Archive: Strikes in Europe
It's that time of year again, when strikes in Europe are as plentiful as the tourists. Labor strikes can affect all parts of the transportation industry, from airline flight delays to complete rail shutdowns. Do you have any tips for travelers regarding how they can protect their travel plans from the effects of strikes?
French Rail Systems
I recently came back from my vacation in Europe, with a bit of a grudge
with France. It seemed that everytime something bad happened in the course
of our trip France was to blame. We ended up getting stuck in Barcelona
for 3 days, wasting those days going back and forth to the train station
trying to figure out whether the strike had ended or not. Only solved by
a decision to shell out the extra money and take a ferry trip to Genova
to avoid France completely. I was very displeased with the French rail system,
they were completely disorganized. From what I have heard this sort of thing
happens about every month, so be carefull when trying to travel through
France.
Corey
La Mesa, Ca USA 07/16/03
Strikes in Florence
My only strike experience in Italy was actually pretty amusing. We had heard
that there was going to be a srike at the Uffizi on the day we planned to
go. We went over anyway and found signs that said there was "probably going
to be strike at 1:30." Apparently, the strike was going to be the decision
of the afternoon shift. We got out just before the "probably" strike.
Jonathan
Chicago, IL USA 07/16/03
Italian general strike
The general strike we went through in Venice last fall turned out to be
great. We had to stay about 6 hours longer in Venice than we expected,
and at least 2 of those hours were spent standing in line for new train
tickets to Florence, but we ended up getting tickets for a later train
and spending the extra time just wandering around Venice eating gelato
and sitting at a cafe on the water drinking prosecco and bellinis and
writing postcards. It was one of the highlights of the trip, actually.
And while we were standing in line to get train tickets, we met a few
other Americans who were very friendly and also very entertaining.
It kind of messed up our Florence "schedule," but everything worked out.
We called our Florence B&B hostess from Venice to let her know we'd be
arriving later because of the strike. One thing that was kind of irritating
is that the American Express office was responsible for our messed up
train schedule. We went there to buy our tickets to leave the day of the
strike, and they informed us that there would be a general strike that
day and that only a few trains would be running. They said that the 12:30
train to Florence would indeed be running in spite of the strike, so that's
what we got tickets for. The 12:30 train was not running. I suppose that
AmEx just made a mistake. Also, we went to buy stamps on the day of the
strike, and even though the post office was open and staffed, they wouldn't
sell stamps. I don't know if they wouldn't sell them because they were
striking and that's one of their hold-outs, or if maybe because of the
strike, their stamp supply wasn't delivered or something, but it was odd.
Traci
Austin, TX USA 07/12/03
Strikes in Paris 2003 Stop Festivals
1 - 31 International Music and Opera Festival Aix-en-Provence (Provence)
July 12- Aug 5 Chorégies d'Orange Music and Opera Festival (performed in
Roman theater, www.choregies.asso.fr) Orange (Provence) Through Aug 7 Nights
of Fourvière (theater & music in a Roman ampitheater, www.nuits-de-fourviere.org)
Lyon 8-28 Avignon Festival (theater, dance, music, 3 weeks, www.festival-avignon.com)
Avignon (Provence) 2-14 International Classical Music Festival (Festival
International de Colmar, www.festival-colmar.com) Colmar (Alsace) July 5
- Aug 4 International Festival of Baroque Music Beaune (Burgundy) 5 - 27
Tour de France (bike race, ends in Paris) France 7 Classical Music Festival
(begins 1st Mon) Cannes (Riviera) 14 Bastille Day (Independence Day, parades,
fireworks, closures) France 16 - 23 International Jazz Festival Antibes/Juan
- les - Pins (Riviera) July 14 - Aug 17 Paris Neighborhoods Festival (theater,
dance, concerts, www.quartierdete.com) Paris 22-29 Jazz Festival, www.nicejazzfest.com
Nice (Riviera)
Thomas McClure
Orem, UT USA 07/10/03
strikes
We just returned from a 5 week trip to Europe and found the strikes in France
to be mildy annoying but we were very flexible with our schedule so it didn't
bother us too much. There was also a garbage collectors strike one day while
we were in Paris and it was interesting to see the trucks all lined up at
the intersections blowing their horns and fussing at each other. Our friends
there warned us that the Frech workers have a tendency to strike each time
the wind blows a different direction (LOL) so we were fully prepared to
change wherever we needed to. I would just say to be flexible and allow
yourself extra time if needed.
Cindy
Uniontown, OH USA 07/10/03
Napoli area - Italy
Just adding the list: Campagnia area (Napoli). We just got back from Naples
to visit Pompeii, Amalfi Coast and Capri Island, and there were lots of
signs stating that services were not guaranteed due to striking. In Naples,
there was lots of garbage everywhere. And the striking also influenced the
Circumvesuvia train to Pompeii. But I think it is somewhat over now, since
we didn't really find any problem to get around.
