About Linda Scardina Expertise Can give specifics about some foreign cities regarding hotels, restaurants, museums, shopping, site seeing, public and private transportation. Also tips on cultures of different countries, do`s and don`t`s regarding the local populations etc. Love travel and meeting people from different cultures and interacting with them and love to share our experiences and help tourists to become "travelers."
France - Trains/car travel in Orange, Nimes, Anduze area
Expert: Linda Scardina - 6/2/2004
Question Hi! We (11 and 13 year-old girls and my wife and I) are going to travel in France in the Orange, Nimes, Anduze areas mid-July, and would very much appreciate any input - must-sees, cautions, tips on getting around by trains / car rental (we tentatively plan on training from Paris to Orange or Nimes, renting a car and then driving to Anduze), how much French I should try to master. Also, I'm bringing a US digital camera with battery charger, and I'm not sure what I'll need to be able to plug it into French power outlets. Any information would be most welcome! Thanks! --Lorin
Answer Hi Lorin,
Sorry for the delay, my DSL has been out for about 18 hours.
Here's some more facts you need to know before renting a car:
Local taxes can run up to 25 percent of the rental price.
Parking in larger towns runs about $20 a day.
CDW insurance runs about $100/wk.
Gas runs about $5.00 per gallon.
Tolls are charged on super highways.
The car insurance included with all car rentals runs with a very high deductible, often equal to the value of the car.
As far as your battery charger most Deluxe, 1st class and superior tourist class hotels have an outlet that you can plug into. Check your charger, most of the modern units work both on 220Volts and 110 Volts. If this is the case and you want to play it safe you can buy a European Plug adapter at a travel store, you do not need a transformer. If your charger works only on 110 volts(not likely) you will have to buy a travel transformer to step the voltage down from 220V to 110V. The British plug is quite different than the European plug as it looks like a large crows foot and will not work in France to be sure to get a European plug adapter.
As far as speaking French you can get buy with a few phrases like "Where is the bathroom" but usually can get along without it. You might want to pick up a French menu reader, they are available in book stores in the travel section. If you get away from tourist areas and go to small local restaurants and shops you may find that no one speaks English.
The French rail system is very comprehensive and you might try that instead of a car.
Here is the web site that explains the TGV the French High speed train. http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it/tgv/tgvindex.html
This is the web site for French National Rail where there are time tables and a wealth of info. http://www.sncf.com/indexe.htm
You can buy rail passes or just tickets, depending how long you are staying, at this web site which also has a lot of info. http://www.raileurope.com/us/index.htm
In Nimes the big thing to see is the Roman aena which is still in use for bull fights also the Pont du Gard a combination bridge and aquaduct built by the Romans is a must see.
