Navigating France by Train, Car, and Bus
Join Us in France Travel Podcast
Annie Sargent
4.6 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 8 June 2025
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How do you plan a smooth and memorable trip across France using trains, rental cars, and buses? In this episode of the Join Us in France Travel Podcast, titled Navigating France by Train, Car, and Bus, host Annie Sargent chats with Stephen Nicholson about his 24-day journey through France. Stephen and his wife combined different types of transportation to explore big cities, small towns, and hidden gems—without joining a tour group.
They started in Paris and used the OuiGo high-speed train to reach Avignon, then added regional trains, rental cars, and local buses to visit places like Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Carcassonne, Sarlat-la-Canéda, and Amboise. Stephen shares practical advice on booking train tickets, rebooking car rentals to save money, and using travel apps to avoid stress.
Annie and Stephen also talk about how to find the best parking in small villages, how to use luggage storage services, and why it’s smart to plan around French public holidays. They touch on lesser-known challenges like fuel station card holds and using Wise debit cards in Europe.
Whether you're planning to travel light, visit Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, or simply get the most out of your trip without overpacking your schedule, this episode is full of useful, real-world tips.
Subscribe to Join Us in France for more smart travel advice, inspiring guest stories, and honest discussions about what it’s really like to explore France at your own pace.
Table of Contents for this Episode
More episodes about how to get around in France
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is join us in France episode 549. |
| 0:20.3 | Bonjour, I'm Annie Sargent, and join us in France episode 549. 549. Hello, I'm Annie Sargent, and join us in France is the podcast where we take a conversational |
| 0:27.6 | journey through the beauty, culture, and flavors of France. |
| 0:31.6 | Today I bring you a conversation with Stephen Nicholson about slow traveling through France by trains, cars, and buses. |
| 0:39.6 | We discussed the nuances of traveling between quaint villages, |
| 0:43.4 | tips for ensuring smooth transit experiences, and memorable highlights from Stephen's 24-day journey. |
| 0:51.6 | Listen in for practical advice and captivating tales of French adventures. |
| 0:56.4 | This podcast runs on Chocolatine, passable Wi-Fi, and the fabulous support of delightful |
| 1:03.7 | humans like you. You book itinerary consoles, stroll around Paris with me on the |
| 1:09.2 | voice map app, ride shotgun in my zippy electric car, |
| 1:13.9 | Brave the boot camp, |
| 1:15.4 | or toss a few euros my way on Patreon, |
| 1:18.6 | and I do a little happy dance every time. |
| 1:22.2 | Want to skip the ads and keep me caffeinated? |
| 1:25.9 | If there's a link for that in the show notes, or head to join us in France.com for a slash |
| 1:31.5 | boutique and vive le podcast nerds. |
| 1:35.8 | And don't forget to check out the website that goes with this podcast. |
| 1:40.6 | That's where you'll find all the names and places we mentioned spelled out properly, |
| 1:45.0 | links to hotels and restaurants, the full transcripts as well, |
| 1:49.3 | and the transcript is super handy. |
| 1:51.6 | It makes the podcast searchable. |
| 1:53.9 | Maybe your memory is perfect, but mine isn't, so I use it all the time. |
... |
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