Mike
Ames, IA USA 07/07/03
Strikes in France
I just returned from a 2 week trip to France and Italy. My family and I
were concerned about the news of strikes in France because my brother was
getting married in Burgundy and we had to be in a small town in Burgundy
in time for the wedding on June 21. Some of us were scheduled to take the
TGV (really fast train) from Paris on June 19 - the same day that everyone
in France was saying there was going to be a huge strike. The media and
the hotel workers all said there was going to be a black day -meaning nothing
would be running. So, we rushed around making plans to rent cars and making
sure people had directions, etc. Then, when June 19 came there was absolutely
no strike and everything ran on schedule. So, the moral of the story was
it is good to make alternate plans but try not to worry too much. Nothing
in travel is definite. Incidentally, we went to the Orsay museum in Paris
on June 17 and the workers there were striking - but they were striking
by letting all the museum visitors in free! That was a nice strike.
Lisa W.
Columbia, SC USA 07/04/03
Experience
Just spent the first 3 weeks of June in Western Europe (Holland, Italy & France). Our trip was slightly affected by the French strikes but thankfully
everything turned out well and we didn't have to change our itinerary. Upon
crossing from Italy to France (San Remo to Nice), we were told that all
trains to France had been cancelled. We decided to take a train to get as
close to the border as possible (the town of Ventimiglia) and take a taxi
into Nice. When we arrived at Ventimiglia rail station, we discovered that
there was only ONE train that day that went to Nice, and it was leaving
in half an hour. We were very lucky I have to say. Also, since we were planning
to see lots of the French countryside, we had month ago reserved a rental
car for the entire time there (without knowing about the strikes). So once
we were in Nice to pick up the car, we were home free. We had to take the
Thalys train back to Amsterdam to fly home, and luckily Thalys was not affected
by the strikes. Most of the French highways are tolled, because of the strike,
one of the toll stop was completely unattended and was therefore FREE. I
think we saved about 15 euros. :-)
kehlar
USA 07/02/03
use as day of rest
We just returned from back packing in Europe, and had to spend an extra
day in Innsbruck, Austria because of a rail and bus strike. Fortunately,
it only lasted for a day, and we just caught up on sleep! We had a Eurail
pass that was good for 15 days, and so we never had any problems: except
on way to Venezia, when we hoped on a Eurostar train, but that's another
story. In all, we had a great time and starting to plan next trip!
Gail Tremblay
St. Louis, MO USA 06/30/03
Strikes in Europe
We had to be very flexible, scrub our Loire Valley and Bougres visits and
change dates to leave Barcelona, using our Spain/France flexipas (with a
monetary upgrade). So many wanting to get to Paris and only train running
was the night intercontinental train. At that, the trip took 15 hours, instead
of the listed 12 hours. One relatively young man who rode the same metro
route we did was quite indignant about the strike. He called these people
Fascist troublemakers. They did manage to make metro travel uncertain. We
saw the gendarmes and national police out in force, several in almost full
riot gear, guarding both sides of the bride at Pont Neuf. Suddenly they
must have gotten word of strikers elsewhere, as we listened to the sirens
as 12 cars/vans/trucks took off, followed by several motorcycles. They were
busy trying to keep things under control. We did many miles of walking daily
and managed to see much that was on our "to do" list. We were determined
not to let this spoil too many of our plans.
Evie
Shoreline, WA USA 06/28/03
Austria Bus Strike
There is currently a bus strike in Austria, protesting the possible privitization
of 30% of the system. read about it:http://www.worldsocialist-cwi.org/index2.html?/eng/2002/06/25Austria.html
Suzanne
Columbus, OH USA 06/26/03
Strikes in Italy
For scheduled strikes in Italy, look at www.seekitaly.com. This site has
lots of useful information (mostly on Roma), but the list of scheduled strikes
and demonstrations is for all of Italy. Though it seems that strikes might
be called at any time by transportation workers in Italy, knowing the scheduled
strike days and times makes it a little easier when planning which days
to try to travel, and which days might be better spent just enjoying the
town you're already in.
Angela
Lexington, KY USA 06/24/03
Paris Strikes
My only memories of Strikes was Paris in May 2000...Armored Car Drivers
were on strike...seemingly minor, except all ATMs soon ran out of money!
Did find an ATM attached to a bank that still worked, plus dug into my emergency
stash of travellers checks, so no problem. However, many travellers we encountered
had problems scraping together funds.
Paul
USA 06/23/03
We just returned from Paris and had a wonderful time. When the strikes
derailed our plans, we just took it in stride (pun intended). We did what
the Parisians did and walked. It is truly the city for leisurely strolls.
Is there any better place to be stranded by a mass transit strike? We hoped
the airport would be closed on the day of our return and force us to stay
another day, but we got home on time anyway.
BOB
El Paso, TX USA 06/23/03
Strikes in France
My daughter and I spent more than two weeks in France in late May and early
June during the daily strikes. My sister and niece were to join us -- on
the day the air traffic controllers were to go on strike! But thru email,
we decided that, if that happened, they would fly to London and take the
Chunnel into Paris. The point is, you have to set out each morning with
Plans A, B, and C, and sometimes even D and E. There's plenty to do and
see. So what if the Musee d'Orsay is closed for four of the six days you're
in Paris? We found plenty to do. So what if your Metro train isn't running?
Take another one, walk farther than expected, and/or hail a cab. The upside
of all of this was that most of what we wanted to see was free, thanks to
the strikes -- including the Metro. And secondly, our backup Plans included
things I hadn't considered viewing, such as the Pasteur Institute, which
turned out to be interesting to us, since one of us is a scientist and the
others have more than a passing interest. (Did you know Pasteur lived, worked
and was buried in the same building? He is buried in an incredibly ornate
crypt in the basement.) It also was unseasonably hot the whole time, and
of course there's little if any a/c. You have to be flexible and keep a
good attitude. It's your attitude -- not the strikes -- that will make it
a good trip or a bad one.
Carol
Chicago, IL USA 06/22/03
Europe Strikes
We just returned from Italy (Rome and Amalfi Coast)and had no strike related
problems at all. We used all forms of public transportation.
Sandy
Houston, Tx USA 06/22/03
Europe strikes
Just returned from Europe this week. I was in Bordeaux, France on June 7th
and they had a garbage strike going on so all the dumpsters on the streets
were overflowing. However, it didn't alter my view of what a beautiful city
it was. In Paris the traffic was horrible but no problems on a personal
basis. On June 10th I was in Dublin, Ireland and a taxi cab strike was going
on. Our bus was delayed in picking us up because of all the taxi traffic.
Mile long parade of taxi's honking their horns. I thought it was very interesting
to watch and it did not alter my plans at all. Never needed to take the
train or taxi as I was with a tour group which I am thankful.
Pam
Ogden, UT USA 06/21/03
Attitude and flexibility rule!
T Sober: France is not Disneyland. The French don't exist simply to provide
you a great vacation experience. They are people leading their own lives
and having their own internal political struggles. I've been back from southern
France for a week and was lucky during my three weeks there not to be affected
by the strikes, but many travelers I met there were. Most of them were just
adjusting their plans to fit the circumstances. One couple coming from Italy
decided not to try visiting Paris and just enjoy southern France instead.
Another couple was hanging out in Arles and checking in periodically to
see if they could get a train to Barcelona. Life doesn't always work out
the way you want. You can be angry, or you can just make the best of it.
Some of my best travel stories are about things that went wrong!
Brenda
Berkeley, CA USA 06/21/03
Strikes are for whimps
I'll not go back to France again. My travel dollars are too cherished to
go and sit 5 dyas without any public transportation. And I really got hosed
on the cab ride from the airport since there was no alternative. Even the
air traffic controllers struck. I am unsympathetic to their personal union
wants... I don't want to see their stinking parade down the main street
of Nice either, but my wants were not considered by them, were they? France
is now advertising a big push to get American tourists by giving hotel and
Air France discounts... too bad they won't also refund the money from my
5 day trip from Hell. Just skip France altogether - you can go anywhere
else and actually enjoy your trip!
T Sober
oh USA 06/20/03
strikes seem to be losing steam in France
Serina: there are no strikes at the moment. It appears that the movement
is losing steam indeed. However, it's impossible to predict what will happen
in the future. I suspect that the government will dither and that things
will get sorted out in the Fall (perhaps another season of strikes?) but
I cannot vouch for this. Anyway, in any case, you would not be "stuck at
the airport". You would take a non-striking means of transportation (Air
France coach, RoissyBus bus if RATP is not striking, or a taxicab in the
worst case), then you would rent a car to go to Alsace. It's a bit of a
pain, but it's not horrible. Andre: the interesting point is that, although
the train workers are striking... they are not concerned by this reform
of the retirement pensions! Isn't that funny?
Bernard Marmotte
Paris, France 06/20/03
Stikes in Europe
I am travelling to France in 3 weeks. My husband and I will be in Paris
for the first 6 days then we willl be travelling to the Alace region. I
am getting conflicting reports on the strike situation. Some web news sites
state that the strike is loosing its steam while others state that a full
country strike is immediate. What is the truth? We do not want to change
our plans but we also do not want to get stuck at the airport for an indefinate
time
Serina
Vancouver, Canada 06/20/03
To B Marmotte
Read my post again, I said public service employees, not public servant.
I only wish to informed traveller to France of the reasons of the current
strikes, the sectors affected, and it's probable duration. I doubt they
wish to get a full brief on the intricacies of French public services...
Andre
York, UK 06/19/03
background: reasons of the strikes
Andre: What you said was a bit inexact. The current projects concerns the
pension system for the civil servants, which are a strict subset of the
public workers. Neither the SNCF (rail) or the RATP (Paris transportation
authority) workers are civil servants. They have their own retirement systems.
They striked because they suspected that their regime would change after
the civil service one was changed. Actually, many civil servants, if not
most, are not concerned by the strikes. In many administrations, striking
means having the files to sort out pile up, thus increased work afterwards.
The strikes in education are a bit different. They stem on the one hand
from the retirement issues (teachers are civil servants) but also from some
reforms transferring competencies of non-teaching personnel to regional
governments. There are good arguments to be made on either side. This is
anyway a complex issue. Arguably, the problem is not so much whether, in
the long run, reforms are needed, as to which reforms should be implemented.
People that counted on having a retirement pension at a certain age can
arguably resent having the rules changed. Some people argue that the increased
retirement costs could be offset by taxing the revenue of capital. I don't
have enough knowledge of the economic facts to have any appreciation in
this. Furthermore, a side effect of strikes is that some businesses have
trouble working properly, because the workers simply have trouble getting
to work or coming back. Apart from this, the suggestion that some little
trouble with the tourism industry will wreck the economy is a bit ludicrous.
Bernard Marmotte
Paris, France 06/19/03
French strikes demistified
The actual strikes in France are the fact of public service employees. The
French governement wants their retirement age to be raised from 55 to 60
years old to be aligned on private sector employees. Some of the strikes
also have to do with a reform of the Education sector that would transfer
staff from the governement to the local authorities. Those strikes (in transports
in particular) are wearing out. The governement did not give into the street
pressure, and reminded that non of the strike days would be paid. Therefore
the Unions (linked to the socialist and communist party) are loosing grip
on the situation. State employees are afraid of loosing too much on their
wages, and most private sector employees do not support them as they see
their situation as privileged and contrary to the moto of Equality attached
to the French republic. To conclude, no they do not care about the impact
on Tourism, being public sector employees, they do not have to take any
consideration of profitability. But the private sector on the other hand
is growingly less tolerant of those regular strikes spells that cost fortunes
to the country as a whole. Hopefully everything should be returning to normal
in the next two weeks.
Andre
York, UK 06/19/03
"That was so unvelievable, what on earth are they thinking? Don't they
understand that they need the tourists to support their economy?" I believe
they are concerned about their pensions, which the French Government will
not be able to afford and therefore is trying to cut back. And yes I think
they are aware of the importance of tourism. However tourism is a small
fraction of the French economy, perhaps 1%
Don S
London, UK 06/19/03
Just back from paris
Just came back from Paris. The strike had two significant effects. The first
is that the museum workers striked one day. That was so unvelievable, what
on earth are they thinking? Don't they understand that they need the tourists
to support their economy? The second way in which it affected us was positive,
we traveled to Versailles and the RER was not working. We were lucky to
find another train that goes through Versailles every two hours. By luck
again we had just a 5 minute wait and on the way back we knew the schedule.
The best thing was that even though it was a Saturday Versailles was not
at all packed with people. On the other hand, with the partial strikes the
metro is unconfortably full. Knowing what I know now, I would consider delaying
a vacation to the area to avoid the problems of the strike. Oh, and by the
way, if you think that renting a car will solve the problem, it is true
only if you do not get stuck in traffic or stopped by a manifestacion.
Michel
CA USA 06/19/03
avoid SNCF
Julia: there is a strike announcement for Thursday 19. However, this one
does not seem to extend into the future. To be on the safe side, you should
perhaps avoid counting on French railways in the immediate future.
Bernard Marmotte
Paris, France 06/18/03
Advice?
We are leaving on 6/21 for a two week trip to Spain, France, and Italy.
We are flying into Madrid and planning to take a night train to Paris and
then a night train to Venice 3 days later. Do you think this is possible?
Should we skip France because of the strikes?
Julia
Denver, CO USA 06/18/03
Strikes
And, Don, thanks your advice about renting a car in Paris. I've never done
well driving there, but I think we are going to take that route rather than
wasting the money on the train trip to Beaune and paying the higher rates
there. I also hadn't heard of Easycar.com before. That's a good tip.
Barb
USA 06/18/03
Strikes
Bernard, I understand your feelings about unionization. I am an older teacher
who worked in my youth without a union and remember how vulnerable I was
to the whim of almost anyone. However, I appreciate your tips about getting
around in France during the strikes enormously. I really did not want to
miss my favorite country this year. Any other developments or ideas you
could post to update us would be greatly appreciated. Barb
Barbara Moors
USA 06/18/03
Ignorance
Bernard Marmotte asks that Rick Steves refrain from commenting about social
issues he is ignorant of. I should like to add that after many years living
in Europe it has been my observation that ignorance of local conditions
is seldom regarded as a bar to opinionated commentary. Certainly not in
the UK, France, the US, or Germany. It would seem to be part of the human
condition. I would also like to point out that from the point of view of
foreign visitors (whether from the UK or the US), French Unions seem to
be very powerful, having the ability to completely disrupt travel at any
moment?
Don S
London, UK 06/18/03
power of unions
Apart from that, I think that Rick Steves should perhaps refrain from commenting
on social issues he may not be fully aware of. "Unions have tremendous power
in this part of the world" is very much misleading. French unions have actually
very little power outside of a few consistuencies (public transportation,
teachers and, more generally, public workers that can annoy large amounts
of people by going on strike). Only 10% of workers are unionized. The issues
at stake are complex, dealing with retirement pensions, the status of public
universities, the status of non-teaching education workers, the status of
non-civil servant public workers, especially those with special status,
etc...
Bernard Marmotte
Paris, France 06/17/03
Paris transportation
A little bit of explanation: the northern part of the RER B local train
line, which leads to CDG airport, is managed by SNCF (national railways).
The southern part is managed by RATP (local transportation authority). In
normal times, this arrangement is seamless: the train goes from SNCF to
RATP without the passengers noticing anything, and you can use combined
tickets. On the other hand, when either SNCF or RATP are on strike, the
trains stop at Gare du Nord. You may have to change trains or take the Metro.
The best solution when SNCF but RATP is not is to take the RoissyBus to/from
CDG. It goes directly to the Opera station. Look on http://idf.sncf.fr for
SNCF issues and on http://www.ratp.fr for RATP issues.
Bernard Marmotte
Paris, France 06/17/03
Strikes in France
Don't plan to take trains in France. Trains do go places THROUGH Paris,
but connecting trains or small-station trains may not run and you may spend
hours trying to get a reservation for those who do. Good year to see other
countries or rent a car and see the country side of France. Strikes involve
teachers and other workers who may demonstrate on roads and train tracks
even when trains are running otherwise. It's impossible to know when you
can go and return when they can vote every evening on whether to stike the
next day. All of French travel is affected, even in the areas well away
from the big cities. People are cramming trains (aisles, luggage areas,
and between the cars) in a effort to get where they need to be before the
next strike day. AAARGH. See Ireland or Wales this year.
Eliz
Austin, TX USA 06/17/03
Upcoming Strikes
France June 19-?: Transportation strikes. Threatened to continue
throughout the summer.
Belgium June 18: Employees of the SNCB rail operator plan to strike.
Portugal June 16 24: Workers of Portugal's state rail operator, Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses, have called on their members to strike. The work stoppage will likely reduce the number of trains in circulation and alter train schedules nationwide.
Italy June 20: A public transportation workers strike will potentially affect local bus, subway and tram services throughout the country. Expect reduced public transportation services in cities nationwide.
June 24: Air traffic controllers of the ENAV agency plan to strike at airports nationwide from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM. Flight cancellations are possible.
July 7: Employees of Italian airlines and airports have threatened to strike for 24 hours.
July 18: Air traffic controllers at Padova Airport (QPA) have threatened
to strike from noon to 4 PM.
Sheriff
Edmonds, WA USA 06/17/03
Stuck overnight in A'dam train station
I started my European adventure in Amsterdam on June 2nd. My plan was to
take a night train to Paris on June 5th, but due to the French train strike,
it was cancelled. Since we weren't informed until the last minute (close
to 10PM), a bunch of us ended up staying the night in the Amsterdam Centraal
train station. We were able to catch another train to Paris early the next
morning. However, when I was ready to leave Paris 4 days later, I skipped
my plan to take a night train to Barcelona in favor of the Eurostar to London.
The strike issue was still in the air, and I didn't want to get stuck again.
I think the main thing is to keep a good attitude and be flexible. I wasn't
planning on going to London during my trip, but it turned into a nice, if
unexpected, interlude. Plus, I got to try EasyJet, which I used to get from
London to Madrid. So, everything ended up working out for the best.
Erik
Portland, OR USA 06/17/03
Paris Transportation issues
We just returned from Paris, Venice and Rome. Fly into Paris and hoped on
the train expecting to take it to our hotel in the Latin Quarter, once we
arrived at Gare du Nord the conductor got out of the train, luckily we jumped
out and got a cab to our hotel. I was worried because Tuesday the 10th of
June they had announced that there was to be another strike, we ended up
changing our flight and leaving a day early, we didn't want to be stuck
in Paris during a strike, we have three kids and having a delay wasn't appealing.
It was a holiday on Monday the 9th so everything was closed so I guess leaving
early wasn't too big of a deal for us, we aslo had spent a week there two
years ago. But I was very disappointed in the way the strike did affect
our vacation. Be flexible and expect delays this has been going on for months.
Wendy Hessinger
Saint Petersburg, FL USA 06/17/03
Car rental in Beaune.
Barb, you might want to consider flying into Paris and renting a car at
www.easycar.com, then driving down to Beaune. It's not that far less than
300 miles I think. It will be cheaper in Paris than in Beaune. Might even
be cheaper than the train is, for two or more people.
Don S
London, UK 06/17/03
France
Just got back from France 2 days ago: My travel partner and I missed Nice
because there were limited train departures/arrivals, and I was also stuck
in a small town near Luxembourg (sp?) for 2 days because of the strikes.
The Paris Metro is also very crowded (not necessarily with tourists, either).
My advice: rent a car, or plan to be EXTREMELY flexible with plans. Even
if you confirm train times at the station, be aware that they may change
without warning, and the train stations in Paris may have no idea what's
going on in Verdun, for example. When you make hotel reservations, keep
in mind that they may have to change because of train schedules, so discuss
with the hotel manager any charges that may incur due to cancellations.
I would do this trip again in a heartbeat. Don't let the strike scare you
into not going, but try to be as flexible as possible. Wherever you may
get stuck, you can get a taxi out of there for a bundle of $ (but at least
you won't miss your train!)
Carrie Brooks
Chanhassen, MN USA 06/17/03
Strike information
For those looking for the latest info on strikes in Europe I recommend the
Expedia.com site under 'Travel Alerts'.
Marvin Schwalb
Livingston, NJ USA 06/17/03
Strikes
Wow, I hate to miss France. We're thinking about booking a cheap flight
from Dublin to Paris, praying that we can get a train to Beaune and renting
a car there. From your experiences, do you think this is a good bet or foolish?
Barb
Novi, MI USA 06/16/03
Italy?
I don't think that strikes are affecting Italy, at least not more than they
usually do. Italians strike occasionally for whatever reason, usually after
the morning rush hour and resume work before the evening rush hour. In France
it is pretty bad right now.
Don S
London, UK 06/16/03
Strikes
We are getting ready to leave for Europe in 2 weeks. Is the strike affecting
any other countries besides France and Italy?
Barbara Moors
Novi, MI USA 06/16/03
Strikes affected us
We were affected going to Versailles 6/10/03, as the trains did not run
properly & we ended up paying more take a train out of Montparnesse instead
of on the RER via a Metro transfer. Also many museums were not able to be
fully staffed so some exhibits/wings were closed, like sat the Rodin& Notre
Dame. Many restaurants were also closed due to the strike. Lucky for us
we had a 3-day pass & could return later.
Catarina Kidd
Danville, CA USA 06/16/03
strikes in europe
We are currently in Italy and because of the strikes in France, we had to
fly here from Barcelona instead of taking the train. We bought the 2 month,
5 country passes and they seem to be going to waste as we have not been
able to travel via the train to or through france. If anyone has any suggestions,
we would appreciate them. We are leaving for Prague tomorrow and have to
be back in Paris by the 27th for our flight back to the US. HELP!!!
Hannah
San Diego, CA USA 06/16/03
Strikes in Paris
We just returned from a week long trip to Paris. We found out about the
strikes on our return from Mt. Saint Michel at 9:50 p.m. (10 minutes before
the strikes were to start). We did not have trouble returning from the Louvre
area to our hotel in Montparnesse area. The remainder of the following week
we had no problems with the Metro. On Friday, however, we were returning
from Brugge and the was a slight slow down in the Metro, but we walked to
the next stop and proceeded on our way. The strikes did not interfere with
our stay in Paris.
Pat Lowe
Swedesboro, NJ USA 06/16/03
Strikes
The picture I'm getting in London is pretty grim, though the strikes aren't
continuous by any means. You could pop into France for a few days with no
problem whatever, or you could be unlucky and have nothing but trouble.
Tip: This looks to be going on all summer if not longer, so don't fly into
or out of France if you can help it. Don't try to schedule travel precisely,
give yourself time in the schedule. You may need it. And don't count on
being able to get out of France immediately if you need to. Look at the
bright side, the major topic of conversation is no longer Les Evil Yankees!
Don S
London, UK 06/14/03
Air Travel from Nice
We just flew out of Nice after a trip to Europe and had absolutely no problems.
I just wanted to reassure people that at least the international flights
seem to be on schedule. There were a lot of people gathering in the center
of Nice with picket signs, but we didn't have any trouble. We rented a car,
so we didn't have to deal with the train difficulties. There is an English
radio station in Nice that was really helpful to keep up with the effects
of the strike.
Karen
Acworth, GA USA 06/14/03
Strikes in France
I just returned from 3 weeks in France, Switzerland and Italy and unfortunately,
could not use 4 days of my Eurail selectpass that I had planned to use in
France. I attempted to train from Rome to Nice and made it all the way to
the French border, the train stopped at the last station in Italy. We then
had to take a bus to Nice. Due to the strike no trains were available (at
least that I could find out about) so I ended up flying from Nice to Paris
vs taking the train as planned. If I had it to do over again, I guess I
would have purchased train tickets as needed and not paid for the Eurailpass,
it would have been less expensive.
