Unusual/Transportation. How far can you go in five hours by train from Grenoble, Valence, Avignon or Annecy?
While the SNCF has filed a file for registration, you have probably already wondered what the coverage capacity was in town from your favorite station. The chronotrains-eu card, posted on July 29 on Twitter by a creator of Parisian data visualizations, gives an element of response. It allows, thanks to open data from a German site, to visualize how far you can go in a maximum of five hours by train, direct or indirect, from any station in Europe. We were looking at direct routes from the stations of our departments, but without positioning ourselves in purely timetable terms. Like vacationers 2.0, let’s embark together virtually on board trains departing from Grenoble, Valence, Avignon and Annecy.
Grenoble: From northwestern Switzerland, Italy, southeastern France and Paris
From Grenoble station, you can reach the west or the north of Switzerland as far as Basel, without however being able to push on to Zurich or cross the German border. The north-west of Italy is also accessible around the Val di Suze to Turin, and you can even take a short break to Milan and its surroundings. The only other accessible countries are Belgium with Brussels station, and Spain with those of Figueres and Girona.
In France, you can bask in the pill on the Mediterranean coast from Toulon to Perpignan, or head north along the A6 to Dijon. With the exception of a few small bubbles around Lille, Reims, and the stations of Tours, Toulouse or Le Mans, most of the other destinations concern Paris and, roughly speaking, the Île-de-France region. The north-east, north-west and south-east quarters are generally not served.
Annecy: the same area as Grenoble but more Since restricted, Switzerland more accessible
Annecy station does not allow you to go much further than Grenoble in five hours, it even goes overall less far, although desired in the same areas. The only real comparative advantage lies with Switzerland, where Zurich is now accessible, as well as a small half of the country in its western part. The Italian destinations are practically identical, and we must say goodbye to Spain and Belgium.
In our beautiful country, we barely reach the Mediterranean Sea via Marseille, Toulon and the outskirts of Montpellier. Lille, as well as Toulouse, Le Mans and Tours, are now inaccessible. The northernmost station, as well as the westernmost seems to be Paris and its suburbs, which however remain less served than from the capital of the Alps.
Valence: From the south-west, Brittany and Germany within reach by train
No doubt, the “Rhône Valley” effect is felt for the Valence TGV station, which largely dethrones those of Grenoble and Annecy, and will probably win the competition. On the side of our neighbors, if Italy and Switzerland are much less accessible, with Turin and Zurich all the same, Germany opens its doors with Fribourg. Quite logically, Spain is also more accessible with not only Figueras, Girona and their surroundings, but also Barcelona being added to the party. The area extends widely in Belgium in the form of a spider’s web around Brussels, which reaches as far as Bruges, Liège, or even Antwerp.
In France, the entire Mediterranean coast is within reach by train, from Monaco to Perpignan. An Avignon-Montpellier-Carcassonne-Toulouse-Montauban arc allows you to set foot in the south-west quarter of the country. On the northern half, you can go as far as Strasbourg, to the east, and Rennes, to the west. Lille and its surroundings are widely accessible, as are the stations of Boulogne and Calais! Only the area around Bordeaux and Limoges is really inaccessible, even if you can still make a jump to Angoulême, between the two.
Avignon: the same area as Valence but more Since restricted, Italian Liguria accessible
The “Rhône Valley” effect also applies to the Avignon TGV station which, although a hair below that of Valence in terms of train range, allows you to go far. On the border country side, Spain remains generally as accessible, but you can now practically only go to Brussels in Belgium, and the border town Baden in Germany. The furthest you can reach in Switzerland is Fribourg. If we lose access to Turin, we can now go to the Italian coast, to Imperia in Liguria.
In France, the same areas are accessible as from Valence, except that those around Paris, Lille, Le Mans, Tours are smaller. The Strasbourg and Rennes stations remain within reach. Small specificity that will please lovers of canelé: with the Marmande station, we are even closer to Bordeaux.
To travel across Europe and have fun with this interactive map, follow this link.