Mrs. Piper and I will be in Paris later this month, and I’m interested in going to the Vimy Memorial . Looking at a map, it looks like Arras is the closest major town.
Would this be a good day trip from Paris by train and public transport? we wouldn’t have a car of our own.
Also, has anyone been to the Vimy Memorial or toured around the battlefields in that area? Any tips or comments?
This site from the Canadian veterans’ affairs people may be of some use.
Looks to me like it could be a day trip from Paris, but expect to spend Euros on taxi fares from Arras.
You can use the TGV website to get information or book a rail ticket. Click on either Voyage perso or Info TGV and then Carte des Destinations, from where you can select Paris-Arras. It seems the TGV from Paris to Arras is less than an hour, there are 13 per day, and it costs just over €40. The website of the town of Arras might indicate how to get the rest of the way.
There might be a bus to Vimy. The plan of the bus routes shows #91 pointing off to the North towards Vimy and Lens (on the Arras site, see circulation/réseau Artis/présentation et tarifs and view the first pdf - ARRAS abribus Juil 2007.pdf -towards the bottom of the page).
Be wary of public transportation in France these days.