Going by train

Dear whoever it is who does all the work around here to provide the content for this website,
Thanks very much for your excellent work listing the ski resorts in the vicinity of each of the French airports. However, I know it's a bit much to ask, but do you think we could please have something about ski resorts close to the stations as well?

Rail Europe does this map and lists the ski resorts close to each of their French stations www.raileurope.co.uk/Default.aspx?tabid=487
I can't manage to paste it in, but they list 37 resorts close to their 6 destinations - Chambery, Albertville, Moutiers, Aime la Plagne, Landry, and Bourg St Maurice.

The direct Eurostar only stops at the French stations of Moutiers, Aime la Plagne and Bourg St Maurice.

I have also been trying to work out a reasonable route to some of the Austrian and Swiss ski resorts, on the train, but I've temporarily given up, which is why we keep going back to France. For example, to get to Zell am See it seems that you have to start at about midday on Friday at St Pancras and go via Brussels and then overnight arriving on Saturday morning.

Thanks very much,

Ally

Bourg Saint Maurice provides easy access to La Rosiere, Les Arc, La Plagne, La Rosiere, Tignes Val d'Isere and most importantly Sainte Foy.

If you are staying in a decent chalet they will pick you up here or Altibus do relatively cheap transfers from the station. You can buy tickets for these transfers online before hand or there is a booth in the station itself. IME the bus in Tignes/ValD direction has been busy even on a quiet weeks skiing.

Thanks Pablo,
I don't think they have Sainte Foy on their list.

Anyway, I've managed to paste the list in this time. I had no idea that I could go to Praz-sur-Arly, for example on the train, getting out at Albertville (26 Km I think).

Ally

Station Resort
Chambéry La Feclaz
Les Aillons
Alpe d'Huez
Les Deux Alpes

Albertville Arêches-Beaufort
Combloux
Crest-Voland Cohennoz
Flumet
La Giettaz
Les Saisies
Megeve
Notre Dame de Bellecombe
Praz sur Arly
St Gervais
Chamonix
La Clusaz
La Grand Bernard
Flaine
Les Gets
Morzine
Avoriaz
Châtel

Moûtiers Champagny-en-Vannoise
Courchevel
La Tania
Les Menuires
Méribel
Pralognon
Val Thorens
Valmorel

Aime la Plagne La Plagne

Landry Peisey Vallandry
Les Arcs

Bourg St Maurice La Rosière
Les Arcs
Tignes
Val d'Isère

Oi you cheeky buggers, you've broken our ever-so-clever resorty-auto-linky-thingy. Now I have to fix that before I can go skiing...

Trains? Ha. Can't you just fly to Geneva like everyone else?

Wanders off muttering.... :wink:

Who's broken what?

AllyG wrote:
I have also been trying to work out a reasonable route to some of the Austrian and Swiss ski resorts, on the train, but I've temporarily given up, which is why we keep going back to France. For example, to get to Zell am See it seems that you have to start at about midday on Friday at St Pancras and go via Brussels and then overnight arriving on Saturday morning.

I'd be interested if you can make it economical. I have to go to the UK a lot and each time I want to use the train and it's always cheaper to use EasyJet. I'm not too fussed about time, by and large I've plenty of time, it's just expensive and I can't make onward connections in the UK properly.

Ise,
The price wasn't the problem, actually, for me, with going to Zell am See by train. I think the price I was quoted today was something like £220 return, which I thought was pretty cheap (although maybe expensive when compared with Easyjet).

The number to ring is 09012350105 for information on trains around Europe, but they charge 60 pence per minute, and they're shut now because I just rang them. It's not rail europe, who were pretty unhelpful, but I've forgotten what they're called. Anyway, they seemed to know what they were talking about. Rail Europe told me there was no train from Brussels to Zell am See, but these other people told me that apparently this is because the Bergland Express is a chartered train, and for some reason this year it's running from somewhere that sounded like Aachen, which I would guess is near Brussels.

If you want to go on further by train, once in the U.K. I'm pretty sure Eurostar do cheap tickets to include the U.K. part of the journey e.g. from Brussels. And also, if you book far enough ahead, you can get cheap single tickets (Advance Tickets)within the U.K. on the National Rail website. For example, I've just been buying advance tickets from London to Pitlochry in Scotland, and the advance single price out was £18 and the return was £46 (the price depends on the day of the week) whereas the full return price was something like £120.

Maybe I will have another go at finding a train route into Austria on Monday. I much prefer Austrian mountain cafes to the French ones I've been in so far. And perhaps we could go to a Swiss resort another time, by train.

Rail Europe says 'Recent research suggests train travellers produce ten times less carbon emissions than those travelling by plane on short-haul flights'. I don't know if this is correct, but it's what they say. It would be nice if there was some real snow left to ski on when we get there. And, anyway, I hate airports, and I'm very fond of trains.

Ally

ise wrote:I'm not too fussed about time, by and large I've plenty of time

Ise, is your life as perfect as it sounds :?: