Travel Advice

Travel to Le Loop

You need to arrange and pay for your own travel to and from your first and last hotel unless a transfer is included in the Loop. 

  • Please arrive at your hotel no later than 7pm on arrival day – 5pm for Florence.
  • For train travel to and within France: eurostar.com and sncf-connect.com
  • For flight comparison, kayak.co.uk is one of our favourite sites.

Train versus Plane

Train travel in France can be booked on the SNCF website: sncf-connect.com. We encourage riders to take the train where possible in order to reduce our environmental impact. We’ve put together guidance notes to help make taking the train as easy as possible.

Team up with other Loopers

If you’d like to find other riders travelling on the same dates, please use the Strava Club page and create a thread, using the travel destination name for your title for outbound transfers, and the departure town for any return transfers (don’t use the Loop name, because several Loops arrive/depart on the same days). It’s worth doing outbound and return as 2 separate threads.

To Florence. Friday 21st June 

Train: It’s not possible to get from London to Florence in one day by train (or not by 5pm) so your options are to overnight in Paris or Turin. For more information, have a look at seat61.com

Flight: Vueling and British Airways both fly to Florence airport from Heathrow while Easyjet and Ryanair fly to Pisa (1hr by train/bus) from Bristol, Gatwick, Luton and Manchester.

Long Haul: If you’re flying long haul to Italy, you can easily take the train from Rome to Florence in 90 minutes. If you’re travelling with your bike, you need to pay €3.50 and book it in advance.

Return from Nice. Mon 15th July

Train: It’s 5hrs 45 mins from Nice to Paris by TGV (overnight trains also available) so with a connection in Paris, it’s about 10hrs all the way.

Flight: Nice is France’s second biggest airport with flights to most destinations with a variety of airlines.

To Florence. Friday 21st June 

Train: It’s not possible to get from London to Florence in one day by train (or not by 5pm) so your options are to overnight in Paris or Turin. For more information, have a look at seat61.com

Flight: Vueling and British Airways both fly to Florence airport from Heathrow while Easyjet and Ryanair fly to Pisa (1hr by train/bus) from Bristol, Gatwick, Luton and Manchester.

Long Haul: If you’re flying long haul to Italy, you can easily take the train from Rome to Florence in 90 minutes. If you’re travelling with your bike, you need to pay €3.50 and book it in advance.

Return from Turin. Tuesday 25th June

Train: See above for the Train options back from Turin (covered in the Florence section as that’s where you change going to/from Paris).

Flight: Easyjet and BA both fly out of Turin to a variety of UK, European and international destinations.

To Florence. Friday 21st June 

Train: It’s not possible to get from London to Florence in one day by train (or not by 5pm) so your options are to overnight in Paris or Turin. For more information, have a look at seat61.com

Flight: Vueling and British Airways both fly to Florence airport from Heathrow while Easyjet and Ryanair fly to Pisa (1hr by train/bus) from Bristol, Gatwick, Luton and Manchester.

Long Haul: If you’re flying long haul to Italy, you can easily take the train from Rome to Florence in 90 minutes. If you’re travelling with your bike, you need to pay €3.50 and book it in advance.

Return from Troyes. Monday 1st July

Train: Much like the way out, it’s a 6hr train journey back from Troyes with a change in Paris (this time the Gare de l’Est).

Flight: Troyes is only 90 minutes by train from Paris so train + plane is an easy option if your journey doesn’t start in London.

To Aurillac. Wednesday 3rd July 

We’ve included a transfer from Bordeaux airport to Aurillac with this Loop.

Flight: Please plan to arrive at Bordeaux Merignac airport by 11.30am for a coach at 12pm. There are flights from Manchester, Edinburgh, Stansted (all Ryanair) or Gatwick (Easyjet) that will get you there in time.

You are of course welcome to make your own way to the hotel if you prefer.

Return from Nice. Mon 15th July

Train: It’s 5hrs 45 mins from Nice to Paris by TGV (overnight trains also available) so with a connection in Paris, it’s about 10hrs all the way.

