France by TGV...  There's no check-in, just walk from the city into the station, glance at the indicator board to find your train & hop on, any time before departure... Buy French train tickets... www.raileurope.com (can be used by anyone, small fee) www.thetrainline.com (can be used by anyone) Omio.com (can be used by anyone, small fee) www.sncf-connect.com (SNCF's own site, no booking fee) ►►►Which website to use? Comparison table

Paris to Nice, Lyon or Bordeaux from €25...

The best way to travel between French town & cities is by train, in comfort at ground level.  France's world-famous TGV travels at up to 199 mph, from city centre to city centre, and if you pre-book direct with the operator you can find some really cheap fares, too.

COVID-19 update:  French domestic trains are running almost normally.  See COVID-19 travel information & update on international trains.

Train travel within France...

  Train schedules & fares

  Maps of the French rail network

  How to buy tickets

  SNCF's discount card Carte Avantage

  What are French trains like?

  TGV, Intercités, overnight trains, TER

  Lo-cost TGV trains: Ouigo

  Paris to Nice by TGV train

  Travel tips:  Luggage, ticket validation, food...

  Places off the network: Corsica, Mont St Michel...

  Charles de Gaulle Airport trains

  Railpasses for France

  Hotels & accommodation in Paris & France

International trains to & from France...

  Train travel from the UK to France

  Trains from Paris to other European cities

  Trains from Nice to other European cities

  Trains from Marseille to other European cities

  Trains from Toulouse to other European cities

  Trains from Bordeaux to other European cities

  Trains from Strasbourg to other European cities

  Trains to Paris from other European cities

Station guides...

  Paris Gare du Nord station information

  Paris Gare de l'Est station information

  Paris Gare de Lyon station information

  Paris Gare d'Austerlitz station information

  Paris Gare Montparnasse station information

  Paris Gare de Bercy station information

  Paris Gare St Lazare station information

  Lyon Part Dieu & St Exupéry station information

General train travel information...

  How to use the French Railways website

  Train seat numbering plans

  Luggage on trains    Left luggage at stations

  Eurail passes   Interrail passes

  General European train travel information

  Child age limits & travel with kids

  Taking bikes   Taking dogs  

  Taking your car - Auto Train

Useful country information

How to check schedules & fares

• You can check train times & fares for any journey in France at the official French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com, called voyages-sncf.com until 2017.  There's no booking fee, but it's a little fiddly and has occasionally been known to struggle with non-European credit cards. 

• You may find it easier to use either www.raileurope.com (formerly Loco2.com, prices in €, £ or $) or www.thetrainline.com (formerly Captaintrain.com, in €, £ or $).  These are easy to use, in plain English, international cards accepted and they sell tickets for other European operators too, not just for French Railways.  Both these sites charge a small booking fee.

• To understand the different types of train such as TGV, TER & Intercité, see the What are French trains like? section.

• As well as regular trains including TGV high-speed trains, French Railways have set up a subsidiary company called Ouigo to run special cheap Ouigo-branded TGVs between Paris and Bordeaux, Lyon, Aix, Avignon, Marseille, Nimes, Montpelier, Cannes & Nice.  These can only be booked at the Ouigo website www.ouigo.com or at www.sncf-connect.com or www.thetrainline.com.  Ouigo is a budget airline on rails, with check-ins, luggage restrictions, no first class, no catering, and on some routes an out-of town Paris station.  SNCF's previous attempt at budget TGVs, iDTGV, has been discontinued.  See the Ouigo page for more information.

Maps of the French rail network...

• Map of the French railway network (please let me know if the link stops working)

• Advice on finding other European rail network maps

You can buy tickets at these self-service machines.  Just click the UK flag on the touch screen for English! Tickets bought online at Raileurope.com, Thetrainline.com, Rail Europe or sncf-connect.com can be collected from these machines, although many tickets are now print-at-home e-tickets so don't need to be collected.  Do you need a credit card to ride this train... or at least to collect the tickets? If you bought your tickets from raileurope.com, Thetrainline.com or Rail Europe you don't need a credit card to collect tickets from these machines, just enter the reference number & your name. But if you bought from sncf-connect.com you'll need to insert the original card you used to buy the tickets.  If this isn't a Chip n PIN credit card you'll need to collect tickets from the staffed ticket office instead. Remember to validate (composter) your ticket before boarding! Print-at-home e-tickets don't need to be validated.

Do you need to buy in advance?