Carla Lares
La Habra, CA USA 06/14/03
Strikes in Paris
We just returned from Paris. The srike was no big deal. The Eurostar was
still running, as well as most of the buses and trains. We had heard the
train would take longer but it didn't for us. The Rodin musuem was free
because of the strike. The first day we took the L'Open bus tour from the
Eurostar train station to our hotel in Rue Cler. That worked well because
you can hop on and off. Be sure to hop off at the St. Germain neighborhood
and get a crepe at the stand outside of Cafe Bonaporte!
Karen
Denver, CO USA 06/13/03
strikes
Just wanted to add to a post further down, that a strike doesn´t mean everything
quits. No eurostar trains are off schedule, nor have been. They are indeed
working on the track on the 15th, but that has been known and up on their
site for the past year(that they won´t be running that day). I´m in barcelona
right now, and they´ve told me the pick up trains at the border (in france)
have been ok, but still, you can only just get an open ticket and hope for
the best. I would also see about purchasing the ticket seperate if you have
a eurail that uses traveldays. heck, I may even see about flying past france
all together. It may be cheaper time-wise. Good luck!
holly
06/12/03
Strikes in Europe
Hi! Just returned from 4 days in Paris. The Thalys was delayed from Brussels-Paris
and returning. Once in Paris, no problems! Just get out there and be EUROPEAN!
Relax and Enjoy!
Susan B
US Navy living in Belgium, USA 06/11/03
Strikes and a one-day Eurostar work day
Trude, at her zimmer in Salzburg, said they had similar problems in Austria.
It sounds like we were indeed lucky to catch that TGV to Switzerland and
out of the mess. I still say try. For us, luckily, it ended up being no
problem. Also, in a similar vein, we saw signs at Waterloo station that
the Eurostar would not be running at all on Sunday, June 15 (or the 16th
if that's the Sunday.) I understand that they are working on that high speed
track upgrade. The notice said for anyone holding a ticket for that day
to call for a change or a refund. Just a heads up.
Linda
GA, but Munich tonight, USA 06/10/03
France again
I don´t know about anyone else, but I think France is totally screwing over
any Eurailer on the continent right now. I purchased a consecutive 2 month
pass, and so far it was been a waste of 938 bucks because it took me three
full days to get out of France and into Spain. Some guys I met in Barcelona
were going to train their way to Milan, but because of the strikes, they
have to bus it... 2 full days of travel gone, poof. I´m leaving the Iberian
Peninsula in 6 days, and I´m really hoping that the strike is over by then
because I don´t want to waste 2 days getting from Barcelona to Cinque Terre.
:( The strikes are really frustrating, and it´s freezing a lot of Inter-Europe
travel. Someone mentioned the air travel freezing, and I sure hope it´s
ok by the time I leave.
Bored Lunatic
Denver, CO USA 06/10/03
Re: Eurostar and French Strike
In Re: to the Eurostar Question. I took the Eurostar to France during the
strike, so I believe that getting to Belgium wouldn't be a problem.
Micah Clemens
Minneapolis, MN USA 06/09/03
strike non, rail oui?
More a question... If I were to book Eurostar in London does anyone know
if it goes by way of France? I'm thinking Belgium..but certainly a consideration
re the strikes
Paul Cross
College Station, Tx USA 06/09/03
Strike one for Italy
A few years ago on a travel day between Genoa and Florence, the Italian
rail called a surprise strike. We went to the TI and found out that in Italy
a strike does not mean everything is down. There was still one train a day.
We expected to find the train packed but it wasn't. There is nothing in
Italy that can't be put off for a day or so. When we got to Pisa we found
out that the only train to Florence was 6 hrs. later. So we spent a couple
of hours touring Pisa which was not on our original plan (the left bagage
facility was working!) and took a pleasant, cheap bus trip to Florence.
All in all a very nice day. The message is that 'strike' in Europe usually
means a reduction in services. Therefore it pays to get the latest and most
accurate info if you need to travel. And remember that, for better or worse,
dealing with strikes is part of the European travel experience.
Marvin Schwalb
Livingston, NJ USA 06/09/03
stikes in Paris
During our recent visit (5/30/03) to Paris we had problems with several
sites being closed due to strikes. Saint Chappel and the Musee Orsay were
closed unexpectedly. The strike is in response to the govt pension plan
running out of money so they decided to raise the retirement age from 60
to 65. Sound familiar? Have the concierge at your hotel call in the morning
to see if the site you plan to visit is indeed open.
