Travelling by train to the Alps

Back on track... Travelling by train to the Alps

HEADING TO THE ALPS BY RAIL CAN SEEM DAUNTING AT FIRST, BUT DEBORAH TURNER, WHO RECENTLY DID JUST THAT, SAYS SHE’LL NEVER GO BACK TO FLYING NOW…

We didn’t know what to expect when opting to travel to our skiing holiday by train, but I have to say we were instantly hooked! Flight costs were sky-rocketing, and a desire to reduce our carbon footprint prompted my four friends and I to give alternative travel a go.

After an early start and quick tube ride across to St Pancras Station, we were soon going through security to get onto the Eurostar.

Compared to Gatwick Airport’s security procedures, we were immediately surprised by how much shorter and quieter the queues were. The stress from the busy background atmosphere you often find at airports was just not there.

Once through security we were straight onto the train, missing out on the lengthy trek to the gate we normally must deal with at airports.

With no restrictive weight limits on luggage either, we all had rather over-packed for the trip, but the train had plenty of storage space for suitcases.

After securing our bags away, we sat down and were ready to start our adventure.

High on the kind of adrenaline you can only get from travelling to a desperately needed holiday, we decided that 8am was a perfectly suitable time to order a bottle of Champagne from the onboard café. It was certainly a step up from the coffee from Prêt we’d usually be considering at this point in our travel!

After only two hours and 20 minutes we had arrived in Paris, and for the cost of the Champagne and a £44.50 train ticket we felt like we’d found the secret to stress-free travelling.

Once off the train we logged on to our Virtuo app, where we had splashed out and pre-booked a state-of-the-art long-range Tesla to hire for the week. By using Virtuo we didn’t

Image: © Sergei have to worry about queues, paperwork, restrictive opening hours or any unpleasant surprises. However, it did feel a bit strange getting into a car without an attendant handing it over.

The Tesla was fully charged when we collected it and we smashed out a three-hour drive south, arriving at beautiful Beaune for a late lunch.

Beaune is a walled town surrounded by the Côte d’Or vineyards and is the centre of the Burgundy winemaking region in France. As such, my friends decided that it would be rude not to sample the nearby produce and support the local economy over lunch! (As the designated driver, I bought a bottle to take to our apartment to enjoy later).

The Tesla Supercharger in Beaune needed only 20 minutes to top up the car (it can charge 200 miles in only 15 minutes), but we opted to stop for an hour to really refresh ourselves. After all, we reasoned, why not make the scenic journey part of the holiday?

Back on the road, we pumped out classics from the 80s and 90s while taking in the passing scenery. It took another three and a half hours to get to snowy Méribel, but with good company the drive flew by.

By 6.45pm we had pulled up to Apartment Petit Chamois, parked in the spacious underground private parking spot, plugged the Tesla into the EV charger provided, and gone up to unpack our bags and open that bottle of Burgundy.

Walking into the apartment, we were taken aback by the size of the place. Petit Chamois is not what you would associate with the word ‘apartment’, nor ‘petit’.

The spacious interior was decked out with designer furniture and oozed Alpine chic. We have since found out that the designer, Nicky Dobree, was featured on Grand Designs.

Skiing right back to Petit Chamois each afternoon really was the cherry on the cake after a phenomenal day of skiing the Trois Vallées.

We tended to enjoy big Savoyard meals, packed with potatoes and cheese, for lunches, so when it came to dinnertime we cooked simple dishes together in the big openplan kitchen while planning our routes for the next day.

As with all holidays, the week sped by and it was soon time to make our way home. After another cheeky boozy lunch in Beaune for my friends, we headed on to Paris for our 7pm train.

Dropping off the Tesla was as easy as collecting it, and we were through the Eurostar security and back on the train in no time. Better still, I was home, sat back, feet up, catching up on my favourite TV shows by 9.30pm.

When considering the train tickets, car hire and car charging costs, we spent only £184 each on travel. Not only much cheaper than flights, but we all agreed that travelling by train felt like it extended our holiday as we made so many enjoyable memories on the journey.

A large selection of Consensio properties feature an EV charger. Get in touch to discover more. www.consensiochalets.co.uk +44 (0) 203 393 0833