• TER regional, local & suburban trains, no.  This includes all TER (Trains Express Régionaux), Paris suburban trains, and all other local trains.  For example, Lyon-Grenoble or Dijon-Lyon by TER, Cannes-Nice-Monte Carlo by half-hourly local train, Paris to Versailles or CDG airport by RER.  No reservation is necessary or even possible, the train can never sell out, and the fare is fixed so there's no price advantage in pre-booking.  Simply buy a ticket at the station ticket office or from the self-service machines, validate it (composter) in the little yellow machines on the platform, hop on the next train and sit where you like.

• Intercités, probably.  A few shorter-distance Intercité trains don't have compulsory seat reservation, so they can never sell out, you can always buy a full-price ticket at the station and hop on, sitting wherever you like.  Routes include Nantes-Bordeaux, Nantes-Lyon, Toulouse-Hendaye, Béziers-Clermont.  But you can still save some money by booking a cheap train-specific non-refundable prems fare in advance, so it's worth checking online.

  However, most Intercités such as Paris-Limoges-Brive-Toulouse, Paris-Vichy-Clermont, Bordeaux-Toulouse-Montpellier-Marseille and Intercités de nuit require compulsory reservation, just like the TGVs explained below.

• TGV high-speed trains, yes.  TGV high-speed trains are all-reserved.  All tickets for these trains come with a seat reservation automatically included and the price varies like air fares, so pre-book for the cheapest prices.  In practice there are almost always places available on most trains even just before departure, the issue is price.  On the day of departure you'd have to pay the expensive full-flex Pro fare, for example Paris-Nice €125, but if you pre-book you can buy a cheap Prems fare, Paris-Nice from €25.  So it pays to book ahead!  Booking now opens up to 4 months ahead.

Types of fare explained...

• SNCF simplified its fare range for TGV & Intercité trains in May 2019 and in 2nd class there is now just one type of fare - although they call the higher price levels seconde and the cheaper price levels prems, which is SNCF's long-established brand name for cheap fares.

  So you'll now only see one 2nd class price against any given train at any given time of booking, in contrast to the several different flexible, inflexible and semi-flexible 2nd class fares they used to have.  In 1st class there are two fare types, première (1st) & business première (business 1st).

  Prices are dynamic like airline fares, cheaper booked in advance, more expensive booked closer to departure, cheaper on quiet trains, days & dates, more expensive on popular trains, days & dates.  All tickets commit you to a specific train, so have to be changed if you want to travel earlier or later.

  All 1st & 2nd class fares are now changeable & refundable, free of charge until 30 days before travel, then for a €5 fee until 3 days before travel, then for a €15 fee until half an hour before departure.  In all cases you also have to pay any difference in fare.  From 30 minutes before the train departs, tickets can be changed up to two times for the same day and the same journey, but they become non-refundable once exchanged.  Tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable after departure.

  Business première fares are totally flexible, changeable without any fee until 30 minutes after departure.  From 30 minutes before the train departs, tickets can be changed up to two times for the same day and the same journey, but they are non-refundable once exchanged.  These fares are expensive, aimed at business travellers as their name suggests.

• Local and regional (TER) trains just have one fixed price fare, usually termed Tariff normal.  These tickets are valid for one journey on any train leaving until midnight on the day after you validate it in the little composter machines on the platform.  Sometimes there are cheaper tariffs at off-peak times, but that depends on the region.

How to buy tickets at the station...

• It's easy to buy tickets at the station even if you don't speak French.  For local journeys such as Paris-Versailles or Nice-Cannes, you just turn up, buy a ticket and hop on, no reservation necessary.  You can buy tickets from the multi-lingual self-service machines at main stations.  Just touch the UK flag for English.  The machines only accept Chip and PIN cards, so if you don't have one of those, you'll need to go to the ticket office instead.

• For long-distance trains including all TGV, Intercités & Intercités de Nuit overnight trains, reservation is compulsory, but there are usually seats available even on the day of travel and you can buy a ticket immediately before the train departs.  But there are much cheaper fares if you pre-book.

• Remember to validate your tickets by putting them into the little yellow machines marked Compostez votre billet at the entrance to every platform - there's a fine if you don't!  Print-at-home tickets don't need to be validated.

How to buy train tickets online...

• You should choose which website you use to buy tickets very carefully!  Read on...

• French train bookings now open up to 4 months ahead.  You can't book before reservations open.  However, bookings for dates after the timetable change at midnight on the 2nd Saturday in December (including Christmas) usually only open around 15-18 October.

• In a logical world, French Railways (SNCF) would have one website, in various languages, with ticket delivery anywhere.  But this is not a logical world, and SNCF has a variety of different subsidiary websites.  Comparison of the various sites which can book French trains.

• Buying direct from SNCF at www.sncf-connect.com:  This is French Railways' own website selling tickets in € at the official SNCF price with no added booking fee.  Tickets can be collected at any main French station or in many cases printed out at home.  They will also send tickets to any country worldwide except the USA. Tip:   If you get a collect at station ticket from www.sncf-connect.com you need a chip & PIN credit card to collect from the machines (without chip & PIN you'll need to use the staffed ticket counter) but if you buy at raileurope.com or thetrainline.com no credit card is necessary to collect tickets, just the booking reference.

• Buy at www.raileurope.com (formerly Loco2.com).  Two young British entrepreneurs wanted to make train tickets easier to buy and started Loco2, although it was acquired by SNCF in 2018 and was rebranded raileurope.com in November 2019.  It links directly to SNCF's ticketing system to sell the same tickets as SNCF at the same prices, same lack of any added booking fee or mark-up, same print-your-own or show-on-smartphone tickets.  You can pay in €, £ or $.  It can also sell forfait Bambin tickets to give your infant under 4 their own reserved seat.  Anyone of any nationality can buy tickets at www.raileurope.com and print them out or collect them from any main French station.  They ask you to print tickets in A4 size, but if you're American printing tickets on Letter size paper is absolutely fine.  However, from September 2019 they charge a small booking fee.  Who are Raileurope.com?

• Buy at www.thetrainline.com.  Three young French entrepreneurs thought they could sell SNCF tickets better than SNCF themselves - and I think they were right.   Original called Capitainetrain.com, it's been acquired by the UK's Trainline.com and is now www.thetrainline.com.  Like raileurope.com it connects to SNCF's ticketing system to sell exactly the same tickets at the same prices as SNCF, but also now charges a booking fee.  Like Raileurope.com it's easier to use than www.sncf-connect.com.  Anyone of any nationality can buy tickets at www.thetrainline.com and print them out or collect them from any main French station.  Just like www.sncf-connect.com (and unlike the Rail Europes) Thetrainline.com can book forfait Bambin tickets to give your infant under 4 their own reserved seat and even Espace Privatif (sole or dual occupancy of a couchette compartment on a French overnight train.  It also offers a full range of seating options including (on routes where it's possible to specify) forward-facing seats.  Who are Thetrainline.com?

Which website should you use to buy French train tickets?

Most train operators just have one website which you can use no matter where you live.  French Railways set up multiple Rail Europe subsidiaries trying to serve residents of specific countries or continents, but with differing functionality & fees.  In 2020 they are trying to simplify things, so many former Raiol Europe websites have been rolled into just one, Raileurope.com, using the booking engine formerly developed by the excellent Loco2.com. Here's a summary of the features of each site, you can draw your own conclusions.  As far as price is concerned, all the sites below charged the same basic fare (give or take exchange rates) at least based on recent test-bookings for French domestic journeys.

Type = offers basic choice of aisle, window, table-for-four or (in 1st class) a table-for-two or solo seat. 

Facing = offers option to request a seat facing direction of travel, only on those few TGV routes where this is possible, see the explanation below.

Deck = offers choice of upper or lower deck on a double-decker TGV Duplex, I recommend top deck for the best views.

Ouigo = Special lo-cost budget-airline-on-rails TGV trains branded Ouigo, see the Ouigo page for information.

FB = Forfait Bambin, allows you to pay a few euros to reserve a seat for your infant aged 0-3, more information here.

EP = Espace Privatif, allows you to book sole or dual occupancy of a 4-berth couchette on a French night train, more information here.

CA = Carte Avantage, can this website sell tickets with a discount if you have SNCF's Carte Avantage?

*  This assumes you are offered an e-ticket or collect-at-station delivery option for your journey, which you usually are for most French domestic journeys.  For a handful of journeys or fare types, tickets must be sent by post and whether you can use the site in question then depends on what it says in the Will they send paper tickets? column.

** www.sncf-connect.com (formerly voyages-sncf.com) has always worked with any credit card, but occasionally I receive an It's rejected my credit card email from Americans and Australians.  They may have tightened up on card acceptance rules, especially if you use their site at weekends when their fraud team is out of the office.

Buy train tickets by phone in the UK...

If you live in the UK you can buy French train tickets by phone with a number of UK-based train travel specialists, for example, International Rail on 0844 248 248 3, lines open 09:00-17:00 Monday-Friday.  They charge a £10 booking fee for bookings under £100, £20 for £100-£300, £30 above £300. In many cases tickets can be emailed to you as e-tickets, so there's no postage fee or delay.  But bear in mind it's quicker and easier and cheaper to book online...

