The difference between the modes of transportation I am used to using at home and how I get around here in France has been one of the most extreme changes I have noticed. At home, I typically drive almost everywhere within my city and fly to get to cities that are too far to drive to. In Europe, there are so many more options! It is possible to cover huge distances on trains, and a car is almost never a necessity to get everywhere I want to go.
In France, as in many other European countries, walking and biking are the most common ways to travel short distances, like going to school or to the grocery store. For longer journeys, such as between cities, many people use the complex train network that exists here. France is very well connected by train, meaning that it is possible to travel between most of the major cities using the train. This also means that you can take the train to get from France to other countries like Italy, Spain or Germany!
I took the train from Aix-en-Provence, France to Paris, France on the high-speed train system called the TGV, and I was very excited to try it! My train left from the Aix-en-Provence TGV station very early in the morning and we arrived in Paris around 3.5 hours later.
