TGVs now run all over France, the smooth, relaxing & less-environmentally-damaging way to travel... Buy TGV tickets from €20 at: www.raileurope.co.uk (UK residents) www.voyages-sncf.com (anyone) www.raileurope.com (USA*) www.raileurope.ca (Canada*) www.raileurope-world.com (Australia, NZ, Asia, Africa) www.loco2.com (anyone) * = I've seen the US & Canadian Rail Europes charge significantly higher prices than www.voyages-sncf.com, so compare prices before before buying.

Introducing the TGV...

TGVs (Train à Grande Vitesse) are the pride of SNCF (French railways), running at up to 186 mph (300 km/h) on a network linking towns and cities across much of France.  In fact, trains now run at up to 199 mph (320 km/h) on the new TGV-Est route from Paris to Reims, Strasbourg, Metz, Luxembourg and Basel, which opened in June 2007.  Smooth and quiet even at high speed, it's a very relaxing (and if you're working on a laptop, productive) way to travel.

• Seat reservation is compulsory on TGV services, and all tickets include a reservation on a specific train.  TGV seating numbering plans.

• Fares vary like air fares, with cheap 'Prems' fares if you book in advance, much more expensive fares if you wait and buy on the day. 

• Paris to Nice starts at €25, Paris to Bordeaux from €20, if you book a cheap 'prems' fare in advance direct with the operator, just as you'd do with a budget airline.  Booking usually opens 92 days ahead...

• You can buy tickets at www.raileurope.co.uk (UK residents), www.voyages-sncf.com (anyone), www.loco2.com (anyone).

• Overseas visitors can also buy TGV tickets at www.raileurope.com (USA), www.raileurope.ca (Canada), www.raileurope.com.au (Australia), or www.raileurope-world.com (any other country worldwide), but be warned, the cheaper prices are often 'missing' from these sites, it's often significantly cheaper to buy from www.voyages-sncf.com or www.loco2.com.

• All TGVs have a café-bar (see sample menu), baby-changing facilities, one or more wheelchair spaces and wheelchair-accessible toilet.  There are plenty of luggage racks above the seats, between the seats and at coach ends.  All TGVs are completely non-smoking.

• Some TGVs are single-deck, an increasing number are double-deck TGV Duplex.

All TGVs (except a few running very short distances, for example Lille-Paris in just an hour) have a café-bar serving hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, a few hot dishes such as quiche or lasagne, small bottles of wine and spirits.  The café-bar is always located in the centre of the train, between the first and second class.  The coffee is good, and credit cards are accepted as well as cash.  There is a standing area where you can eat and drink your purchases, or you can take them back to your seat.  Alternatively, on European trains including TGVs you are free to bring your own food and drink (including beer or wine) on board if you like.  Or, if you're changing trains in Paris and have time for a drink or meal whilst waiting at the Gare de Lyon, why not use the famous (and fantastic) Train Bleu restaurant?

Tips for travel by TGV...

• Boarding:  As with most European trains, there's no check-in, you just walk into the station, look at the TV screens or indicator board to find your train and get on any time before it leaves.  At terminal stations, you may see the platform announced anything from 15 to 30 minutes before departure.

• Luggage:  There are no luggage limits, you can pretty much take what you like.  You take it with you and put it on the various racks, either above your head, between the seats or at the car ends.

• Choosing your seat:  In first class, ask for (or select) 'Club Duo' or 'Dual face to face' if travelling as a couple for an intimate table-for-two, or 'Club Quatre' (Club four) if three or four of you are travelling together so you can sit cosily around a table.

• On TGV Duplex, ask for an upper deck seat for the best views.  Stairs are wide and easy, only choose the lower deck if you have serious mobility impairment.

• Compostez!  Remember to validate French train tickets by putting them into the slot on the orange 'Compostez' machines at the entrance to each platform.

• You don't need to validate print-at-home tickets!

• At most main stations, you can see where on the platform your carriage will stop by consulting a 'Composition des Trains' chart showing the train formation with coach numbers.

• Taking your bike:  See the bikes by train page.

• Taking your dog:  See the dogs by train page.

• TGV Duplex seating plan (most Paris-Lyon, Paris-Marseille, some Lille-Marseille services)

• TGV Réseau cars 1-4   TGV Réseau cars 5-8 (most Lille-Southern France services)

• TGV Mediterranée seating plan (Paris- Nîmes, Montpellier, Perpignan services)

• TGV Atlantique seating plan (Paris to Le Mans, Bordeaux, Lourdes, Toulouse, Nantes, Rennes).

On board a typical TGV....

TGV 1st class.  There are two 'club duo' seats on the left, a bay of 4 'club quatre' on the right, and many rows of 'solo' & 'duo' seats behind.		TGV 2nd class.  Most seats are face-to-back, but there are some bays of four face-to-face seats, ask when booking.