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SNCF's discount card: Carte Avantage

What is a Carte Avantage?

• Carte Avantage is SNCF's discount card for leisure travel.  You buy it for a year and it gives discounts on travel.  It may justify the price even for one or two long trips, especially if you're booking close to your departure date when fares would normally be expensive.

• Man in Seat 61's top tip:  You can read the small print until you're blue in the face, and it doesn't help that on TER regional trains the Carte Avantage reduction varies, in some cases no discount at all.  So before buying a Carte Avantage, run an enquiry for the journeys you actually plan to make, on the same days of the week, using www.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com (a) without a Carte Avantage and (b) with a Carte Avantage discount added.  See what that does to prices in reality.  If you see no difference, the discount may not apply to your particular journey.  If you see a difference, do the savings justify the cost of the card?

Types of Carte Avantage...

• Carte Avantage Adulte costs €49 at the time I write this and lasts one year, see details & buy online.

  It can be bought by anyone regardless of nationality or country of residence.  The card is emailed to you in digital form as a .pdf.

  It gives 30% discount on French domestic TGV & Intercité journeys and 25%-50% on some TER regional networks if your journey is:

  (a) one-way on a Saturday or Sunday; or

  (b) a return journey on any day of the week which includes a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night away; or

  (c) one-way or return on any day of the week if accompanied by at least one child under 12.

  One accompanying adult also gets the same discount - in other words, if there are 2 of you, you only need one Carte Avantage.

  Up to 3 accompanying children under 12 years old get 60% off TGV & Intercité fares, and a varying amount off TER fares.

  In addition, fares are capped when you have a Carte Avantage so they remain affordable even close to travel date where they'd otherwise be high.

  The 30% discount also applies to some international journeys, notably the Paris-Luxembourg TGVs, Paris-Milan TGVs, Paris-Barcelona TGVs; TGVs & ICEs between Paris & Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich; and TGV-Lyria between Paris & Switzerland.

  However, there is no discount on Eurostar or Thalys, or on TER trains in some French regions.

  There is no discount on one-way journeys on weekdays (unless you're travelling with a child), or on some international journeys, so see my top tip below to check whether a Carte Avantage will work for your own specific journeys.

• Carte Avantage Jeune is for anyone aged 12 but under 28 years old, see details & buy online.  This costs the same as the adult version, but the discounts apply one-way or round trip on any day of the week, without the weekend or accompanying child restriction.  However, there's no discount for a second adult.  You can buy wherever  you live and whatever your nationality, the card is emailed to you in digital form as a .pdf.

• Carte Avantage Senior for anyone over 60, see details & buy online.  This costs the same as the adult version, but the discounts apply one-way or round trip on any day of the week, without the weekend or accompanying child restriction.  However, there's no discount for a second adult.  You can buy wherever  you live and whatever your nationality, the card is emailed to you in digital form as a .pdf.

How to buy a Carte Avantage...

• See details & buy online

Booking tickets with a Carte Avantage discount...

• As soon as you have bought your Carte Avantage and the card has been emailed to you, you can buy tickets with discount at either www.thetrainline.com (easiest, small booking fee) or www.sncf-connect.com (a little more fiddly).

  When using www.thetrainline.com, don't click Add railcard as you will only see UK railcards, first set up the relevant French origin & destination, then click Add loyalty and railcards, then click SNCF - Discount cards.

  Ironically, you cannot use a Carte Avantage at www.raileurope.com even though it is owned by SNCF.

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Trains à Grande Vitesse (TGV)...

• TGVs or Trains à Grande Vitesse are SNCF's premier high-speed trains.  They run on long distance routes covering most of France at up to 186 mph (300 km/h).  In fact, they run at up to 198 mph (320 km/h) on the new TGV-Est route from Paris to Reims, Strasbourg, Metz, Luxembourg & Basel, opened in 2007.  Smooth & quiet even at high speed, it's a very relaxing way to travel.  All but a handful of shorter-distance TGVs have a cafe-bar, and all have toilets, wheelchair accessible spaces and toilets, and plenty of luggage space. 

• Seat reservation is compulsory on TGV services, and all tickets come with a seat reservation automatically included. 

• There are several types of TGV including the double-decker TGV Duplex, for plans of the seating layout on various TGV types see the Train seat numbering page. 

• See the TGV page for more photos, tips & information about travelling by TGV.

