Flights to Aix-en-Provence, France

thomond2006

There are six of us going to aix for an erasmus semester.

Any advice on flight availability to aix or somewhere close (Marseille for example)? We are having trouble finding direct flights from Ireland.

Thanks.

gollem_1975

As you have discovered already there is no airport in Aix-en-provence.

nearest airport is MR2 ( Marseille )

you can get buses from there to Aix-en-provence ( fairly regular schedule )

Eoin

When are you travelling? I think that Dublin-MR2 might be a summer season route only with both Ryanair and Aer Lingus. If it is out of season, then Nice might be the next option.

Aix is a nice town by the way

thomond2006

We're going in January.

We go to UL and all live in Munster so Cork/Shannon would be super handy.

Eoin

I think you might be looking at Cork to Nice in January.

thomond2006

eoin wrote: »

I think you might be looking at Cork to Nice in January.

Aer Lingus wrote: »

Flights do not operate on your selected travel date/s. Aer Lingus operates from Mar 27 2011 - Oct 29 2011 on days Tue Thu Sat

So Cork's out.

Found Dublin to Nice (Aer Lingus) for €58.47 (including taxes etc) on 3 January. I'm guessing I won't get a better deal than that? or is there a catch?

Eoin

That's not bad at all - I'm on that route a few times, and that's as cheap as I've seen it. Just look into how to get to Aix from Nice. Nice is worth looking around while you're there.

thomond2006

eoin wrote: »

That's not bad at all - I'm on that route a few times, and that's as cheap as I've seen it. Just look into how to get to Aix from Nice. Nice is worth looking around while you're there.

Thanks a bunch for your help, you're a legend!

If any got any more advice for me, I'd be more than happy to read it.

Thanks again.

Edit: Just realised that I may have to go earlier than that, which means €30 quid more, oh well.

schemingbohemia

you can get the train to aix-en-provence handily enough from Nice, either TGV direct or RE trains via Marseilles.

brownbinman

We I went on Erasmus to Aix (2004), we flew to Nice. We had to get a hotel and travel next day as last bus and train went after we arrived.

Get the bus, its much cheaper and drops you in the middle of Aix. Are you staying in th IUT?

Aix is a cool place, real nice town and great craic as well.

serfboard

eoin wrote: »

Aix is a nice town by the way

brownbinman wrote: »

Aix is a cool place, real nice town and great craic as well.

I'd echo both of these. I spent a couple of months there and Aix is a great town. Just sit on the Cours Mirabeau having a coffee or a drink and watch the world go by ... a very nice way to spend an afternoon/evening.

By the way, it doesn't sound like you'll have a car at your disposal, but if ye do, there's loads to visit around the area as well.

Enojy!

pickarooney

I live in Aix and in Winter when we fly to Ireland we usually go via Stansted (Marseille-Marignane is half-way between Marseille and Aix). Nice is a bit of a pain in the arse to get to and from, to be honest; public transport is really poor between the two towns for some reason. You'd be lookng at a 6 hour wait in Stansted if flying from the Munster airports, that said.

Civilian_Target

To get to Aix en Provence:

- The nearest airport is Marseille-Provence. There's a bus from there to Aix-En-Provence every half hour.
- Nice is the next best bet. There's 4 direct TGVs a day from Nice to Aix, and a bus every 2 hours
- Otherwise, fly to Paris CDG. There's several direct TGVs from CDG to Aix en Provence every day, although it would be wise to check voyages.sncf.fr to see the train prices, because they can get quite expensive.

You can probably also fly to Lyon without too much hastle, but flying to Grenoble will make your life painful.

thomond2006

Any more suggestions/thoughts?

pickarooney

Do you have your exact dates yet? If you book early enough you could get a cheap train ticket from Paris CDG right to Aix-TGV which only takes 3 hours and is much less hassle than a second plane. Aix-TGV is a fair distance outside the city but is well-served with shuttle buses.

thomond2006

pickarooney wrote: »

Do you have your exact dates yet? If you book early enough you could get a cheap train ticket from Paris CDG right to Aix-TGV which only takes 3 hours and is much less hassle than a second plane. Aix-TGV is a fair distance outside the city but is well-served with shuttle buses.

My accomodation starts from the 5th Jan but tbh if travel on the 6th worked out cheaper then we'd go for that.

pickarooney

If you're OK with an 8 hour stopover in Stansted, the cheapest by far on the 6th is Shannon-Stansted-Marseille about 80 euros one-way. You'd presumably have a fair bit of luggage though, which might double the cost!

Cork-Stansted-Marseille on the same day is the same price with a similar wait between flights.

Realistically flying to Paris-CDG is going to cost at least 150 euros on its own and will involve either travelling to Dublin or changing flights, making for a very long day.

thomond2006

@pickarooney

Are there many sports bars in Aix where I could watch Heineken Cup or Premier League football?

pickarooney

There are about 5 "Irish" pubs, most of which show Premiership matches and the latter stages of the HC plus probably the big matches between Irish and French teams. It just depends on if there's soccer on at the same time. Rue de la Verrerie has a few places such as O'Shannon's which is really popular.