Getting to La Grange

Of course it all depends where you are coming from, how you choose to travel, what your driving style is, and how much of a hurry you are in!

Coming from the UK?

For crossings via the Chunnel, check out Eurostar for passenger travel by train, and EuroTunnel for travel by car (in a train).

If you prefer ferries then try P&O Ferries (eg Hull - Rotterdam, Dover - Calais), DFDS Ferries (eg Newcastle - Amsterdam), Stena Lines (eg Harwich - Hoek van Holland), SpeedFerries (Dover - Boulogne), Brittany Ferries (eg Portsmouth - Caen), Transmanche (eg Newhaven - Dieppe),and SeaFrance (Dover - Calais).

Driving to La Grange from Calais or other ports on the French coast should take five hours or less.

You can fly to Tours, that's only about half an hour's drive from La Grange. Ryan Air flies regularly from Stansted. Have a look at Low Fare Flights for some bargains. You can hire a car at the airport - I've had good experience with Ucar, but all the major names (and some minor ones) can also provide a vehicle.

Coming from The Netherlands?

Driving to La Grange from the Netherlands takes about 8 hours from Den Haag / Rotterdam.

You can check up on the traffic situation (road works are often concentrated in the summer months!) on the Bison Futé site.

Be aware that the days of speeding along the French autoroutes is a joy of the past, these days speed limits (130kph) are much more strictly enforced by both fixed and moving cameras. A favourite location is a few kms before a toll barrier: you have to stop anyway and the Police are often in attendance waiting to welcome the super fast! And mechanisms to allow fines to be collected internationally are being developed. Better to be safe than sorry.

The TGV is also an option - although you have to carry your own luggage of course. You can travel with Thalys from Amsterdam, den Haag Holland Spoor, or Rotterdam to Paris Nord, take the Metro to Paris Montparnasse, and then the TGV to Tours - St Pierre des Corps. That's about half an hour from La Grange and you can hire a car (Europcar) at the station.

Coming from anywhere else?

Ask us! We'll try to help!

And if there are other routes or ways of getting to the Loire valley which you feel should be here, then please let us know.