A single-deck TGV in the old blue colours.		1st class seats on a single-deck TGV...

1st class seats on a TGV Duplex upper deck.		A double-deck TGV Duplex in the new red/grey colours.

Ouigo & iDTGV...

• In 2013, French Railways launched a lo-cost TGV service, a budget-airline-on-rails called Ouigo, www.ouigo.com.  For more information see the Ouigo page.

• SNCF used to have a subsidiary company called iDTGV to run special cheap TGVs which was less aggressively budget-airline-style than Ouigo, but all iDTGV services were discontinued in December 2017.

Intercités...

• Intercités is the name given to SNCF's remaining non-high-speed long-distance express trains.  They come in two varieties, Intercités with compulsory reservation and Intercités without compulsory reservation.

• Intercités with compulsory reservation are mostly smart locomotive-hauled trains running at up to 125mph, many using stylish air-conditioned cars formerly branded Téoz like the ones shown below, although SNCF has ceased using the Téoz branding.  New electric units are slowly coming on stream for Intercité services to replace the locomotive-hauled cars.  All seats have access to power sockets.  Intercité routes include the Paris-Limoges-Brive-Toulouse (POLT) route and Nantes-Bordeaux-Toulouse-Perpignan-Marseille.  All tickets for these trains come with a seat reservation for a specific train automatically included.  See seating plan.

• Intercités without compulsory reservation usually use similar locomotive-hauled coaches with a plainer interior.  There are only a few routes left now, Nantes-Bordeaux, Nantes-Lyon, Toulouse-Hendaye, Béziers-Clermont.  Most other routes in this category have now been handed over to the French regions and have become TER, notably Paris-Boulogne-Calais & Paris-Normandy.  As the name suggests, you don't need a reservation for these trains, you can just turn up, buy an open ticket which can never sell out, get on and sit where you like.  Seat reservation is an optional extra if you want it.  Although these trains don't need to be pre-booked, if you book in advance you can often find cheaper train-specific prems fares which save money over the on-the-day full-flex price.

• All Intercités have plenty of room for luggage, toilets, and often some form of catering - either a trolley service or a cafe-bar.

• Some routes formerly branded Intercité have become TER (for example, Paris-Amiens-Boulogne-Calais), whilst Paris-Normandy Intercités have been rebranded Train Nomad with modern unit trains replacing or about to replace the old locomotive-hauled carriages.

Intercité train.  Courtesy of Christoph Grafe...

1st class seats...		2nd class seats...

Older 2nd class interior...		Older 1st class interior...		Intercité train...

Intercités de Nuit...

• SNCF's overnight sleeper trains are called Intercités de Nuit although the network has been decimated and there are only three or four routes left.  Taking an overnight train with couchettes can be great fun and the most time-effective way to travel, in effect faster than flying.  Sleep your way to the south of France in a comfy couchette, from Paris to Narbonne, Perpignan, Toulouse, Rodez, Briancon or Latour de Carol for as little as €35 each way booked at www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com. 

• Although these trains only have 6-berth 2nd class or 4-berth 1st class couchettes, you can book sole or dual occupancy of a couchette compartment as explained here.

• For more information, photos & a video guide see the Intercités de Nuit page.

A French overnight train...  More photos & information about French Intercités de Nuit		French couchettes are equipped with lightweight sleeping bags for a cosy night's sleep...

Trains Express Régionaux (TER)...

• Trains Express Régionaux (TER) come in all shapes and sizes, but a typical modern single-deck TER diesel train is shown below.  TERs are local regional trains, with affordable fixed-price open tickets and no advance-purchase discounts so you may as well just buy at the station on the day - these trains can never 'sell out'.  There are no seat reservations, you just sit where you like.  Some TERs are double-deck and a few consist of locomotive-hauled mainline carriages, such as the Paris-Dijon-Lyon TER trains.  All TER trains have space for luggage on various racks, and many carry bikes too.  Most also have toilets.

Inside a modern TER.		A TER diesel train at Calais Ville.

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• Maps of the French rail network:  See the section on the Train travel in Europe page about rail maps.

  	Compostez votre billet!  Before boarding your train, don't forget to validate your ticket in one of these yellow compostez validation machines near the entrance to each platform.

• Printing your ticket:  These days you'll often get a print-at-home ticket for a French train journey.  You should print it out full-size on normal A4 paper, but if you're American it's absolutely fine to print on US Letter Size paper which is very similar.