Christian Lacroix designer interiors...

Many TGVs have been refurbished with interiors by designer Christian Lacroix.  All TGVs on the TGV-Est route from Paris Est to Reims, Strasbourg, Metz, Luxembourg & the TGV-Atlantique route from Paris Montparnasse to Tours, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lourdes, Rennes are already refurbished...  Incidentally, SNCF's in-house designer still hasn't forgiven Christian Lacroix for breaking the long-standing unwritten 'rules' and using warm colours in 2nd class, cooler colours in 1st class, so see what you think...

TGV 1st class, refurbished.  Panorama photo...		TGV 2nd class, refurbished.  Panorama photo.

Food on board...  You can bring your own food and even bottle of wine on board, perhaps bought at the station, or go to the bar car.  The café-bar sells drinks and snacks, and usually microwaved hot dishes like this, often as set menu combinations with drink and roll...  See sample TGV bar menu.

Watch the video - inside a TGV with Christian Lacroix interior

TGV Duplex:  Double-deck TGVs...    Watch the TGV Duplex video guide

These impressive 186mph double-deck high-speed trains now operate most Paris-Cannes-Nice trains, most Paris-Lyon trains, many Paris-Marseille trains and even a few Lille-Marseille services.  They also operate some or all services from Paris to Basel, Zurich, Geneva, Stuttgart, Munich & Frankfurt, and Frankfurt to Marseille.  You board the train through a wide sliding external door into a small hall at one end of the lower deck.  An internal door opens into a lower deck seating area, and a wide, short & easy flight of stairs leads to a landing at one end of the upper deck.  You walk along the train from car to car at the upper level, and the café-bar is also at the upper level.  There are toilets both upstairs & downstairs.  When reserving, you can choose a seat on either upper or lower decks if you buy online at www.loco2.com or www.voyages-sncf.com or book by phone, although unfortunately you're not given a choice of deck if you buy tickets using www.raileurope.co.uk.  If you have major problems climbing stairs the lower deck might be best, but for anyone else the top deck is strongly recommended for the best views of the scenery, as you'll be able to see over the top of the occasional sound barrier along the high speed lines.  For couples, an upper deck first class 'Club duo' (in English 'Dual face to face') table-for-two is as good as it gets!  Families can book a 'club quatre' (Club four) in first class or 'carré' in 2nd class (also shown as 'family or facing'), both terms mean a table for four.

TGV Duplex seating plan.

How to tell if your TGV will be a Duplex:  Run an enquiry on www.voyages-sncf.com and find the train you're planning to travel on.  Select any fare, click the 'choose my place' link and click the drop down box that says 'No preference'.  If the options include upper and lower decks, it's a Duplex!

Interior, first-generation Duplex...

These operate on French domestic routes including Paris-Lyon, Paris-Marseille, Paris-Nice.  There are power sockets at all first class seats, but usually not in 2nd class on these first-generation duplex.

TGV Duplex.  This is a morning TGV from Nice to Paris, boarding at Nice.  Change in Paris for London!		1st class:  TGV Duplex 1st class upper deck.  Note the 'club duo' on the left & 'club quatre' seats on the right.

2nd class:  TGV Duplex 2nd class upper deck.  There is a mix of face-to-back and face-to-face seating.		Cafe-bar:  The upper-deck bar on a TGV Duplex,  selling wine, beer, tea, coffee, soft drinks & snacks.

Stairs...  The upstairs landing on a TGV Duplex showing the stairs down to the entrance door.		A double-deck TGV Duplex.  This is an afternoon TGV from Paris to Nice, about to leave the Gare de Lyon.  You can easily travel from London to Nice in a day by Eurostar & TGV, a relaxing day catching up on your reading over a bottle of wine.  And it isn't even expensive if you follow the advice on this page!

Interior, second-generation Duplex...

TGV Duplex trainsets of the latest generation have revised interiors, with power sockets at all seats in both classes.  This type is found on the international routes from Paris to Munich, Basel, Zurich, Figueres, and on some French domestic routes such as Paris-Nice.

2nd class seats on the latest TGV Duplex upper deck.  There's a mix of unidirectional seating and some tables for four like this...		The cafe-bar in a TGV Duplex upper deck in car 4, serving tea, coffee, soft drinks, wine, beer, snacks and microwave-style hot meal dishes....

1st class seats on TGV Duplex upper deck.  That's a 'club duo' on the left & a 'club quatre' on the right.		A TGV Duplex at Figueres Vilafant station.  The red near the door indicates 1st class, pale green 2nd class.

Watch the video:  Inside a TGV Duplex

Sample TGV café-bar menu...

This photo of a TGV bar menu gives you an idea of what's on offer in a typical TGV cafe-bar.  Prices are from November 2012.

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