There are many methods to journey overland to Nouvelle-Aquitaine from the UK whether or not you need to journey by practice, coach, automobile, or ferry from southern England.
Because of the introduction of L’Océane high-speed rail hyperlink, it is simply 2 hours by practice to Bordeaux from Paris, so you possibly can simply get there in a day from London through Eurostar. Different cities in Nouvelle-Aquitaine are additionally nicely linked to Paris by practice and coach. When you’re travelling on foot, then on arrival at lots of the ports and railway stations in Paris, there are many choices for onward journey by rail and bus to Nouvelle Aquitaine. It is also about 4 hours drive from the ferry ports of Northern France. For many who need to drive in an electrical automobile, there are charging factors at Eurotunnel, and to your onward journey in France, the excellent news is that there is presently an enormous enlargement of charging amenities underway all through the nation.
Images left to proper: Prepare: Eurostar, Ferry: Brittany Ferries; Browsing: Federation Francaise de Surf/JUSTES @CRTNA; Household boating in Marais Poitevin, generally known as ‘Inexperienced Venice’: Mathieu Anglada @CRTNA
By practice from the UK to Nouvelle-Aquitaine
It’s simple to journey by practice to Nouvelle-Aquitaine in a day from the UK. The quickest route is to take the Eurostar from London St Pancras Worldwide Railway Station to Gare du Nord within the French capital Paris (2 hours 16 minutes) after which cross Paris to take the excessive pace practice from both Gare Montparnasse or Gare Austerlitz, relying on whereabouts you need to go to in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Head to Montparnasse for high-speed TGV trains to Poitiers (1 hour 18 minutes), Angoulême (1 hour 43 minutes), Niort (1 hour 45 minutes), Bordeaux (2 hours), La Rochelle (2 hours 26 minutes), and Bayonne (3 hours 53 minutes), and Pau (4 hours 9 minutes), in addition to for Ouigo companies to Agen (3 hours 12 minutes), and to Austerlitz for the slower regional TER intercity trains to cities comparable to Limoges (3 hours 26 minutes) and Brive (4 hours 36 minutes). It is also potential to journey by practice from Lille to Nouvelle-Aquitaine in 4 hours 30 minutes – useful in the event you want to not cross Paris; in Lille you alter on to a practice in the identical station because the one you arrive in to on Eurostar from London.
Prepare tickets offered by Trainline:
Images, Left: Eurostar at St Pancras, London: Richard Hammond. Centre: Eurostar travelling via southern England en path to the Channel Tunnel. Proper: Eurostar’s route map.
Stopover inns to interrupt the journey in Paris
If you wish to break the journey and keep in a single day to see a bit extra of Paris when you’re travelling via, there are many beautiful locations to remain conveniently close to the Eurostar arrival station in Gare du Nord (after you arrive on Eurostar) or close to Gare Montparnasse (to your departure to Bordeaux) or Gare Austerlitz (to your departure to different cities in Nouvelle-Aquitaine).
Lodges close to Gare du Nord:
By Coach from the UK to Nouvelle-Aquitaine
The main coach operators from the UK to France are Flixbus and BlaBlaCarBus, which run companies from London Victoria Coach Station to Paris Gare de Bercy Seine through one of many Dover-Calais ferry companies. Flixbus and Nationwide Categorical runs coaches from most main cities within the UK to London so that you can switch to the worldwide service to France.

