Travel Information

Flights

Toulouse (TLS) is the nearest major airport.

Rodez (RDZ) is the closer small airport.

Don’t delay on booking flights: the longer you wait, the more expensive it becomes.

Flying to France from outside of Europe:

Some American airports offer lower cost flights to Europe. Look at Boston, New York, Toronto or Montreal. You will save money by adding stops.

Hub cities in Europe: London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Madrid, and Barcelona. They all have flights to Toulouse.

Avoid flying through Paris this summer this year if you can – the summer Olympics will make this more expensive and crowded.

You can often get a good deal through the low-cost airline Ryanair, which flies from Dublin and London Stansted. Just be aware they will charge you for all extras (including a bottle of water).

Multiple airline stops:

If you arrive from the outside Europe to any major European airport and book a flight to Toulouse with a separate airline, allow at least THREE FULL HOURS to get through immigration and transfer to other terminals. London Heathrow Terminal 5, for example, is at least a 45 minute train ride from all other Heathrow terminals and getting through security can take an hour. Leave yourself plenty of time!

If you fly through London, avoid trying to get from one London arrival airport (such as London Heathrow) to catch a flight out to Toulouse from a different London airport (such as London Stansted), as all the London airports are all many miles from each other.

 Arriving in Toulouse:

Try to arrive in Toulouse early in the day so you have plenty of time to get to Villefranche-de-Rouerge in the afternoon/early evening. Check the time of the last train/bus from Toulouse on your travel date and leave yourself plenty of time to get through immigration, security, baggage claim, I addition to taking the bus from the airport to the Toulouse train station.

Check Rome2Rio on the web or app to help you plan your journey.

Other transportation

Getting to Toulouse by train:

There is a direct bus from the airport to the main Toulouse railway station. This train station is called Toulouse Matabiau. Allow forty-five minutes for the bus, including wait times.

From Toulouse Matabiau, there is a direct train to Villefrance-de-Rouerge. The easiest way to get a train ticket is online through SNCF Connect. Download their app on your phone before you travel. There are currently only two ticket machines at the train and there are often lines for them.

If you buy a paper ticket, you will ‘composter’ your ticket by inserting it into a validating/ stamping machine on the platform before traveling.

Transportation in Villefranche

The town is quite small and everything is within walking distance. The longest walk you would have to do would be from the station to the accommodation in l’Institut François Marty, which is about a fifteen-minute walk; if you have heavy bags on your arrival, I would get a taxi for this stretch.

Entering France

Passport: Entry into France for short-term tourism (90 days) requires that your passport be valid for at least three months beyond your intended date of departure from the Schengen Area. If your passport does not meet the Schengen requirements,  you may be refused boarding by the airline at your point of origin or while transferring planes. For this reason, we recommend that your passport have at least six months’ validity remaining whenever you travel abroad.

Make a copy of your passport and keep it in a separate location from your passport.

Letter: We will supply you with a letter stating that you are coming to France for the Lyric Arts France program. Print this letter and keep it with your travel documents.

Proof of Financial Responsibility & Return Ticket: Immigration officers may also request you show sufficient funds for your intended stay and a return airline ticket.

Paper copies for travel: Print all documents that you may need at the border. Electronic copies are not accepted.

Rules and Travel Alerts: Check the US State Department and the French Embassy websites for complete details and for updated information. If you are planning to travel outside of France before or after the program, it is your responsibility to know the rules and restrictions for each country to which you are intending to travel.

NOTE: The Schengen area includes most EU countries, except for Cyprus and Ireland. It also includes four non-EU countries: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.

Visas

You are responsible for researching this for your own country of origin. If you are a United States citizen, you do not need a visa to travel in the Schengen area, which includes France, for up to 90 days.

If you do need a visa to enter France, apply for a short-term tourist visa. Do not apply for a work, student, or residential visa, as these are more complicated. You are participating in an American-run program as part of your vacation.

You can start your visa application here: France-Visas

After submitting your visa application online, some of you will need to apply in person at your local French consulate with all these materials in original form and one copy.

Contact us at info@lyricartsfrance.org for information you will need for filling out your visa form