accessible by Train.” Bon voyage!

Photo notes: Across the top is the rugged coast at Barfleur and in the first paragraph that’s Bill on a narrow street in Blois.