Travel

Flight

Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport in Paris, France

For international flight purchases, I have found the most affordable time to buy is 3-6 months before your travel date; any sooner than that and you may end up paying a lot more for your tickets! AirFrance is one of the most prolific airlines for travel from the U.S. to CDG airport in France. We have had positive experiences with AirFrance: In-flight entertainment, breakfast and dinner served, and one personal item and one carry-on included with the ticket purchase. Be mindful for your return flight to America: AirFrance has started the process of weighing passengers’ personal item and carry-on in CDG airport prior to your entrance into the security line, and if both items are greater than 12kg, they will require you to check your carry-on baggage at cost. It is difficult to pack under 12kg when most carry-ons are almost 10 kg while empty! If you want to avoid this process, you may want to book your flight with a different airline. Furthermore, Delta tickets are usually “Operated by AirFrance”--make sure at least your return flight from Paris is "Operated by Delta" in order to avoid this. If you plan to bring a checked bag versus just a carry-on, this does not affect you! Furthermore, CDG airport requires passengers to have their liquids (<100 mL just like in the U.S.) in a clear, 1-quart size bag. The airport personnel provide you with bags if you forget. PRO TIP: You do not need to put all of your liquids/toiletries in the bag--I have left some liquids such as hair cream, lotion, tiny toothpaste inside my backpack. Also, it is one clear bag per person. For our guests traveling from America, you will land in terminal 2E. Ordering an Uber throughout the city of Paris is efficient and affordable; however, during our most recent visit to Paris in May 2025, we had a challenging time securing an Uber at terminal 2E. Fortunately, there was a lineup of taxis waiting to transport us--it was fast and painless. The airport taxis accept both euros and credit card!

Train

Paris-Bercy Train Station

The Château de Vallery is located in Vallery within the Burgundy region of France. It is about 90 minutes by car from CDG airport. If you decide to travel by train, you will need to get from Paris to Sens (the major city located near the château). The Gare de Paris Bercy Bourgogne--Pays d'Auvergne (or "Paris Bercy" for short) train station is located in Paris in the 12th arrondissement or "neighborhood". It is 30 minutes or 33 km by car from CDG airport, which is actually located in the city of Roissy-en-France, just outside Paris. This particular train station offers direct, non-stop trains to Sens. You must take an Uber (or taxi) from the airport to the train station. Uber is prolific in France, and the cost is approximately the same as in the U.S. Unfortunately, Europe does not have Lyft. The train website address listed above (trainline) is a third-party website used throughout Europe for train ticket purchases. The location you are traveling from will be "Paris Bercy Bourgogne-Pays d’Auvergne" and you will be traveling to Sens train station. The journey takes about 55-70 minutes without stops. The ticket cost is about $14-25 per person. Choose a train time that works best for your travel plans. From Sens, the chateau is about a 20 minute Uber (or taxi) ride, however we may be able to organize transportation from Sens...stay tuned for more information on this! The trains in Europe are a lovely way to travel. You can bring your suitcases on board and easily store them, the seats are comfortable, and the journey can provide beautiful, scenic views. Attendants at the station speak English and can help guide you if you need help finding your track. You will either scan your ticket on your mobile phone prior to entry onto the platform, or you will be asked to show your ticket on the train.

Rental Car

Hertz Car Rental

If you plan on renting a car from CDG airport and driving to the château, we can assure you that the drive is straightforward and peaceful. Both Google Maps and Waze work in France, as well as the rest of Europe. And yes, they drive on the right side of the road like the U.S.! The airport has all the popular car rental companies e.g. Hertz, Enterprise, Sixt, etc. The address above is just the airport address…the website above will take you to the rental car page on the airport website. The website is in French, however you can change it to English by clicking on the top right corner of the page where it says "fr" with the French flag. From there, you can find which terminal each company is located in. For example, Hertz is located within several terminals: 1, 2ACD, 2E, 2F, and 2G. If you are traveling from the United States with either Delta or AirFrance, you will be flying into and out of terminal 2E or 2F. Please be aware that France technically requires an international driver's license even though it is likely the rental agency will not ask you for it. For peace of mind, it is very simple to obtain one--you can visit your local AAA, show them proof of your state driver's license, and receive your international one within minutes; the cost was twenty dollars in 2023. You will need to bring a passport-approved photo with you. If you do not have a passport photo, Staples can take passport-approved photos. If you have rental car coverage through a credit card, it has always covered rental car insurance for us, but you can double check with yours to be sure of the specifics of your coverage. You can of course buy coverage through the rental car agency, although it can be expensive. And if you want to fill up the gasoline tank yourself before you return the vehicle, it is a good idea to verify which type of gasoline the vehicle takes...some cars in Europe require diesel!

