First DraftHow to get to Le mans by Public transport
Whilst the majority take a car to Le mans its definitely possible to do the weekend using planes , trains and buses. I’ve found French public transport to be punctual and good value.
Airports
The nearest major international airport to Le mans is Charles de Gaulle , which is North of Paris. It has 3 terminals and importantly a Train station served by TGV.
The website for CDG is
http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/en-GB/Passagers/It seems to have been recently updated and less useful than before ! There used to be decent maps showing where the location of the train station was in relation to each terminal , however they seem to be gone.
Whichever terminal you arrive at you will need to catch a free bus (Navette) to the train station.
Access to the free buses is signposted.
There are a number of services which run on a loop, I’d suggest allowing a minimum of 30 minutes for the journey including waiting time. You may also not be able to get the first bus to arrive if the queue is long.
The other Paris airport is Orly, whilst it is located closer to Lemans it does not have a direct TGV link.
There is a direct coach link between the airports at a cost of about 16 euros. Alternatively Orly also has a train station for access to Paris center.
Nantes airport is also a possibility if you can fly
www.ryanair.com. From Nantes a hire car or train (TGV) is possible.
TGV to Le Mans
Tickets should be booked in advance this can be done easily on line at
www.sncf.frIf you book more than a month in advance there is a discount.
I have always had the tickets delivered to the UK.
Once at the station , you will have to descend 4 levels to the platform. Find the platform from the information board. You also need to validate your ticket with a punch machine located at the escalators above the platform. Locate the approximate place to stand by checking the monitors against your seat number.
Arriving at Le Mans.
The trip takes about 1hr 40 minutes.
Le Mans station will at sometime be undergoing some changes (according to a plan displayed in 2005).
Currently on leaving the main exit (Nord) you cross the small car park to the bus stops, or take a taxi.
If you arrive on Wednesday or Thursday evening or Saturday there are special busses which go direct to the circuit. The special bus arrives directly opposite the main entrance to the circuit.
Alternatively you can take the bus to Oasis (line 3) which is one of the closest normal stops to the circuit. Once at Oasis, you will have a walk of about 10-15 minutes to get to the main entrance.
The transport website
www.setram.fr provides more details on the times.
The link to the full pdf details is
http://www.setram.fr/local/doc_site/20050810140605_T-L03P16-100x205-F.pdfDriving to Le Mans from the airport.
Its also easy to pick up a car and drive to the circuit. I won’t put the full details here as I’ve found the routes offered by
www.theaa.com or
www.rac.com to give accurate directions, and will be updated.
If you arrive at Orly then you have an advantage of being at least 20 minutes closer and with less traffic to contend with.
A few points on driving to the circuit.
Don’t miss the turns as it is difficult to re join the motorway, especially don’t miss one of the first turns and end up heading into Paris - a very bad move.
Depending on the time of day the routes around Paris can be very busy and come to a standstill allow extra time for your journey.
If there happened to be a public transport strike (as in 2003) the roads will be solid , it took me 6 hours!
Fill up the car with fuel before dropping it off as the hire companies normally expect a full tank or they may charge far more to fill it themselves. There is at least one station at CDG.
Eurostar. I’ve not done this route but it would be possible to get the Eurostar to Paris , then a TGV to Le Mans. However it means changing stations.
www.eurostar.co.uk Will provide the itinerary and prices. This is probably the quickest route from central London.
If Money is not a Problem.
There is one other way to Le mans, shortest journey time of all and less than a mile to the circuit.
Le Mans airport is within walking distance of the circuit.
You’d need to hire a private plane as there aren’t (currently) any scheduled flights.
A quick search found the following
http://www.mayfairdove.co.uk/ not to Le Mans but to Paris for £1500 day return, So Le Mans for £5-6000 looks possible.
Maybe one day!
Hope you find this useful
Redstu
April 2006.
Comments, anything I've missed?
