Let yourself be lulled by the gentle movement of the train on the tracks, admire the landscape through the window and feel far away even before you reach your destination: this is what awaits you when you go on a train adventure. Discover in this article 3 ideas for train vacations in France and Europe! For a few days, 2 weeks or longer, get away from it all! The key is to have an eco-friendly trip with lots of twists and turns to explore the riches of the Old Continent.

Train vacations of less than a week: Clermont-Ferrand and the Auvergne volcanoes

Go for a short stay and discover a little-known region of France: the surroundings of Clermont-Ferrand. Live an iconic adventure without leaving the borders of France!

What to do during your stay in the country of the Auvergne volcanoes?

Make Clermont-Ferrand your base camp for the duration of your getaway and be sure to explore the city! Let yourself be surprised by its amazing architectural heritage, including the Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption cathedral, the highest volcanic stone cathedral in France.

Then hop on the shuttle <a href="https://www.panoramiquedesdomes.fr/page/comment-venir">bus to the Panoramique des Dômes</a> train station, which runs several times a day between April and November and leaves from downtown Clermont-Ferrand. It is here that you can wear out your hiking boots on the many trails that crisscross the Puys chain. Why not take a tour like <a href="https://www.auvergne-destination.com/fiches/la-boucle-des-domes-49-km/">the Boucle des Dômes</a>, an easy 2 or 3 day trip to explore the volcanic chain?

If you are not a hiker, take the Panoramique des Dômes cogwheel train. Climb to the top of the Puy de Dôme to admire the breathtaking view of the 80 volcanoes of the Puys chain and the city of Clermont-Ferrand.

To extend your stay, go to the Sancy massif. Discover new hikes and new breathtaking panoramas on the region. It is here that you will find the Puy de Sancy, the highest volcano in France. To reach the massif,<a href="https://www.sancy.com/pratique/comment-venir-dans-le-sancy/"> buses to Super-Besse and Le Mont-Dore</a> leave from Clermont-Ferrand.

Clermont-Ferrand is accessible by train from several cities in France. You can expect a journey time of :&nbsp;

2 h 30 from Lyon;3 h 30 from Paris;4 h 30 from Dijon.

Discover<a href="https://ethik-and-trips.com/en/hebergement/en-france/hotel-litteraire-alexandre-vialatte-a-charming-hotel-in-clermont-ferrand"> the Hôtel Littéraire Alexandre Vialatte</a>, a charming hotel in Clermont-Ferrand, located in the heart of the city center. Stay in a comfortable and personalized room in the image of the author and translator of the 20th century, Alexandre Vialatte. Perhaps you will be tempted by the 60 m² apartment that can accommodate up to 6 travelers? Take advantage of the terrace on the 6th floor to relax and admire an exceptional panorama of the Puys chain and the cathedral. Some say it is the most beautiful view of Clermont-Ferrand !

Ethik &amp; Trips offers ecological accommodation around the world. Discover our <a href="https://ethik-and-trips.com/en/hebergement">catalog of committed tourist addresses</a>.

One to two weeks train vacations : the Italian Great Lakes

The lake district in Italy is made up of 20 iconic lakes spread over 4 regions: Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino.

What to do around the Great Lakes in Italy?

Each of the 3 great lakes has its own atmosphere:&nbsp;

Lakes Maggiore, Como and Garda are the best known, but not the only ones worth a visit.

The easiest way to reach the Italian Great Lakes is to arrive at the Milan train station, accessible in 7 hours by direct train from Paris, in 4 hours 30 minutes by train from Lyon or in 3 hours from Chambéry.

If you wish, reserve 2 days of your stay to discover the city of Milan, a lively modern metropolis and Italian cultural center. Visit famous points of interest such as the Duomo of Milan or the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie which houses the fresco of the Last Supper.

From Milan, the easiest way is to rent a car to explore Lake Maggiore, Lake Como, Lake Orta or Lake Lugano.

For Lake Garda, located further east, hop on a train and allow 1.5 hours from Milan to reach the station of Desenzano del Garda on the southern shore of the lake.

Where to sleep in the Great Lakes region in Italy?

2 Ethik'Hotels are waiting for you not far from Lake Garda:

Vacations by train of more than 2 weeks: direction Morocco via Spain

Discover the natural and cultural riches of Morocco by planning an unforgettable stopover in Madrid, Spain.

During your train journey to Morocco, you will surely pass through Madrid, the bustling Spanish capital!

