Troyes (LFQB)

[bookworm]

Lovely little French regional SE of Paris with a decent hard runway (17/35, caution in strong westerlies!) and an ILS. Customs on 1 hr PPN (they didn't turn up to greet us). English speaking AFIS though be prepared to make circuit calls in French if the AFISO is off duty. Simple but good restaurant overlooking the apron makes it a great lunch stop. Landing fee for 1700 kg twin was EUR 8.

[Tall_Guy_In_a_PA28]

Fuel is self service, then pay at reception. There is a very helpful weather briefing office next to the terminal. Tell them your planned route and they will put together all the data they can gather and show you weather radar screens etc.

The Novotel next door is OK if you need to spend the night and value convenience over character.
Edit: see below for hotel offering convenience and character

[johnm]

There's a leaflet for the Hotel Relais St Jean on the desk where you pay your €8 landing fee and M Leclerc the director will call Martin (a PPL who owns it with his wife) and he'll come and pick you up. The Hotel is a good 4 star in the heart of the old town, very stylish and around €95 per night, but no taxi fares!

Troyes Aviation will also fix a sick donkey if you suffer that way (as I did)

[Rob P]

Oh how that picture makes me (and probably 2 Donkeys) smile

[Adrian]

decent hard runway (17/35, caution in strong westerlies!)

Decent grass runway too (05/23, caution in strong northerlies! )

Definitely the airfield of choice for customs clearance if heading too or from SE France. Cheap, friendly, nice town if you get stuck, and more reliable weather than the coastal airfields.

[Rob P]

Decent grass runway too (05/23, caution in strong northerlies! )

Which is what makes us laugh ruefully

Rob P

[Steve H]

Another vote for Troyes. Great airport to clear customs in and out of France / Schengen if headed that way, certainly in preference to the crowded Le Touquet. My new favourite-ist airport for clearing customs if heading south!

AVGAS is self-service and does work with UK credit cards. First time I tried I got stuck and spoke on the intercom and agreed to pay in reception, second time, it seemed to work and delivered a printed slip.

Some of the parking spots DO have tie downs, but they were not obvious to me. Look for round, black ‘drain inspection covers’ (that’s what they look like to me). If you lift the cover, in the hole are chains and ropes fixed for tie downs.

There is a Meteo office next to the tower who are excellent and very helpful with weather.

The terminal itself is small, but very clean and modern and normally deserted except for a chap at the desk (looked like firecrew / pompier) who really speaks very little English, but is very helpful nonetheless.

Free WiFi in the terminal - ask at reception for the password.


Troyes Airfield terminal

Landing and parking fees are trivial and AVGAS prices are competitive.

The on-airport café looks excellent, but was never open any of the several times we were there. Don’t rely on it for lunch or you will go hungry. There is a vending machine for snacks and sodas and a free water cooler.

Another vote for the classy and old hotel in Troye town centre, the Relais St Jean. Tell the guy at the desk that you are staying at the Relais St Jean and can you have a taxi into town. He will look up on his list and call the owner (who is Irish) who will come out and pick you up and take you back free of charge – he is also a pilot at the local aeroclub, so is very pilot friendly! This saves EUR 15 – 20 each way and at EUR 95 for a room it isn’t bad anyway. Excellent hotel right in the heart of the old town.

You really should not stay at the airport hotel as it is a crime to miss the town centre. It really is a gem and for the sake of an extra few Euros and another 15 minutes drive, it is well worth staying in town, even if only for a quick explore.


Troyes town centre was pretty much all like this

[Bepy pilot]

The Cafe at Troyes does have short lunchtime hours, 12:00 until 15:00 local IIRC but if you can plan to be there during that time it is certainly worth a visit, the food is described as simple but the quality of the main courses in terms of preparation and presentation is of a standard which can only be found at airfields in France. Excellent food. The town is split into two distinct areas. the Medieval and Modern. The modern part is very Aube en Champagne, in other words looks like a housing estate, remember the region is not the wealthiest part of France and outside of the Champaign producing areas the region is considered agricultural by the French. This has driven the house prices very low in that area and the average wage is also one of the lowest in France. What this means is that if you go to Troyes for the first time, the drive into town from the airport can be a little disappointing, clearly you don't build the airport in the nicest area but there are some streets in the modern town the taxy driver took us down which had us a bit worried about what we were going to encounter on the 2 day visit. The medieval part is very different with the usual tourist attractions, fantastic period architecture and plenty of street cafe's. The locals are very friendly and portion sizes in the restaurants are large by French standards. Most of the hotels in the town centre surround the old town and are within easy walking distance of the attractions including the canal network.

[Flyin'Dutch']

Another vote for Troyes both the airfield and the town. Novotel walking distance.

[skydriller]

Visited on the way home through France. Just before closure at 18:30 local time, there was a big rush for the fuel pumps, the Pompiers who man the desks there stayed on valiently and without complaint until everyone had filled up and paid.

Then, as I couldnt get back home safely in one hop without re-fuelling again due to the unforcast headwind, we decided to stay overnight. The Pompiers tried in vain to contact the Relais St Jean for us, but unfortunately they were fully booked (Note, Double rooms are around 130 Euros now, but still good value when you consider being picked up/ dropped off etc.). So, we were stuck with the Novotel a short walk up the street - Its OK, but we considered it overpriced (100Euros) as it didnt include breakfast (15 Euro each extra), but then it is convenient to the airport.

Landing fee = 8 Euros, Overnight Parking = 8 Euros.

Regards, SD..

[Flyin'Dutch']

Tip on getting a reasonable last minute deal for hotel rooms is (if you have internet access) to go onto one of the usual websites (Expedia/Last Minute etc) and book through that. Usually considerably cheaper than the rack rate you get when calling the hotel directly or asking at the desk.