Neil Guthrie – creator of ‘The Alps – Skiing by Train’ map – recently sent us this update on his flight free journey from London to Briancon (to ski Serre Chevalier):

Every year thousands of winter sports holidays begin with a train ride from London Victoria or Clapham Junction heading south towards Sussex.

For most, it’s a short trip before jumping off at Gatwick to fly to one of the major Alpine cities. However, we (the 2theAlps research team!) decided to stay on the train and head to the mountains via the route less travelled for a flight-free adventure.

We travelled via Lewes to Newhaven aiming for the Dieppe ferry. We got off at Newhaven Harbour station, only to discover that we should have jumped off at the previous stop, Newhaven Town. Lesson no.1! Thankfully, it was only a 10-minute walk back to the correct station, and then a short walk to the ferry terminal.

Newhaven-Dieppe

We took the overnight ferry to Dieppe, dozing in reclining seats (although cabins are available) and arriving at just after 6am. Although buses and taxis are options, we were travelling lightly and walked the two kilometres to the railway station.

Despite being Francophiles, the 2theAlps research team hadn’t been to France for nearly 10 years and were reminded just how wonderful their cuisine is when a basic pain au chocolat from a newspaper kiosk at Dieppe station turned out to be fresher and tastier than anything you’d find back home in the poshest of coffee shops.

Dieppe-Paris

For the journey to Paris, we bought a ‘walk on’ ticket from the machine at the station for a reasonable €35. The train was comfortable and on time, most passengers seemingly heading to work in Rouen where we changed for our onward connection to Paris.

The total journey time from Dieppe to Paris (St Lazare) was around 2 hours 20 minutes. It was easy to find a seat on both trains without a reservation.

We arrived in Paris at 09:30, but our Intercités de Nuit sleeper wasn’t leaving until the evening so we enjoyed a day in the ‘city of light’, spending most of day on ‘Velib’ hire bikes.

Paris-Briancon

Our sleeper train left Paris Bercy at 21:20, sharing a 6-berth couchette with three others, and a dog! There was no café on board but the guard was selling coffees and croissants (cash only) from his ‘Point Information’ booth.

There was a lively buzz on the train with everyone seemingly heading to the mountains for adventure, in contrast to the more business-like atmosphere you find on the trains serving the bigger Alpine cities.

Skiing in Serre Chevalier

We arrived at Briancon – the highest town in France at 1326 metres – just over 30 minutes late, but it was only a 10-minute walk to hotel to drop our things and prepare for a day on the slopes.

Overall Impressions

Overall, the journey was a enjoyable adventure, worth doing if you have some spare time to spend travelling to the Alps, and you like the idea of having some time in Paris.

Also, if you’re booking a flight-free trip at short notice, this is likely to be the cheapest route as it is low season on the cross-channel ferries.

An alternative if you don’t want to have a shortened night sleep on the ferry is to take the 11:00 daytime ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe and make it to Paris in time for the Briancon sleeper train. Just be mindful there is little contingency if any problems.

Costs

London to Newhaven – £18 (£28 without a railcard)
Newhaven to Dieppe – £31
Dieppe to Paris – £31 (€35)
Paris to Briancon (sleeper train) – £106 (€120)
Total – £182

Buy ferry tickets at Newhaven to Dieppe | Ferries to France | DFDS
Buy train tickets at Intercités – France sleeper trains – SNCF Connect – Note that the Paris-Briancon sleeper fare is dynamic and can drop to EUR70 or less

Buy ‘The Alps – Skiing by Train’ map or poster at 2theAlps. The map is available as a download only here.