Flights from Gran Canaria to France from 134CHF*

Flights to France from Gran Canaria

From Gran Canaria, Vueling flies direct to 7 French cities: Paris, Nice, Lyon, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nantes and Strasbourg. Paris is around 3 hours and 45 minutes away, and the cities in the south are a little closer.

The big advantage is leaving the island without a stopover on the Spanish mainland. With journeys of this length, the real question is where to begin. Paris and the north, the French Riviera, the Rhône Valley and the Atlantic coast each offer a very different trip.

What documents you need to travel to France

France and Spain are both in the European Union and the Schengen Area, so a valid Spanish ID card (DNI) or passport is enough, with no visa or extra paperwork.

Schengen flights require the physical DNI. The digital version is only valid on flights within Spain, and it is a detail that causes problems at the check-in desk. Check the expiry date before you book, as an expired document will not get you on board. Children each need their own document. If you are not an EU national, check whether you need a Schengen visa on the travel documents page.

What to know when you land in France

From the airport to the city centre. Paris is the one that needs some planning. Its airports are a long way from the city and the journey by train or bus takes around an hour, so look into it before you book accommodation. Nice is the opposite: the airport sits right by the Promenade and the tram reaches the centre in a few minutes. Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Nantes all have a shuttle or a direct tram from the terminal.

The TGV. This is what turns 7 airports into a gateway to the whole country. Paris and Lyon are 2 hours apart, and Marseille is just over 3 hours from the capital. Stations are in the city centres, so flying into one city and home from another usually works better than a return trip from the same place.

The cold in the north. This is the biggest change when you leave Gran Canaria, where the temperature barely shifts all year. Paris, Nantes and Strasbourg have proper winters, with lows close to 0°C, and wet autumns. Even in summer, evenings in the north call for a jacket.

Mealtimes. Lunch is served between 12:00 and 14:00 and dinner from 19:30, and many kitchens close after 22:00. Turn up for dinner at 22:30 and you may not get a table.

The currency is the euro, and plug sockets are types C and E, at 230V. French is the official language, and English works in tourist areas.

What to do in France

Paris and the north

Paris packs the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Centre Pompidou and Notre-Dame into an area you can cover on foot, with Le Marais, Montmartre and Saint-Germain-des-Prés as neighbourhoods to get lost in. The Palace of Versailles is half an hour away by suburban train. Book tickets for the busiest museums well ahead.

The French Riviera and Provence

In Nice you land by the sea, and the coastal train reaches Cannes, Antibes and Monaco in under an hour. Marseille is the gateway to Provence: the Calanques National Park, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon with its Palais des Papes and, in summer, the lavender fields of the Luberon.

Lyon and the east

Lyon has a well-earned name as a food capital, with its bouchons, covered markets and the Renaissance streets of Vieux-Lyon, a World Heritage Site. Further east, Strasbourg opens up Alsace, with its half-timbered villages, Petite France and the Christmas markets in December.

The Atlantic coast

Bordeaux has a historic centre listed as a World Heritage Site, the vineyards of the Médoc and Saint-Émilion less than an hour away, and the dunes of Arcachon on the coast. Nantes leads on to Brittany and the Loire châteaux, facing an Atlantic that looks nothing like the one around the Canaries.

Luggage for your flight to France

What you can take depends on the fare you choose when booking. The simplest fare includes a personal item that fits under the seat in front, and from there you can add cabin or checked luggage.

Flying north from Gran Canaria, warm clothes take up far more room than you expect. And if your plan links several cities by train, sorting out your luggage when you book saves you hauling too much between stations. Check the current conditions in Vueling’s luggage policy.