Robert Durvin
Clearwater, FL USA 06/08/03
Strikes
An email from my brother, stuck in France: "The scale of the lawlessness
and thuggery would generate endless anguished editorials in the English-language
press if France were Iraq, and if somehow the United States could be blamed
for it. The demonstrators have barricaded roads and railway tracks, ransacked
and occupied administrative buildings, set fires, reversed over one another
with their cars, sealed off city centers, emptied garbage onto the streets
and rendered public transportation throughout the country unusable. Air
traffic has been brought to a halt. Demonstrators cut off power lines at
the Gare de Lyon. Tourists have been stranded everywhere-- including me.
Why did we liberate these people?"
Paul Bombino
moscow, id USA 06/07/03
Strike Strategy Part 2
Two points to add to my previous post..one person in our party had their
US carrier flight from San Diego to Paris cancelled due to the France strike
5/15..so a good suggestion is to check your airline carrier frequently and
take the airline carrier France number with you to call when in country.
On contrast our Air France flights from Paris CDG to Toulouse and from Montpelier
to PAris CDG went without a hitch. Also I wanted to clarify when we spoke
with the French the word for strike spelled "greve" sounds like "grave" when pronounced by the French people we conversed with...Frederica at the
Hotel Relais Bosquet was extremely helpful.
Julie
San Diego, CA USA 06/07/03
Strike Strategy
We just came back 5/31 from Paris/Southern France. Landed 5/13, first day
of the current and continuing pension strike. We had a Yellow Shuttle from
CDG to our Hotel Relais Bosquet 7th Ar in the Rue Cler area. Shuttle cost
32 (for both) Euros but worth it as no trains/metro were running, traffic
was horrific --cost in a cab would have been astronomical as it took 2 hours,
and shuttle driver knew the back roads to the hotel. Best sugggestion is
to email your hotel (Hotel Relais Bosquet is on line and either Freerica
or Gearld will answer in English)for current update as the strike is very
serious and on/off day by day and they can best help. Rue Cler is so centrally
located that we walked most places ie Musee D Orsay which opened just before
we arrived late. Also we took the Batobus back to the Eifffel Tower (very
nice site seeing and good rest for the feet and good way to get around if
metro is down in this area)and then walked from there back to the Hotel.
We had a private transport and tour of the Versailles but were unable to
see the gardens as they were on strike (Grave) in French. We also did a
self guided boat tour of the Canal Du Midi in southern France and one day
the locks were closed and the entire canal could not move. Since then there
are signs at the locks saying that the lock masters are providing "minimal
lock service" during the strike! We still had fun!
Julie
san diego, CA USA 06/07/03
managing the strike in Nice
We are stuck in Nice ourselves right now. We have met up with some other
Americans and Canadians, and may share a taxi over the Italian border tomorrow.
Lots of local trains are running, if you don't mind LIVING at the train
stations and hopping on short trains as they go. We reserved our hostels
and all in advance, which I wouldn't do again, because we have had to cancel
all of them in Italy and Switzerland and other parts of France, since we
can't get around. Have lost lots of deposit money.
Ashley
Jacksonville, FL USA 06/06/03
Strikes more than just transportation
Keep in mind that other groups sometimes join the strike as a show of support.
I was at the Musee d'Orsay yesterday and the upper floors (where almost
all the decent art is) were closed because of the strike. On the upside,
though, the staff stopped taking admission and it was free to come in and
poke through the lower sections. The Metro, bus, and RER lines are randomly
affected - certain lines are slowed down, certain lines are stopped entirely,
and others are unaffected. It all depends on the day. If you are in Paris
and trying to get around it can sometimes be a hassle, sometimes you don't
even notice. Check the updates on the television screens at a Metro station
or ask a ticket person if you aren't sure what's running.
Ian Wood
Paris, France 06/06/03
Strikes in Paris
We just left Paris yesterday on a strike day and with
packs we were able to walk to a taxi, get to the Gare de Lyon and hop the
only TGV to Geneva that day (but maybe some more happened later) Not everything
completely stops. Be adventurous and try to plug on.
Linda
GA USA 06/05/03
Strike info: We had a rather aggressive train route that would have
really been messed up if we got stuck during strikes. I emailed one of our
reserved hotels to inquire about possible strikes. He was kind enough to
email back the strikes planned during our time in Italy. That gave us some
piece of mind as we were skirting the problem areas. Supposedly the information
exists on the Italia train site, but I wasn't able to find it (English page
is not very comprehensive.& can't read Italian). Right train: Kind of obvious
but be careful when hopping on a train that seems early. We did this many
times in Italy usually after confirming it was going where we were. We did
the same in Koblenz only to find out the train was not the milk run train
we wanted. Our desired train left from the same platform 5 minutes later.
Not too big a problem as we just backtracked to our stop.
Brian
Silverdale, WA USA 06/05/03
Strikes in France
Fair warning: France is in the midst of one of its periodic pension disputes,
so there have been, and will be, strikes throughout the country. If you're
planning to visit France within the next few weeks, keep an eye on the news
and be prepared to change your plans if necessary.
Peter
Brussels, Belgium 05/27/03