"Run" to France to drink red wine! Preparing for the trip

After you complete your online registration, they will send you an email. Usually it is because the doctor's certificate has not been submitted, so you will be reminded to upload it within a week to complete the registration; or congratulations on your successful registration! If the registration is successful, you can then arrange the detailed process.

Transport to Bordeaux

There are three possible routes from Taiwan to Bordeaux.

Option 1: Fly from Taiwan to a transfer point (Hong Kong or Bangkok), then fly to Bordeaux Airport.

Option 2: Fly from Taiwan to Paris, and then to Bordeaux Airport.

Option 3: Fly from Taiwan to Paris, then take the TGV bullet train to Bordeaux. (recommend)

The price of flying and taking the TGV to Bordeaux is similar, but if you want to try something new, you can take the TGV to experience the thrill of high speed. It is also faster than driving or flying, and there are no complicated procedures for taking a flight. Another trick for taking TGV is to book early so you can get a discounted fare. In 2014 I booked a TGV ticket for only 20 Euros round trip. So I still recommend taking the TGV.

Transportation to the event location (Pauillac)

The first thing to do after arriving in Bordeaux is to check in! Google Maps does not show how to take public transportation to the event location, so the following information is provided for reference for those who must go by themselves and want to save money:

Transportation 1/ Shuttle bus

Transportation 2: Train (fastest)

Transportation 3: Bus

Transportation 4: Light rail + bus (cheapest)

Transportation 5/ Taxi

Transportation 6／ Car Rental

1. Shuttle bus:

Book a shuttle bus for registration with the conference in advance. There are shuttle buses to Pauillac at the following three locations, 10 euros per person, and the return trip is also from Pauillac.

(1) Bordeaux-Centre (allée de Bristol)

(2) Bordeaux-Lac (Hôtel Pullman)

(3) Bordeaux aéroport (Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport)

2. Train:

Just buy a ticket to Pauillac, which costs 15 euros per person and takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

3.Bus:

(1) Take bus line 705 towards PAUILLAC -Hôtel de Ville. It costs 5 euros per person and takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes.

(2) Take Line 9 towards Place Ravezies, then transfer to Line 705 towards PAUILLAC - Hôtel de Ville. It costs 5 euros per person and takes about 2 hours and 10 minutes. (See: http://www.infotbc.com/)

4. Light rail + bus:

From TGV Gare Saint-Jean station, take line C (Ligne C) TBC towards Les Aubiers and get off at Place Ravezies. At the Place Ravezies - le Bouscat stop, change to line 705 in the direction of PAUILLAC - Le Pouyalet and get off at PAUILLAC - Pl. de la Liberté. It costs 4.5 euros per person and takes about 2 hours and 40 minutes.

5. Taxi:

The cost is approximately 100 Euros.

6. Car rental:

The most well-known international car rental companies such as AVIS or HERTZ can be booked directly online. In addition, with the help of local Anna's husband, Caesar, he also helped to inquire about SIXT, BUDGET, EUROPCAR, etc.

Usually, car rentals include compulsory insurance and a certain number of kilometres that can be used per day. If you want to be on the safe side, it is best to spend a little more money to buy comprehensive insurance. Usually, the counter staff will first issue a bill for basic protection to the customer for confirmation, and then ask the customer whether he wants to purchase comprehensive insurance. The advantage of purchasing it is that in case of any accidents or incidents, there is no need to bear any additional costs.

This time we chose to rent a car to go to the event location. First of all, we had to confirm whether the major car dealerships had automatic cars for rent. Otherwise, it would be difficult for a group of women who couldn't drive a manual transmission. Fortunately, some locals worked hard to help us make phone inquiries, and the final confirmed result was that we were able to successfully rent the two automatic cars needed by our group of seven people.

After arriving at Bordeaux Station, walk towards the back station to find the main car rental center. Find the BUDGET car rental counter where you made a reservation before your trip. The 5-day rental cost 450.20 euros, plus full insurance of 82.54 euros, for a total of 532.74 euros by credit card. If you are not familiar with the route, you can rent a GPS for 15 Euros a day. Since we have already applied for 14 days of unlimited wireless internet and local calls, there is no need to rent a GPS. You can just use Google Map as a guide in the car!

Tips:

Please be sure to exchange your international driver's license and credit card in Taiwan. When renting a car, you will be asked to see your international driver's license and your credit card will need to be approved in advance. Therefore, you do not need to pay any more when returning the car. Just let the car rental staff check the condition of the car and fill up the gas and you can leave.

Take the time when I returned the car as an example: because it was 17:30, the time when there was a big traffic jam in the center of Bordeaux, I almost missed the TGV that I had booked in advance. I should have filled up the gas and returned it to the rental company, but I didn’t have time, so I had to ask the rental company to handle everything for me. In the end, the total cost was 630.36 euros. If you arrive in time, it would be more cost-effective to fill up the gas yourself. If you arrive in time, the car rental company can only make more money.

Estimated activity time:

The following is my own time estimate, for reference only, remember! You have to have your own ideas.

TIPS:

On the first day, everyone's registration time is different, so you need to pay attention to the required transportation time and the registration deadline. On the second and third days, if you take a shuttle bus, the time is very fixed, so just be on time.

Important things to note after registration:

1. Please pay attention to the email after registration. If you have successfully registered, you will receive a successful registration email. If you have not received it, remember to send an email to the official website to inquire. The email address should be the year of [email protected].

2. You will be reminded to make a shuttle bus reservation before May.

3. Starting from June, we will inform you of the latest developments of the conference.

4. You will receive the physical documents from the conference in July.

5. Your runner number will be officially notified around mid-August. You need to show this email when you report for registration. If you don’t have it, you have to go to the nearby office to check, which is quite time-consuming. There will also be options that can be ordered, such as a welcome dinner on the first day or a walking route on the third day.

6. We will confirm the ordered items with you in August.

7. Before the event starts, several wineries and restaurants will send you DMs, and you can consider whether to participate in their activities, such as dining or tasting. Because it is a designated store for the event, it will give discounts to participants of the road race and they can participate freely.

【】We remind you that excessive drinking is harmful to your health. Minors are not allowed to drink. Do not drink and drive, and do not drive after drinking.

This article is from Paston Publishing's "Going to France to Drink Red Wine"