Tiptoe Traveller in: Malissard, south east of France

Train journeys from London to the south of France: convenient, relaxing and greener  

La Drome

France is the country where I was born and brought up. Even though I now live in the UK, I will always have that special feeling of excitement when I set foot in France. A friend of mine asked me whether I feel more English now that I have spent many years in the UK. My answer was 'England is my home but I will always be French in my heart'. This post is about a quick trip by train to the south east of France, to a village called Malissard, close to Valence in the Drome region.

I travelled by Eurostar from London to Paris and then by TGV from Paris to Valence. My journey was very pleasant and took five and half hours. The check-in processing for the Eurostar only took a few minutes. Once you have shown your ticket, you go through security. Inside the terminal, it is worth noting that there is not much entertainment available but you are only there for 20 minutes or so. In the train, the journey is so quick that you probably just have time to read a newspaper and have a good nap.

Once in Paris, I took the RER to Gare de Lyon. If you can, it is worth buying your ticket in advance in the Eurostar. You will avoid the long queues at the ticket machines in Gare du Nord. The journey takes about 20 minutes. You will need to validate your TGV ticket (this is called 'compostage') at the yellow machines on the platform before boarding the train. Do make sure you have booked a seat on the TGV. The trains get very full (especially at the week-end and during school holidays) and there is little space to sit and stand once all seats have been taken. It is also quite tricky to travel with large suitcases as luggage space is limited. Some TGV trains have two floors and some luggage space is available upstairs. You should try to keep your luggage as close to you as possible as it has been know for bags to be stolen. Not nice I know, but it is better to be safe than sorry!

Chabeuil town hall - photo by Jean Drescher

I went to Malissard to visit some friends. Amongst other things, we went strawberry and cherry picking. The weather has been so warm that fruit are ripening earlier than usual this year. What a pleasure to be able to pick your own fruit. A few kilometres away, you will find Chabeuil, another pretty village worth a visit.


La Pangée: an edible piece of history

On Sunday, we went to a patisserie to buy a speciality from the region called la Pangée. Apparently, 240 million years ago, the village of Beaume Cornillane  (close to Malissard), would have been the centre of the earth when there was only one continent. The cake looks like it has a piece missing to replicate the shape of the continent at that time. It is made from local ingredients including apricots, honey and almonds. Delicious!

After a weekend packed full of activities, eating and chatting, it was time to head home. The trip back to the UK was pretty easy. I travelled from Valence to Lille by TGV and from Lille to London by Eurostar. The journey took six and half hours.

My thoughts on train travel

I would definitely recommend Eurostar and TGV travels. The return ticket was more expensive than a flight but the environmental benefits and the convenience make it really worthwhile. Overall, I find travelling by train far more relaxing than flying.

Do you enjoy travelling by train? Whereabouts have you been recently? What is your favourite journey?