Flight: Nice is France’s second biggest airport with flights to most destinations with a variety of airlines.

To Nimes. Tuesday 9th July

Train: In just over 6hrs you can travel from London to Nimes by train with a change from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon in Paris.

Flight: There are flights to Montpellier from Gatwick and Luton with Easyjet (BA lands too late) or to Marseille from Heathrow (BA), Gatwick (Easyjet) and Stansted (Ryanair). From Montpellier it’s under an hour by train to Nimes and from Marseille under 2hrs.

Return from Nice. Sat 13th July 

Train: It’s 5hrs 45 mins from Nice to Paris by TGV (overnight trains also available) so with a connection in Paris, it’s about 10hrs all the way.

Flight: Nice is France’s second biggest airport with flights to most destinations with a variety of airlines.

To Pau. Friday 5th July

Train: TGV fast Trains from Paris to Pau take 4.5hrs, making it very possible to do the journey from London in a day (8hrs includes time to change trains from the Gare du Nord to the Gare Montparnasse in Paris).

Flight: You can fly to Pau via Paris with AirFrance from CDG or Transavia from Orly.

Additional note: Whilst flying to Lourdes would usually be a good plan B, the only flight from the UK doesn’t land until 9.30pm so if the AirFrance options don’t suit, it would be worth looking at flights to Biarritz, Toulouse or Bordeaux which all have onward train possibilities to Pau.

Return from Nice. Sat 13th July 

Train: It’s 5hrs 45 mins from Nice to Paris by TGV (overnight trains also available) so with a connection in Paris, it’s about 10hrs all the way.

Flight: Nice is France’s second biggest airport with flights to most destinations with a variety of airlines.

To Macon. Wednesday 26th June 

Train: From London to Macon Loché TGV station takes 5hrs with a change in Paris (swapping from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon by metro).

Flight: Macon is only 90 minutes by train from Paris and an hour north of Lyon (where trains leave from the station joined to the airport) so plane + train is an easy option if your journey doesn’t start in London.

Return from Troyes. Monday 1st July

Train: Much like the way out, it’s a 6hr train journey back from Troyes with a change in Paris (this time the Gare de l’Est).

Flight: Troyes is only 90 minutes by train from Paris so train + plane is an easy option if your journey doesn’t start in London.

To Macon. Wednesday 26th June 

Train: From London to Macon Loché TGV station takes 5hrs with a change in Paris (swapping from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon by metro).

Flight: Macon is only 90 minutes by train from Paris and an hour north of Lyon (where trains leave from the station joined to the airport) so plane + train is an easy option if your journey doesn’t start in London.

Return from Dijon. Saturday 29th June

Train: Much like the way out, it’s a 6hr train journey back from Dijon with a change in Paris.

Flight: Dijon is only 90 minutes by train from Paris so train + plane is an easy option if your journey doesn’t start in London.

To Agen, Thur 4th July 

We’ve included a transfer from Bordeaux Merignac airport to Agen with this Loop. Please plan to be at Bordeaux airport by 2pm for a coach at 3pm. There are flights from Bristol, Gatwick (both Easyjet), Heathrow (BA) and Stansted (Ryanair) that will get you there in time.

** UPDATE – a few people have asked about transfers from Toulouse, which we may be able to organise. If you’re interested, please let us know**

You are of course welcome to make your own way to the hotel if you prefer.

Return from Narbonne. Monday 8th July

We have included a transfer from Narbonne to  Toulouse airport. The coach will leave our hotel at 12pm to arrive at Toulouse airport by 1.30pm. 

Train: Narbonne is a remarkably quick 4.5hrs train ride from Paris (making the entire journey to London under 8hrs including the transfer from the Gare de Lyon to the Gare du Nord)

Flight: The transfer to Toulouse airport allows you to travel on any of the following: 16.05 to Gatwick (Easyjet), 17.30 to Heathrow (BA), 22.15 to Stansted (Ryanair).

For the 10.30am flight to Bristol, we will organise a separate transfer at 7am for those who request it at least 1 month in advance.

You are of course welcome to make your own way home from the hotel if you prefer.

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