Travel info

It's easy to get to chez Arran by plane, train or car. Click here to pinpoint where we are on multimap.

Flights

Chez Arran can be reached in about 1hr 15mins from either Carcassonne or Toulouse airport. From Perpignan or Beziers it will take about one hour more, and if you don't mind driving further then Girona and Montpelier can provide even more flight options.

Via Carcassonne

Carcassonne Airport is a small but friendly and convenient facility with some very useful flights at good prices and all the major car hire options.

Ryanair flies from:
	East Midlands	Edinburgh
	London Stansted	Dublin, Cork & Shannon
	Liverpool	Brussels
	Bournemouth	Frankfurt

Car hire can be arranged through many companies. We've had very good service from Hertz.

From Carcassonne airport, turn right out of the car park and follow signs for Mirepoix. Just before Mirepoix, start following signs to Foix, which leads after a while onto a main dual-carriageway. As you near Foix stay on the main road, following signs for Andorre. About 15km after the Foix bypass tunnel the dual-carriageway ends at a large roundabout on the edge of Tarascon-sur-Ariège. Follow directions from Tarascon roundabout below. This route is mainly non-motorway and there are no péage tolls to pay.

Via Toulouse

Toulouse Airport is a major airport serviced by many airlines from a wide variety of UK and other destinations.

Easyjet flies from:		Jet2 flies from:		Flybe flies from:
	Bristol		Belfast		Birmingham
	London Gatwick		Edinburgh
	Heathrow		Leeds Bradford
	Paris Orly
	Lyon
	Madrid

Other carriers flying to Toulouse from a range of UK airports include British Airways, Air France and KLM.

Car hire can be arranged through many companies.

From Toulouse airport follow signs first for Montpelier, then for Foix. Click here for a useful map showing the route around Toulouse.There will be signs to Foix both by the motorway ('péage') or by the non-toll roads (Route Nationale, or R.N.). As you would expect the motorway (which at the time of writing costs 5€ in each direction) is easier and quicker, usually by about 30 minutes. As you near Foix stay on the main road, following signs for Andorre. About 15km after the Foix bypass tunnel the dual-carriageway ends at a large roundabout on the edge of Tarascon-sur-Ariège. Follow directions from Tarascon roundabout below.

Instead of hiring a car you can get from Toulouse airport to chez Arran by train. The station Toulouse Matabiau is directly served by the Airport - Town Centre buses, which usually leave every 20 minutes. Click here to find train times and prices between Toulouse and our local station at Ussat-les-Bains. The train journey takes 2-3 hours depending on the time of day, there's a change at Pamiers, and it currently costs €15 for a single. From Ussat-les-Bains station it's only 10-15 minutes on foot but if you let us know in advance we'll come and collect you. With enough advance notice we may also be able to pick people up from Toulouse or Carcassone airports; contact us for availability and prices if you're thinking of doing this.

Other Airports

Perpignon airport is served by Ryanair and Flybe.

Flybe flies from:			Ryanair flies from:
	Edinburgh	Southampton		Birmingham
	Glasgow	Jersey		Bristol
	Manchester	Guernsey		London Stansted
	Newcastle	Isle of Man

From Perpignan airport follow signs to Foix, which will take you through Mirepoix. Shortly before Foix, start following signs to Andorre. After about 10km of mainly dual carriageway you will arrive at a large roundabout on the edge of Tarascon-sur-Ariège. Follow directions from Tarascon roundabout below.

Beziers is served by Ryanair.

From Beziers you will need to take the autoroute past Carcassonne, then take the Mirepoix exit and follow the directions from Carcassonne as given above.

Further afield there may be good deals with Easyjet from Montpelier or with Ryanair from Girona (Barcelona), although you would be left with a drive of 3-hours or more. Note also that, while it's often cheaper to hire a car in Spain, there could be a daily insurance surcharge if you're driving in France.

From Tarascon roundabout continue following signs to Andorre, past several smaller roundabouts, for about 4 kilometres more until you see a turn-off on the left signed to Ornolac-Ussat-Les Bains. Take this, then 200m later turn right at the T junction (by the thermal spa). After about 800m the small road turns sharply left and weaves into an open square - park here. Immediately past the square, on the left, is the tiny street/driveway of Quartier de Bacquié. If you walk into this you will see chez Arran, the rightmost of the building(s) immediately in front of you. Weclome!

Trains

The most environmentally friendly way of travelling from the UK to Southern France is by train, although the costs could be higher. There are good deals to be found and the earlier you book, the lower the cost of your trip. Check out Seat61 for lots of useful information and RailEurope for online booking in English.

Although options will vary, a possible itinerary may be:

Outward

• London Waterloo (International) to Paris (Gare du Nord)
• Metro to Paris Gare d'Austerlitz (by cab, or take line 5 dir. Place d'Italie)
• Overnight sleeper to Ax Les Thermes, which may stop in Tarascon-sur-Ariège. Let us know in advance and we'll probably be able to collect you from here.

Return

• Tarascon-sur-Ariège to Toulouse Matabiou
• Overnight sleeper from Toulouse Matabiou to Paris Gare d'Austerlitz
• Metro to Paris Gare du Nord (Line 5)
• Train from Paris to London Waterloo (International)

By Car

Depending on the number of passengers and the deals available on ferry crossings, driving can be a cost-effective way to get to chez Arran, especially since long sections of the autoroutes between Paris and Toulouse are toll-free. The drive from Calais is likely to take 9-12 hours if you go directly, but this would mean you'd miss the opportunity to explore another part of France en route. Use multimap to find your best route.

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