Travel notes:

Grignols is a small french village located in the south west region of France. It is in the department of Gironde (33), within the french region of Aquitaine.  Please note if you are doing online research that there a two Grignols in France.  Grignols, Gironde postal code 33690 is correct.  There is another Grignols, Dordogne postal code 24100.  If you type Grignols in an online search, often the Grignols, Dordogne pops up first.  Please specify Grignols, Gironde to avoid confusion.

Basque country, in the southwest area of France, especially from Hossegor to Bazas, has great meaning for Henri.  His extended family resides here.  

This region is well-known in Europe as a family vacation destination. Bordeaux offers its vineyards.  The coastal towns, Hossegor and Biarritz, are famous for their surf and white sand beaches.  The Pyrenees mountain range and the northern border of Spain, are a two hour driving distance.  In Basque country, July and August are the height of French and Spanish festivals, such as the Running of the Bulls.

Bastille Day is Celebrated on July 14th.  Please be advised that travel on the few days before and on Bastille Day, will be more difficult due to crowds and holiday business closures.  

Also, the last weekend of July (Friday, July 29th - Monday, August 1st) is always very crowded with traffic.  The French are returning from July vacation and are beginning their August vacation on this weekend.  It is better to avoid major transportation and roadways on this particular weekend.

Airline tickets to France:

We recommend that guests fly into Charles de Gaulle, Paris airport.  We have been advised that ticket prices are best approximately 6 months prior to the date of departure for Paris.

Getting from Paris to Grignols:

1) An efficient way to travel from Paris to Grignols is to take the train first from Paris to Bordeaux (3 hours 10 min) and then to rent a car and drive from Bordeaux to Grignols (1 hour).

Train: TGV, Train à Grande Vitesse (French high speed train) tickets can be purchased in advance at http://www.raileurope.com/european-trains/tgv/how-to-book.html.  Make sure to select departure from Gare Montparnasse in Paris and the train route is called TGV Atlantique.

Car Rental: Car rentals are best arranged in advance for better pricing https://www.europcar.com/ 

2) The drive from Paris to Bordeaux takes a little over 5 hours and is a direct route on the highway.  You would take autoroute A10/EO5. Please refer to birds eye map of France autoroute.