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How to get to our neck of the woods in France

We are based in the suburbs of Grenoble, France, a large city near the borders of Italy and Switzerland. The venue, the Domaine de la Chartrognière, is in a small village called Saint-Thomas-en-Royans about an hour west of Grenoble by car.

The welcome dinner will begin around 6 pm on Friday, November 6th, so we hope to see you at the venue by then. If arriving from Paris or farther, we recommend arriving in France no later than the morning of the 6th.

On this page, you’ll find information concerning flights and traveling from the airport to the venue. Please feel free to write us at contact@megmarriesmax.com if we can help with planning your trip.

This is the simplest, fastest, and (often) cheapest way to get here. This is the itinerary we use the most often when traveling between the US and our home in France.

  • Fly into Lyon (LYS).
  • Rent a car or take the train (TGV) to Grenoble. There are also buses available every hour (FlixBus).
  • Get a ride from Grenoble to the venue, either by renting a car or organizing a carpool (let us know if we can help with this).

When booking your flight to France, here are the airports we suggest. Flying into Paris might be your first reflex, but if you’re not intending to spend a few days there, we recommend flying into Lyon or Geneva.

We like to travel without stress and have provided some tips to help the trip go as smoothly as possible.

Recommended airports:

Lyon Saint-Exupéry (LYS)

If you are coming directly to the venue from the US, we recommend flying into the Lyon airport. It is one hour and 22 minutes by car to reach the venue or an hour by train to reach Grenoble. Prices are often similar to flights into Paris. It is a small airport, so relatively easy and stress-free to navigate.

Geneva (GVA)

Geneva is a close second on our recommended airport list. Flights are sometimes much cheaper than flights into France, and the airport is only two hours from the venue by car.

Paris (CDG)

If you are flying out of a major US airport, you can often find inexpensive budget flights to Paris, especially CDG. A high-speed train will get you to the train stop nearest to the venue in three hours, while the drive is about six hours long. CDG is a huge and busy airport, so be sure to plan plenty of time to catch your train or pick up the rental car. For the return trip, it’s a good idea to stay the night before in Roissy (not Paris) if your flight is any time before the mid-afternoon.

If you’d like to spend a bit of time getting comfortable in the region before making your way to the venue, Grenoble and Annecy are definitely worth a visit (especially Annecy - the town is a postcard and a fan favorite of people who have visited us). Be sure to check out the “What to See” tab for other ideas for stuff to do and see in the area.

The Domain is in a relatively remote village in the countryside, so we recommend one of the following methods of transportation:

Renting a car.

This option definitely provides the most flexibility, reliability, and time savings.

NOTE: If you do not drive a stick, be sure to verify that your rental has an automatic transmission, as most cars in France do not.

Also, be wary of tolls and gas prices. We highly recommend calculating the price of the trip using https://www.viamichelin.com/routes to avoid any surprises.

An American driver’s license is sufficient to rent a car and drive in France.

There is plenty of parking available at the venue.

Train.

Most airports in Europe have a train station nearby. When choosing stops, Grenoble is the nearest large city (and worth a short visit if you have time), while Saint Marcellin is the train stop nearest to the venue. However, you will still need one of the following options to complete the journey:

  • Carpool (recommended). If you let us know ahead of time, we can pick you up in Grenoble or Saint Marcellin. We can also organize shuttles if enough people need one.
  • Book a taxi ahead of time. Be sure to confirm the rate with the driver before getting into the cab.
  • Call an Uber. Use caution - Uber service can be spotty in smaller towns and during off hours, and finding someone who will drive long distances may be difficult. We don’t recommend trying this option in Saint Marcellin.

Please let us know if we can help you organize transportation to the venue.