Advice for TGV travel?

I'm traveling to Europe. Flying into Paris, staying for 3 days, taking the TGV
to Avignon, staying for 3 days, then wanting to travel by train to Siena or
Florence (staying for 3 days) then flying out of Pisa.

I can't seem to get a route on the Eur-rail TGV from Avignon or Nice to Siena.
Their website doesn't seem to want to make that connection. Can anyone tell me
if it is possible to take the train like that? Please excuse my ignorance.
Any information would be helpful.
In addition, can anyone recommend a place to stay in Siena or Florence that
would accomodate a family of 4 for around 150 Euros a night? (Or less)

Thanks so much.

--Mary

"MARY1313" wrote in message
...
I'm traveling to Europe. Flying into Paris, staying for 3 days, taking
the TGV
to Avignon, staying for 3 days, then wanting to travel by train to Siena
or
Florence (staying for 3 days) then flying out of Pisa.

I can't seem to get a route on the Eur-rail TGV from Avignon or Nice to
Siena.
Their website doesn't seem to want to make that connection. Can anyone
tell me
if it is possible to take the train like that? Please excuse my
ignorance.
Any information would be helpful.

Siena's station is very small and off the main track. Also it's outside the
town walls. You might consider taking the train to Florence and then a bus
to Siena. The bus station in Florence is near the train station and in Siena
it's near the center of town.

On our first visit to Siena, we took a bus from the train station in Chiusi
(having trained from Sorrento via Rome). This bus ride through the Tuscan
countryside was wonderful, like a magic carpet ride, causing us to
immediately plan a return for a more extended stay.

Check the German train site for all European train travel:
http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en

Marianne

MARY1313 wrote:
[snip]
I can't seem to get a route on the Eur-rail TGV from Avignon or Nice
to Siena.
Their website doesn't seem to want to make that connection. Can
anyone tell me
if it is possible to take the train like that? Please excuse my
ignorance.
Any information would be helpful.

I don't think you can get a TGV to Siena. They have trains from
both Florence and Milan, but I don't think they are TGV.

FWIW, alot of folks take buses from Florence. The Siena station
isn't
really "in" Siena and it is a long uphill walk or a slightly pricy
taxi ride.

MARY1313 writes:

I can't seem to get a route on the Eur-rail TGV from Avignon or Nice to Siena.
Their website doesn't seem to want to make that connection. Can anyone tell me
if it is possible to take the train like that?

Only certain cities are served by TGV trains. The other cities are
served by conventional trains, which are only about half as fast at
best. Look for ordinary (non-TGV) train service beyond Nice and you
should find it.

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

"MARY1313" skrev i meddelandet
...
I'm traveling to Europe. Flying into Paris, staying for 3 days, taking
the TGV
to Avignon, staying for 3 days, then wanting to travel by train to Siena
or
Florence (staying for 3 days) then flying out of Pisa.

I can't seem to get a route on the Eur-rail TGV from Avignon or Nice to
Siena.
Their website doesn't seem to want to make that connection. Can anyone
tell me
if it is possible to take the train like that? Please excuse my
ignorance.
Any information would be helpful.
In addition, can anyone recommend a place to stay in Siena or Florence
that
would accomodate a family of 4 for around 150 Euros a night? (Or less)
Thanks so much.
--Mary
You've used the Eurail timetable ?
It's possibly not the best one.
In my opinion is the German timetable
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
is the best one for planning train travel and train connections in Europe.
From Avignon to Siena you've to change trains several times and as others
have said, the railstation in Siena is on some distance from city core so
you'll need a taxi or go by bus the last distance.

Lennart Petersen wrote:

[]
It's possibly not the best one.

Indeed.

In my opinion is the German timetable
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
is the best one for planning train travel and train connections in Europe.

Yes, it's excellent, and I'll remind readers it's available at
wap.bahn.de, so you can use it from your mobile- very handy while on the
move!

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

In addition, can anyone recommend a place to stay in Siena or Florence
that would accomodate a family of 4 for around 150 Euros a night? (Or
less)

Last summer we got a quad at the Caravaggio in Florence for about that much
or less--and it is a GREAT hotel (about a year old--very fresh, clean and
modern inside, with a good breakfast, but the quad room was a bit
plain--other rooms have more art and design). We found the quad by going
to www.venere.com and searching for 1 room holding 4 people. You might try
a search there for both Florence and Siena, and see how the price matches up
with the star ratings and the comments from people who have stayed there
already.

Sienna is served by normal trains. Is about a 7euro taxi fare to the gate
of the city. Do not know how much to the interior. We took taxi from Avis
office, which is near one of the portals, to train station. The bus drops
you off across the street from a moving stairway / escalator that takes you
up to city level.
bill

"Mimi" wrote in message
...

"MARY1313" wrote in message
...
I'm traveling to Europe. Flying into Paris, staying for 3 days, taking
the TGV
to Avignon, staying for 3 days, then wanting to travel by train to Siena
or
Florence (staying for 3 days) then flying out of Pisa.

I can't seem to get a route on the Eur-rail TGV from Avignon or Nice to
Siena.
Their website doesn't seem to want to make that connection. Can anyone
tell me
if it is possible to take the train like that? Please excuse my
ignorance.
Any information would be helpful.

Siena's station is very small and off the main track. Also it's outside
the
town walls. You might consider taking the train to Florence and then a bus
to Siena. The bus station in Florence is near the train station and in
Siena
it's near the center of town.

On our first visit to Siena, we took a bus from the train station in
Chiusi
(having trained from Sorrento via Rome). This bus ride through the Tuscan
countryside was wonderful, like a magic carpet ride, causing us to
immediately plan a return for a more extended stay.

Check the German train site for all European train travel:
http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en

Marianne