Plan to make an extended stopover there on your way to or from Morocco. Discover there in particular:&nbsp;

Located in the city center of the Spanish capital, just a few steps from the Atocha train station, discover <a href="https://ethik-and-trips.com/en/hebergement/spain/sleep-n-atocha-2">Sleep'n Atocha.</a> This hotel combines comfort, durability and an ideal location for your railroad trip to Morocco. Enjoy the unique common areas such as the mini-cinema or the rooftop with bar and breathtaking views of Madrid.

After crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, you are in Morocco! How to enjoy your stay in this country with its rich culture and numerous exceptional natural sites?

For a highly exotic getaway, head to the south of Morocco via Marrakech. Explore the Draa Valley, home to the Biosphere Reserve of the Oases of Southern Morocco, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Let the splendid kasbahs, the steep desert mountains in total contrast with the lush oasis vegetation give you a change of scene. Then head to the Valley of the Roses to admire its splendid rose gardens before exploring the Dades Valley, which looks like a Grand Canyon.

Does the Moroccan adventure tempt you? Discover our complete guide to organize your<a href="https://ethik-and-trips.com/en/blog/road-trip-south-morocco"> road trip in southern Morocco!</a>

Discover 3 Ethik'Hotels addresses, ideally located to explore southern Morocco:&nbsp;

If you leave from Perpignan, Montpellier or Marseille, Madrid is accessible by direct train. It takes about 7 hours and 45 minutes by train. If you are coming from Paris, you will have to stop in Barcelona or in one of the cities in the south of France. It takes 7 hours by train from Paris to Barcelona.

From Madrid, you have 5.5 hours of direct train time to Algeciras, the port where you can board a ferry to Tangier Med. Then take a cab to the train station and downtown Tangier before boarding a train to Marrakech to start your road trip in southern Morocco. Count on 5 hours of direct train between Tangier and Marrakech.

So, are you tempted by one of these train vacation ideas?

For more train inspiration, check out our other articles on travelling by train, an ecological and comfortable mode of transport:&nbsp;

Travel Inspirations - Transportation

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Vacation by train

Let yourself be lulled by the gentle movement of the train on the tracks, admire the landscape through the window and feel far away even before you reach your destination: this is what awaits you when you go on a train adventure.

Traveling without a plane is possible! It's even a way to discover Europe that promises a great adventure: you can get back in touch with distances, fully integrate the journey into your getaway and live new experiences. By night train, by bus or even by sailboat&nbsp;: low-carbon and slow vacations are yours! So where can you travel from France? Which destinations are accessible without taking the air route? We give you all our advice to organize your next getaway. Flying less is not the same as traveling less!

Before getting into the heart of the matter, we give you 3 reasons to make you want to rely less on air travel.

Limiting air travel is one of the most important actions to reduce your carbon footprint on an individual level.

The latest models estimate <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231020305689">the carbon footprint</a> of air travel at 200g CO2e per kilometer for a long-haul flight and 390g CO2e per kilometer for a short-haul flight.

If you want to calculate the carbon footprint of your last airplane trip, we recommend the <a href="https://bonpote.com/en/flight-calculate-your-carbon-footprint-in-3-clicks/">Bon Pote simulator</a> which also gives a lot of information to understand the calculation and what's behind the numbers.

Putting the journey back at the center of the trip

The carbon footprint is one thing. But this is not the argument that will convince you that travelling without a plane can be pleasant and exotic.

Traveling without a plane also means putting the journey back at the center of the adventure and giving it a place of its own! You stop over in Madrid during your train trip to Portugal: what if you took the opportunity to (re)discover the rich culture of the Spanish capital?

We'll take care of the accommodation: discover our addresses of <a href="https://ethik-and-trips.com/en/hebergement/en-madrid">eco-responsible accommodation in Madrid</a>.

Traveling by plane also means a lot of little inconveniences to take into account:

Trains, especially when powered by electricity from low-carbon sources, as is the case in France, emit very little greenhouse gas during transportation.

The <a href="https://agirpourlatransition.ademe.fr/particuliers/bureau/deplacements/calculer-emissions-carbone-trajets">carbon footprint of trains in France</a> is thus

If you take a train powered by diesel or electricity from fossil fuels, you have to count about <a href="https://www.tourdumondiste.com/limiter-son-empreinte-ecologique-en-voyage#exemples-ditineraires-bas-carbone">80 g of CO2e per km</a>. This type of train still exists in some European countries.

The countries bordering France are very well served by trains from France. You can reach Amsterdam, Brussels, London, Milan, Barcelona, Geneva or Lausanne without any connection from Paris. With the night train, cities like Vienna and soon Berlin become easily accessible!