• Collecting your ticket:  Some tickets can't be self-printed so need to be collected from the self-service ticket machines at any French station.  If you bought your tickets online at www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com or any Rail Europe site, all you need is the booking reference and lead passenger name, you don't need the credit card you used.  However, if you bought online at www.sncf-connect.com (any version) you'll need to insert the original credit card, which will need to be chip n PIN for the machine to work.  If your credit card isn't chip n PIN and you bought from www.sncf-connect.com you'll need to collect from the staffed counter, rather than from the machines.  See photos showing how to collect tickets.

• Ticket validation:  All French train tickets (except print-at-home e-tickets) must be validated just before you board your train, by putting them into the small yellow machines marked Compostez votre billet at the entrance to each platform.  There may be a fine if you don't!

• Language problems:  First-time visitors often think this will be a problem, but it hardly ever is.  At stations, signs are usually in English as well as French, or easy-to-understand pictograms are used.

• Food & drink on French trains:   Most long-distance trains have a cafe-bar, serving tea, coffee, wine, beer & snacks.  French domestic trains no longer have restaurant cars, though a few key Monday-Friday business services offer pre-bookable at-seat meals in first class.  However, feel free to bring your own food and drink (even a bottle of wine, if you like) onto the train, there's no rules against that on the rails!

• A meal at the Gare de Lyon?  If you're passing through Paris via the Gare de Lyon, consider dining at the famous Train Bleu restaurant inside the station.  It was originally the Gare de Lyon's grand buffet, opened in 1903 and decorated in a sumptuous art nouveau style.  It's not the cheapest restaurant around, as the set menu costs around 48 euros, but the food is superb and the surroundings are perhaps the most spectacular you will ever eat a meal in.  It's an experience in itself, and well worth it!  The restaurant's website is www.le-train-bleu.com, just email them to book a table.  You can also use their bar section to wait for your train while you have a coffee or beer, far better than waiting for your train at one of the draughty cafe tables downstairs on the concourse!

  Luggage on trains:  There are no baggage fees or weight limits, and you don't check your bags in, you simply take them with you onto the train, placing them on the racks at the end of each car, or above your head.  More information about luggage on trains.

  Train formation display, showing where along the platform each car of a train will stop, so you can be waiting in the right place when your train comes in!

• Left luggage at stations:  Major French stations including Paris Gare du Nord, Paris Gare d'Austerlitz Est & Paris Gare de Lyon have left-luggage lockers in various sizes, up to suitcase-sized.  Expect to have your bags X-rayed before entry to the locker area.  More information on left luggage lockers including current prices.

• Bicycles:  You can take a bike with you free of charge on suburban & regional trains.  On Intercités de Nuit overnight trains & TGVs on a few routes, you can take them for a small fee, about €10.  On other TGVs, you'll need to place you bike in a zip-up 'bike bag' & they then travel free.  For more information, see the bicycles by train page.

• Dogs & pets:  Dogs can be taken on all French trains, sometimes free, sometimes for a small fee.  For more information, see the dogs & pets page.

• Can I book a seat facing direction of travel?  Only on some routes, and then only if you book through the right website!  You can book a seat facing the direction of travel on a handful of TGV routes where the trains have been equipped with a special seat numbering system.  On these trains, each seat has two possible numbers and the relevant one lights up depending on the direction of the train.  Routes equipped with this system where you can choose a seat facing direction of travel include TGV-Atlantique Paris-Brittany, Paris-Bordeaux/Biarritz/Lourdes/Spanish border and most TGV-Est trains Paris-Reims-Nancy-Strasbourg, Paris-Luxembourg and also the Paris-Italy TGVs Paris-Turin-Milan.  Choosing a facing seat is not possible on TGV Duplex, or on routes such as Lille-Lyon-Avignon/Marseille/Bordeaux/Montpelier, Paris-Avignon-Marseille-Nice, Paris-Lyon, Paris-Nimes-Montpelier.  But if there are two of you and you choose dual face to face in 1st class, or a table for 4 (family or facing) in 2nd class, you'll know you always have at least one seat facing.  See this comparison table to see which websites can book a forward-facing seat where it is an option, and which sites can't.

• Can I book a reserved seat for my baby or infant?  Infants under 4 go free on French trains, no ticket necessary, just buy tickets for yourself and bring your infant along without a ticket.  However, they don't get their own seat if they go free, so they'll have to sit on your lap.  You may want a seat for your baby carrier or wriggly 2 or 3 year old, I know I would!  No problem, on French domestic TGV, TER and Intercité trains you can pay an extra flat €9 for a 'forfait Bambin' and get a reserved seat for your infant next to yours, in either class.  You can only book forfait Bambin tickets at www.raileurope.com (recommended), www.thetrainline.com (recommended) or at www.sncf-connect.com, not at any of the Rail Europe websites.  If you want a forfait Bambin, go to www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com and simply add a passenger with their age 0-3, and it will be added automatically.