Hotel

Château de Vallery

For our guests traveling from America, check-in at the château will begin at 3PM on Thursday, 10/23/25. Bedroom assignments will be given out when the formal invitations are sent out about four months prior to the wedding day. Most of the bedrooms have their own private bathroom. For those rooms with a shared bath, guests will be sharing with other guests with whom they are very familiar with. The showers are European-style with a tub and a detachable, handheld showerhead. We should not need it at the end of October, especially at night, but the château does not have A/C. For those of you who wish to find your own accommodation, we have provided the link to the Château de Vallery's website which lists all the accommodations in the area. If you click on the name of the establishment in the list, icons will appear notating how many bedrooms the place has, link to the website, telephone number, etc. The arrow and number that appears will take you to Google Maps and show you exactly how far away the BNB/hotel is from the château--the smaller the number, the closer it is. There are a few BNBs in the small village located right outside the gates of the château. There is also a supermarket, bar, etc. within the village for conveniences.

Travel Note

Guests from Detroit

For our guests traveling from DTW, it is worth mentioning that flights from Chicago O'Hare airport, JFK NY, and Toronto Pearson (to Paris) can be hundreds of dollars cheaper. We have actually flown out of Toronto twice: The first time, I rented a car from Hertz (or one of those other major companies) in the metro Detroit area with the option to do an international drop off at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ); the second time, our parents dropped us off at the Windsor train station, which is about a 5-10 minute drive from the tunnel, and we took the train up to Toronto. Both options were super easy and saved us a lot of money on flight tickets, even considering the cost of rental car or train tickets.

Travel Note

PASSPORT

Many of you may already be aware of this, but we wanted to make sure to remind our guests that your passport must not expire within 6 months of October 23rd, or the date you will be flying to Paris. If your passport has an expiration date of any date between 11/1/2025-04/31/2026, you must renew your passport for this adventure!

Travel Note

UPDATE on ETIAS

The European Union announced that ETIAS application for American citizens traveling to Europe will be delayed until 2026! For our guests traveling from the United States, you will not need to do anything additional—just make sure your passport does not expire within 6 months of your travel dates.

Train

For Guests Familiar with Trains and Subways--Route from within Airport to Sens!

When you input "Charles de Gaulle airport" to "Sens" in Google Maps, there are a few different routes listed within Google Maps that take you right from within CDG airport to the city of Sens; the route times range from just under 2 hours to just over 2 hours. These routes all begin with the "RER" which is a "hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris and its surrounding suburbs." You can purchase tickets for the RER in the airport, and the tracks are also accessible from within the airport. All of the routes go from the RER to different "M" lines. "M" stands for "Métro" in France, and the métro is the subway system in Paris. From the "M" line, all of the different routes go to the "TER", which refers to the regional trains that operate throughout France. The difference between all the routes presented in Google Maps is the "M" line you take, the amount of walking time required, and the time it takes to arrive in Sens.

Travel Note

Tips and Tricks

Your flight from the U.S. to Paris may arrive in the early morning (France time). Stefan and I always book our hotel/Airbnb starting the day before we will land in Paris--this is so we do not have to wait until the afternoon to check-in. We are very tired after a long, overnight flight, and it is nice to be able to put our suitcases down and relax. CDG airport requires passengers to have their liquids (<100 mL just like in the U.S.) in a clear, 1-quart size bag, and they want the clear bag out of your bag/suitcase and placed in the bin to go through security. The airport personnel provide you with clear bags if you forget. PRO TIP: You do not need to put all of your liquids/toiletries in the bag--I have left some liquids such as hair cream, lotion, tiny toothpaste inside my backpack...just fill up the clear bag with whatever items and have it out. Also, it is one clear bag per person--you cannot fill up three bags to yourself :) For your journey back to the U.S., instead of waiting in a long line at customs in the airport, download the app entitled "MPC Mobile Passport Control". Follow the steps in the app, which include taking a photo of your passport. It takes less than 5 minutes, and when complete, you will be able to enter a separate, shorter line at customs ;)

Travel Note

Health Insurance and Cell Phone Service

Contact your current health insurance about which medical expenses are covered when traveling abroad. I do know Medicaid does NOT cover any expenses acquired internationally. If you do not have coverage, and you would like coverage, Stefan and I used GeoBlue (a travel health insurance company) in the past. We paid approximately $100 per person for 35 days of coverage in 2023. Make sure you have an international plan with your cell phone carrier. Verizon offers a "travel pass" for $10 or $12 per day of travel, or a monthly international plan for $100--these include 250 free minutes of calling from within the country you are in, and to/from the United States, unlimited text, and unlimited data. I believe T-mobile still includes international calls, text, and data within its standard plans.