To plan your next adventure, discover where to <a href="https://ethik-and-trips.com/en/blog/where-to-go-by-train-in-europe">travel by train in Europe</a> and <a href="https://ethik-and-trips.com/en/blog/6-mythical-routes-for-an-unforgettable-sleeper-train-trip-in-europe">6 sleeper train trips in Europe.</a>

To go further, the<a href="https://www.chronotrains.com/fr?zoom=2.5&amp;lng=-0.83&amp;lat=38.45"> Chronotrains</a> website gives the cities accessible in less than 5 hours by rail from the major European stations.

Traveling by bus is often a cheaper alternative to the train to get around without flying. On the other hand, it pollutes more, at around <a href="https://agirpourlatransition.ademe.fr/particuliers/bureau/deplacements/calculer-emissions-carbone-trajets">100 g of CO2e per km</a> for a bus filled with 10 people. The impact decreases if the public transport is well filled.

The bus also has the advantage of serving small towns where the train does not necessarily go. It is therefore a good solution to travel on a regional scale.

<a href="https://www.flixbus.fr/bus?_sp=36f0490a-1330-419a-aaff-6121f1c07a0f.1666791884609&amp;atb_pdid=34db4897-c40a-4872-a70b-5236668ba3f7&amp;_ga=2.250491587.491851069.1666791871-1758852611.1666791871">Flixbus</a> and <a href="https://www.blablacar.fr/bus/destinations">Blablacar</a> are the main companies to travel long distances from France:

To find more local routes (and even organize your trip more globally), the <a href="https://www.rome2rio.com/fr/">Rome2rio</a> website shows you the best way to reach your destination with the different possible alternatives (bus, train, etc.). If you need to travel by bus within a country, this is an excellent site to find the bus companies that operate regional routes.

A ferry is a boat that carries both people and freight. It is therefore not a cruise ship only intended for the transport and leisure of people.

Although it is difficult to find reliable information on the carbon impact of cruise ships, it is probably worse than that of airplanes. Let's not forget that cruise ships are often real hotels moving on water, with vast cabins, swimming pools, sports halls, casinos, bars, restaurants. In this article, we only talk about ferries that also transport goods, accept to take your car and transport you from point A to point B.

As for liners, finding reliable information on the carbon impact of ferries is not easy. The level of greenhouse gas emissions depends on the size and comfort level of the vessel.

However, one thing is certain: ferries pollute and emit fine particles in port and on board that are dangerous to health. The carbon footprint of your trip can even be worse than flying per kilometer if you travel alone, take your car with you and take a cabin all to yourself.

On the other hand, if you share a cabin or book a seat only and travel as a pedestrian, the carbon footprint of your trip is significantly reduced.

To evaluate the greenhouse gas emissions of your ferry trip, <a href="https://bonpote.com/ferry-calculer-en-1-minute-son-empreinte-carbone/">Bon Pote</a> has published a simulator accessible to all. It's up to you to evaluate if it's a more virtuous solution than flying or not for your trip!

To give you a concrete example, let's suppose that you are going to Corsica for your vacations together and want to reach Ajaccio from Paris. Let's compare 3 solutions in terms of carbon impact:

Here is the carbon footprint of your round trip with the different solutions per traveler:

With this scenario, taking the ferry is in any case better than flying in terms of carbon footprint, as most of the kilometers are covered by land. It is therefore a good alternative to the air route to cross the seas and reach the islands.

To further reduce the carbon footprint of your vacation, consider taking the ferry without your car. You will reduce the impact of your ferry crossing by almost half!&nbsp;To help you, we have put together an article on car-free holidays in which we present the alternatives.

Even if they are quite marginal and often more expensive, less polluting alternatives to the ferry exist! This is particularly true for sailing boats and cargo ships.

Good news for sailboats: <a href="https://sailcoop.fr/nos-traversees/">Sailcoop</a> offers regular lines between the continent and Corsica with 2 departures per week between July and October.

If you are interested in these solutions, discover our articles dedicated to the alternatives for the ferry:

So, are you tempted by all the possibilities of airless travel? Which destination will you start with? Tell us in comments!

Image by Patrick SABATIER-VESCOVALI from Pixabay

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Travel without a plane

Traveling without a plane is possible! It's even a way to discover Europe that promises a great adventure: you can get back in touch with distances, fully integrate the journey into your getaway and live new experiences. By night train, by bus or even by sailboat : low-carbon and slow vacations are yours!

The Blog of the Explor'Actors are articles where we offer you good ideas, information, inspiration (…) about sustainable tourism and ecotourism. The objective is that we may everyone, everywhere travel more responsibly

Let's make your next trip an exotic, unique and eco-responsible experience!

Vacation by train

Travel without a plane