Flight free itinerary from North Wales to the Côte d'Azur

In 2024, my husband and I took the Flight Free UK pledge. We began planning possible flight free options for our summer holiday and eventually settled on the Côte d'Azur.

We travelled by train and car, staying in the beautiful mountain village of Chapareillan on the way to the gloriously sunny La Ciotat, and then staying in Lyon for a few days on our way back home from the Côte d'Azur.

Day 1 (Friday 12th July)

Travel: Train journey from Bangor to London Euston. The travel time is 3 hours and 15 minutes with gorgeous views of the North Wales coastline.

Accommodation: We stayed with my family for the night in London.

Day 2-3

Travel: We took the Eurostar to Paris from London St Pancras International which takes 2 hours and 16 minutes.

Accommodation: Best Western Plus La Demeure | Home | 4 star hotel Paris Our hotel was in the 13th arrondissement which is close to the Jardin des Plantes and a number of lively areas for bars and restaurants, including Square Saint-Médard.

We spent our one full day in Paris visiting the Musée d'Orsay for their "Paris 1874: Inventing Impressionism" exhibition which celebrated the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist exhibition. We also walked along the Promenade Plantée which runs along a former derelict railway line across Paris between Opéra Bastille and Bois de Vincennes.

The Flood (1874) by Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic - My favourite painting from the "Paris 1894" exhibition.

Day 4-7

Travel: We took the TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon to Grenoble. It was a double decker train and we made sure to reserve our seats so that we'd be on the top deck with the best views. They did not disappoint and it was particularly stunning between Lyon and Grenoble.

After we arrived in Grenoble, we picked up our hire car from Enterprise which was just outside the station and then drove 40 minutes to the picturesque village of Chapareillan.

Accommodation: Apaloi in Chapareillan. A cool, ground floor apartment with beautiful views of the mountains, access to a hot tub, and kind hosts.

Our highlights from staying here included driving to Lac du Bourget, walking to the Lac Saint-André through the local villages and vineyards and spending afternoons swimming and reading in the sun, and also visiting the beautiful Chateau du Trouvet.

Blue lake, green fields with a few houses and mountains in the distance.

Day 8 -13

Travel: We drove from Chapareillan to La Ciotat which is on the Côte d'Azur. Along the way, we stopped in the village of Sault to explore their beautiful lavender fields and also at the Colorado Provençal in Rustrel, named after its fiery red cliffs.

Accommodation: Lys de Mer in La Ciotat. A stylish apartment with a wonderful balcony for evening meals and within walking distance of the sea.

One of our standouts from this part of our trip was visiting the Calanques National Park - a marine and terrestrial protected area between Marseilles and La Ciotat.

From La Ciotat, we could walk to the Parc du Mugel which was absolutely stunning and another day we went further afield to the Calanque d'En Vau, which we walked to from Cassis, passing through the Port Miou cove and the Port Pin cove along the way.

We took a boat trip from La Ciotat to L’Île Verte which is the only island in the Calanques National Park which is covered in pine trees. Later that day, we explored the Route des Crêtes, a scenic coast road between Cassis and La Ciotat, and we got engaged on the cliff tops as the sun was setting!!

To celebrate, we had dinner at Rocco, a Mediterranean restaurant which is part of the Les Roches Blanches hotel in Cassis. The food and wine were absolutely exquisite and the view of the cliffs and the sea from the terrace was magical - the perfect place to celebrate!

Deep blue sea with trees in the foreground, a small white sail boat and orange cliff.

Day 14-15

Travel: We dropped off our car by Marseilles Saint Charles train station and then travelled by TGV to Lyon which took around 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Accommodation: OKKO Hotels Lyon Centre A chic hotel in the 6th arrondissement, close to the river.

Lyon is a wonderful city to explore on foot and we particularly enjoyed visiting the hilltop Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière, the Théâtre Gallo Romain and surrounding ruins, and the Musée des Beaux-Arts.

On both nights we went for an early evening drink at La Barge, a bar located on the banks of the Rhône, which was the perfect place to enjoy the sunshine, views of the river, and a mojito!

Lyon is known as the food capital of France and we loved our meal at Daniel & Denise Créqui. It is chef Joseph Viola's flagship bouchon, a type of restaurant in Lyon which serves traditional Lyonnaise cuisine, and we were not disappointed!

Day 16

Travel: We took the TGV from Lyon to Paris Gare de Lyon which takes 1 hour and 55 minutes. We then travelled by metro to the Gare du Nord where we took the Eurostar back to London. We spent the night with my family again.

Day 17 (Sunday 28th July)

Travel: We took a midday train back to Bangor from London Euston and arrived home by around 4pm.

By Eveline Vouillemin ©