Happily, france has a fast and efficient train system and the french government has invested massively in highspeed trains the tgv train or train a grande vitesse, and on highspeed lines lgv or ligne a grande vitesse. Buying european train tickets by rick steves rick steves europe. If you want to avoid reservations, you can travel by regional train for which no. At south western railway we sell cheap train tickets to everywhere in britain. The easiest way to get train tickets before leaving home is to buy them through.
The high speed tgv lyria train offers direct services from paris to several swiss cities, for example to basel and geneva in slightly over 3 hours, and to zurich in 4 hours. Its just not necessary the official websites have englishlanguage versions. Whether aboard a tgv, an ouigo or intercity, there are plenty of good deals to save on. Rail travel europe cheap train tickets europe rail. As weve mentioned in several previous posts, the cheapest way to buy train tickets in france and throughout. Onlytrain cheap train tickets thalys, eurostar, sncf. Book early to pay less advance tickets are the cheapest train tickets.
From the train companies that operate in france, the types of trains and how to buy cheap ticket tickets, keep reading to discover our guide to trains in france. If youre looking for the cheapest possible ticket between a and b especially if a and b are in the same country this is the way to go. We explain which train to choose, how long they take and the best ways to book train tickets. There are so many different ways you can save when you buy train tickets. Please note that for night trains and highspeed trains in france, like the tgv and thalys, mandatory reservations are needed. Lastly, eurocity has provided slower trains with routes that connect france to major cities in europe. Simply search on combitrip to find fares and train schedules which suit best to your needs and we will redirect you straight to the right place to book your. If youre only going to the south of france, then it makes sense to book a flight to one of the big french cities with international airports like nice, marseille, or bordeaux. Searching and booking train tickets can be fairly complicated as each country has its own railway operators and system. Travelers wishing to use trains for their visit to france from neighboring countries will find that omio is a useful and convenient tool to use while booking their tickets. Not the cheapest city in france, but if you have a desire to visit the fabled french riviera it is much cheaper than neighboring cities and resort towns such as monte carlo, cannes, and saint tropez all reachable for day trips by rail. I dont have the deep experience of european train travel to answer these questions for you so i went to the man who does. The information is required by rail europe to process your subscription to rail europe newsletter.
Trains in france the fastest and best value routes. You can book your seat reservations up to 3 months in advance through our reservation service. Intercites sleeper trains is also a great option for saving money both on train tickets and accommodation you can go from paris to toulouse, rodez, briancon and latourdecarol in both directions. How to buy cheap european train tickets read this advice first. Tgv cheap train tickets france best price happyrail. If youre going to paris, then down to the south of france, look at both flights and trains for the onward journey. Train travel info and online train tickets for france. If youre planning on travelling in december 2019, strikes planned by sncf workers unions will be severely affecting services. Note that while you may be able to book nicevenice on tgveurope, the cheapest way is to book an advance purchase discount mini ticket on trenitalia from ventimiglia to nice, and a ticket from nice to ventimiglia at 6. International tgv trains charge a range of prices for required seat reservations higher than. Train tickets in france cheap train travel railtravelshop. If the cheapest fare is sold out a next higher prem fare will be available.
Without a doubt, planning train travel in europe with its many countries, is the most challenging. One of the best deals going for touring france, and indeed all of europe is the interrail or eurail pass. Since many train stations have carhire agencies, its easy to combine rail travel with rural exploration by car. A beginners guide to train travel in france, including tgv trains between paris, nice, marseille, lyon, bordeaux, toulouse, avignon. As a nationalised system, the french railways used to run a clear and coherent ticketing system, and generally speaking rail travel remains relatively cheap about 15p a kilometer 1. With eurostar tickets to suit every budget and trains leaving for paris up to 18 times a day, start your escape in london or kent and arrive rested and raring to. But many types of french trains always require paid seat reservations. Find the latest offers on train tickets, exclusive services, travel deals and much more on oui. Book your requiredreservation train trips as soon as you can commit to a date and time.
Advance tickets can be an especially smart buy for popular highspeed trains such as frances tgv trains and italys le frecce trains, which frequently sell out. Its just not necessary the official websites have englishlanguage versions and they take foreign credit cards. You may book up to 3 months in advance and up to 6 months for eurostar. The best platform for booking train tickets for france especially. Since many train stations have carhire agencies, its easy to combine rail. Best site to book train ticket paris forum tripadvisor. How to buy cheap european train tickets read this advice. Train travel in france, a beginners guide paris to nice. Rail passes can be a good value in france if youll be taking some longdistance rides, or riding mostly on trains that dont require reservations. But you can still save some money by booking a cheap trainspecific.
When travelling in france, you can benefit from very cheap train tickets by travelling with the lowcost train service ouigo. Trains from london to paris the construction of the channel tunnel at the end of the last century allowed direct rail links between two of europes great capitals. We highly recommend this comfortable train over flying and driving. Travelling by train in france is a comfortable and environmentally sustainable way to see the country. Trains depart from central london and arrive in the centre of paris, making the train an plausible alternative to a flight. Me and my sister will be traveling to france in december 2010, and we wanted to book our train tickets way in advance. Compare train journeys all around europe and north america. Eurostar trains can be booked up to 120 days ahead but. Travelling on one of the best rail networks in europe is much cheaper if you know your way around the various discount fare structures that are available. Travelers wishing to use trains for their visit to france from neighboring countries will find that omio is a useful and convenient tool to use while booking.
There are many ways to travel cheaper with the french railway company. Comfortable, frequent and reliable, trains are the way to get around europe. We are traveling from paris to rennes, and i read that we can reserve our seats, and then pick up and pay at the ticket window at the train station. During the offseason, this is a great place to enter france via airplane. Book at least 3 weeks before departure in order to get a belowaverage price. By rick steves are rail passes a good value for france. How to get the best deal on train tickets from france to. How to buy cheaper tgv tickets france forum tripadvisor. Prem fares are the cheapest train tickets offered by sncf voyages. As weve mentioned in several previous posts, the cheapest way to buy train tickets in france and throughout europe is to purchase them directly through the official railway websites and not through a thirdparty agency. Im looking for the best and cheapest website to book a tgv ticket from paris to bordeaux. Prem tickets are available 34 months in advance and are limited available.
Trains in france buy france train tickets online trainline. Country of highspeed lines, travel from brussels to marseille in 4 hours and 48 minutes. France is the largest country in western europe so train travel makes sense. How do i see whether a rail pass makes sense for my trip in particular. France, germany, the low countries and switzerland score highly in quality and quantity of railways.
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