By Ferry from the UK to Nouvelle-Aquitaine
The modernisation of ferry companies has revolutionised the expertise of travelling throughout the English Channel. Particularly for longer in a single day crossings to the continent the place you possibly can journey in model on spacious ships, take pleasure in wonderful eating in la carte eating places, spa therapy rooms, and cozy en suite cabins, so on arrival you are feeling refreshed for the onward journey. There are additionally loads of amenities to maintain youngsters entertained throughout the crossing, together with tender play areas, video games rooms, reside leisure and cinema. Europe has by no means felt nearer.
Images: left to proper: Interiors present on board a DFDS Seaways ferry; exterior: Brittany Ferries
There are a number of operators that run ferries from southern England to northern France that cater for foot passengers. The ports on either side of the crossing are nicely linked by public transport, so it’s simple to journey by bus or practice to the ports within the UK, in addition to disembark on the opposite aspect and proceed the journey overland. One of many best crossings on foot is to go from Newhaven to Dieppe as a result of there’s such a straightforward switch from the railway station in Newhaven on to the ferry. On arrival in Dieppe, you possibly can both stroll about 25 minutes to the railway station or there is a shuttle bus that may take you there. When you want to journey from elsewhere on the south coast of England, there are departures from Dover, Poole, Portsmouth and Plymouth with a wide range of operators. For detailed info to tips on how to take public transport to the UK’s ferry ports, see Inexperienced Traveller’s Information to travelling as a foot passenger from the UK to Europe.
The principle ferry companies from the south of England to northern France are as follows:
Dover to Calais: 5 sailings per day (for foot passengers) with P&O Ferries
NB. though there are additionally sailings from Dover to Calais with DFDS Seaways (10 sailings per day), and Irish Ferries (4 sailings per day) they don’t enable foot passengers.
NB. There may be additionally a ferry from Dover to Dunkirk (12 sailings per day with DFDS Seaways) however it isn’t accessible for foot passengers.
Tickets offered by P&O Ferries. NB. whenever you e book a ticket, the car web page is robotically populated to point out a automobile, to alter this to foot passenger choose ‘edit’, after which from the drop down car menu choose ‘Foot Passenger’. Choose ‘save’ after which ‘present occasions’.
Newhaven to Dieppe
21 crossings per week with DFDS Seaways
Portsmouth to Caen, Cherbourg or St Malo
Portsmouth to Caen: 3 sailings per day with Brittany Ferries
Portsmouth to Cherbourg: 1 per week with Brittany Ferries
Portsmouth to St Malo: 1 per day with Brittany Ferries
Ferry tickets offered by Brittany Ferries (NB. To e book as a foot passenger, select the ‘on foot’ possibility from the car choice drop-down choice on step 1 of the ferry reserving course of):
1 crusing per day with Brittany Ferries
Ferry tickets offered by Brittany Ferries (NB. To e book as a foot passenger, select the ‘on foot’ possibility from the car choice drop-down choice on step 1 of the ferry reserving course of):
1 crusing per day with Brittany Ferries
Ferry tickets offered by Brittany Ferries (NB. To e book as a foot passenger, select the ‘on foot’ possibility from the car choice drop-down choice on step 1 of the ferry reserving course of):

Onward journeys by public transport from France’s ferry ports
By automobile from the UK to France
Vehicles may be taken on all the foremost ferry routes described within the foot passenger part above, as
nicely because the Dover to Calais route run by DFDS and Irish Ferries (neither take foot passengers on this route).
Driving electrical automobiles from the UK to France
You can too take an electrical automobile on the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle – there are speedy chargers for common electrical and hybrid automobiles, in addition to devoted Tesla chargers, at each terminals so you possibly can recharge earlier than you head via the tunnel on both aspect.
Electrical automobile rent: There was an enormous improve within the manufacturing of electrical automobiles lately and lots of the giant automobile rental firms, comparable to Enterprise, Avis, Europcar, and SIXT now rent electrical automobiles in France, see:
Do be sure you rent a automobile that has the suitable mileage per battery that’s related to your use. Public charging networks present a combination of gradual, quick and speedy charging factors operated by both a nationwide or regional community, so do examine the placement of the charging factors in addition to the charging time and cost strategies. The automobile rent firm could possibly advise on this whenever you rent the automobile – some might have preparations with power companions and may give you a cost card that you should use at a lot of areas in France.
Charging electrical autos in France
Electrical car (EV) charging networks are increasing in a short time throughout France. As within the UK there are totally different firms offering chargers, however the market is far more fragmented on the continent – in the event you assume it’s sophisticated within the UK, in France and throughout Europe there’s a bewildering variety of suppliers. Typically, you should log in utilizing a community RFID card, a key fob or an app, a few of which should be pre-loaded with funds. Chargers that settle for a contactless debit or bank card are nonetheless not widespread. Fortunately, there are aggregators who can present an RFID card that works on a number of totally different networks, decreasing the variety of playing cards or apps you should receive. As within the UK, there are chargers at many motorway service areas and are additionally usually discovered the place automobiles are prone to be parked for some time, comparable to supermarkets, purchasing centre automobile parks, inns and vacationer points of interest. The Car Affiliation has a useful information to recharging in Europe, together with the most recent info on the charging networks in France and breakdown cowl for electrical autos in Europe. The scenario is altering quickly, so it’s at all times value checking the AA’s web site once more simply earlier than you embark on a journey in Europe. Additionally, keep watch over the web site zap-map.com for the most recent information about electrical autos and the enlargement of charging networks all through the continent.

Please word: The data on this web page goals to present you an affordable thought of practice and ferry routes, occasions and tickets, so that hopefully there’s sufficient element to know what’s accessible, tips on how to plan an overland journey to Nouvelle-Aquitaine and the place to e book tickets. The data was updated at time of publication, however companies do change every so often and we can not take duty for any errors or inaccuracies we offer. All the time verify particulars whenever you e book with the related journey operator. If you’re conscious of any inaccuracies, we might actually recognize being knowledgeable through our contact web page so we are able to make the related adjustments to the knowledge offered for the advantage of different travellers.
