Getting to Poitiers

Hi everyone, our wedding is in Nieuil l'Espoir, a small village about 20km from Poitiers.

How do I get there I hear you ask. Easy, just read on macduff...

To get to Poitiers there are several possibilities:

By plane direct from Stansted or Birmingham on Ryanair. Reservation is easy via their web site. Normally prices are reasonable and the flight time is just 1h20. www.ryanair.co.uk

If you don't want to go to Stansted, there are flights with Flybe from Southampton and Newcastle to Limoges which is about an hour and three quarters south west of Nieuil l'Espoir. You'll need to hire a car in Limoges. http://www.flybe.com/

By train with the Eurostar from London St. Pancras. It's comfortable, takes about 6h in total and there are no luggage restrictions so you can take back as much booze as you can carry! You could also stop over in Paris. The earlier you book the cheaper it is. To book the whole journey, London to Poitiers, you must wait until 3 months before the travel date. Or book the eurostar to Paris as soon as possible to get the best price www.eurostar.com and book the French Paris/Poitiers train separately via http://www.raileurope.co.uk/ or maybe your local travel agent.

You can change at Lille for a train to Poitiers. The change only involves changing platforms with about twenty minutes between arrival and departure. However there are only a few trains per day.

Otherwise you can go via Paris which offers many more trains but means changing stations. You arrive at the Gare du Nord and must take the "Metro" to Gare Montparnasse. Allow at least an hour for buying metro tickets and changing stations. The actual time on the metro is about 30 minutes unless you arrive in the rush hour.

The metro is easy as you don't have to change. Take the line. In Paris it is different to London. No Northbound or Eastbound, what counts is the station at the end of the line, in this case: Porte d'Orleans (General Leclerc).

By Ferry. Of course you can choose to drive down. There are many options depending on where you live. The closest ports to Poiters are Caen and Le Havre which are about 4h45, mainly on motorways which are completely free of traffic. The crossing is usually overnight and you can choose between Britanny Ferries http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/ and the new and cheap LD lines http://www.ldlines.co.uk/

If you travel from Dover to Calais, the drive is much longer in France (6h30) but the crossing is shorter and cheaper.

By shuttle. No, this doesn't leave from Cap Caneveral but Folkestone which is probably less exciting but who knows. It depends if you get out much or not. You drive onto a train with your car and within 35 minutes you are in Calais. PS. you go via the tunnel. www.eurotunnel.com

Looking forward to seeing you in September.