How to change trains & stations in Paris...

• See the changing trains & stations in Paris page.

• Paris metro & bus website

Which station in Paris?

• The Gare du Nord serves trains to the north:  Lille, Amiens, Boulogne, Calais, Dunquerque, London, Brussels, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Cologne.

• The Gare de l'Est serves trains to the east:  Nancy, Strasbourg, Reims, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, sleepers to Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Moscow

• The Gare de Lyon serves TGV trains to the south-east:  Lyon, Avignon, Marseille, Cannes, Nice, Monte Carlo, Nîmes, Montpellier, Narbonne, Perpignan, Turin, Milan, Geneva, Bern, Lausanne, Basel, Zurich.

• The Gare d'Austerlitz serves Téoz trains to Limoges, Toulouse, & overnight couchette trains to Cannes, Nice, Monte Carlo, Toulouse, Perpignan, Narbonne, Lourdes, Biarritz, Madrid & Barcelona.

• The Gare Montparnasse serves TGV trains to the southwest: Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes, Biarritz, Lourdes, Brest, Rennes.

• The Gare St Lazare serves Dieppe and the immediate north.

• The Gare de Bercy, a little known station down the road from the Gare de Lyon, now handles most trains to Clermont Ferrand.

• Charles de Gaulle airport has its own station, served by TGV high-speed trains on the Paris by-pass line and by RER express metro trains into central Paris, see the section below.

• Disneyland Paris is right next to Marne La Vallée station.  This is linked to central Paris by frequent turn-up-and-go RER express metro trains, just buy tickets at the station on the day.  Marne la Vallée is also served by mainline TGV high-speed trains on the Paris by-pass line, carrying trains from Brussels & Lille in the North to Lyon, Avignon, Marseille, Nimes & Montpellier in the south, for times & tickets use www.thetrainline.com.  For park information & tickets see www.disneylandparis.com.

Places not served by the main rail network...

• Mont St Michel has no station, the nearest station is Pontorson-Mont St Michel which is about 5 miles away.

  Option 1, cheapest & easiest, but slower, total journey from Paris around 4h30:  Take a regional train from Paris Montparnasse to Pontorson-Mont St Michel then an integrated connecting bus to Mont St Michel.  You can book from Paris to Mont St Michel as one transaction at www.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com, you'll get a through ticket covering both the train and the connecting bus.  There aren't many departures per day, typically one morning service out and one late afternoon service back, allowing day or weekend trips from Paris.  If these don't suit you, buy a ticket to/from Pontorson-Mont St Michel station and use a taxi between the station and Mont St Michel. 

  Tip:  When selecting your seating options on www.thetrainline.com, don't panic when it says 'no places available' against the bus (or in French 'car').  That just means there are no allocated seats, you can sit where you like.  It does not mean the bus is full!  And yes, it's a bus between Pontorson and Mont St Michel, not a train, whatever it looks like in the data.

  Option 2, faster, total journey from Paris around 3h:  Take a high-speed TGV from Paris Montparnasse to Rennes in 1h30 then a connecting Keolis bus from Rennes to Mont St Michel in around 1h10.  From April to September there are 3 buses a day between Rennes & Mont St Michel in each direction, see keolis-armor.com.  Book a suitable train to/from Rennes at www.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com.  Buy the bus ticket at Rennes bus station, see keolis-armor.com for prices & more info.

  Option 3, between May & September there's also a daily bus from St Malo to Mont St Michel, journey time 1h20, see keolis-armor.com for dates, times, prices & more info.  St Malo is linked by ferry to Portsmouth with www.brittany-ferries.co.uk and with Paris by train.

• St Tropez:  Take a train to St Raphael.  Bus 7601 links St Raphael bus station (next to the railway station) with St Tropez bus station every hour, journey time 1h35, fare around €3, check times and buy tickets using the Zou regional transport smartphone app at zou.maregionsud.fr.

• The Nice-Digne railway is a private and very scenic line linking Nice (CFP station) with Digne.  Highly recommended, see www.trainprovence.com.

• Corsica:  Corsica can easily be reached by comfortable ferry from a variety of ports in Southern France, including Marseille, Toulon or Nice.  The principal ferry operators are SNCM (www.sncm.fr) and Corsica Ferries (www.corsicaferries.com).  For train service on Corsica see http://cf-corse.fr.

Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport station...

• For journeys between CDG Airport and central Paris, simply use the frequent RER express metro - RER Line B has stations at both Terminal 1 & Terminal 2.  RER trains run every 6 to 15 minutes, journey time into Paris around 50 minutes, fare around €10 valid to any RER or metro station in central Paris.  No reservation is necessary or possible for the RER, just buy a ticket at the station on the day.  For more info see http://easycdg.com.

• Charles de Gaulle Airport also has its own TGV station, which is on the high-speed line that by-passes Paris.  It's served by TGVs to Lille & Brussels in the north and to Lyon, Avignon, Marseille, Perpignan, Cannes, Nice, Rennes, Nantes, Le Mans, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Toulouse to the south.  You can check TGV times & prices and buy tickets from CDG to destinations across France at either www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com.

• Remember that TGV tickets are only valid on the specific TGV you book.  Cheap tickets become worthless if your flight is late and you miss your train, so I recommend allowing at least 3 hours between your flight's scheduled landing time and any TGV leaving CDG station.

• You'll find more frequent trains to these destinations from the relevant station in central Paris, often with greater availability of cheaper tickets, so if you don't see a convenient departure with an attractive price leaving direct from CDG, use www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com to check train times & prices from central Paris to your destination, leaving Paris at least 4 hours after your flight lands, and simply hop on the RER express metro to the relevant central Paris station as explained above.

• You can't reach every French destination from CDG TGV station - If you're bound for Normandy, Limoges, Brive, Cahors or Clermont Ferrand for example you'll have to take the RER into central Paris as explained above and then take a train from the relevant station in central Paris.

Railpasses for France

• By all means check out the Interrail pass for France (for European residents, see the Interrail pass information page) or Eurail passes for France (for non-Europeans, see the Eurail pass information page).  However, passes have lost their convenience factor as all TGV, ex-Téoz Intercité de jour, & Intercités de Nuit overnight trains now require a seat reservation before boarding.  A €10 or €20 reservation fee needs to be paid on top of the pass price for each long-distance journey which must be factored into your budget - the €10 seat reservations have a limited quota, when it sells out the fee becomes €20.  For one or two specific journeys, you may find it easier just to book regular cheap advance-purchase tickets at www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com.

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Recommended guidebooks

Paying for a guidebook may seem an unnecessary expense, but it's a tiny fraction of what you're spending on your whole trip.  You will see so much more, and know so much more about what you're looking at, if you have a decent guidebook.  I recommend the Lonely Planet or Rough Guides as the best ones out there for independent travellers.  Click the images to buy the books - if you buy anything at Amazon through these links, Seat61.com gets a small commission (at no extra cost to you) to help support the site.  My own book is an essential handbook for train travel to Europe based on this website called "The Man in Seat 61".

Click the images to buy at Amazon.co.uk...

Alternatively, you can download just the chapters or areas you need in .PDF format from the Lonely Planet Website, from around £2.99 or US$4.95 a chapter.

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European Rail Timetable & maps

The European Rail Timetable (formerly the Thomas Cook European Timetable) has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency & climate information.  It is essential for regular European train travellers and an inspiration for armchair travellers.  Published since 1873, it had just celebrated 140 years of publication when Thomas Cook decided to pull the plug on their entire publishing department, but the dedicated ex-Thomas Cook team set up a private venture and resumed publication of the famous European Rail Timetable in March 2014.  You can buy it online at www.amazon.co.uk (UK addresses) or www.europeanrailtimetable.eu (shipping worldwide).  More information on what the European Rail Timetable contains.

Rail Map Europe is the map I recommend, covering all of Europe from Portugal in the west to Moscow & Istanbul in the east, Finland in the north to Sicily & Athens in the south.  Scenic routes & high-speed lines are highlighted.  See an extract from the map.  Buy online at www.europeanrailtimetable.eu (shipping worldwide) or for £9.67 at www.amazon.co.uk (UK addresses).

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Custom-made train tours in France

Railbookers are a train travel specialist who can put together a tour or short break for you as a package, including rail travel, hotels & transfers.  On their website you'll find a range of suggested tours & holidays which can be varied or customised to your own requirements.  And as you're booking a package, they'll take care of you if anything happens to one part of the itinerary such as a strike or delay.  They now have offices in the UK, USA & Australia.

  UK call 0207 864 4600, www.railbookers.co.uk.

  US call free 1-888-829-4775, see website.

  Canada call free 1-855-882-2910, see website.

  Australia call toll-free 1300 971 526, see website.

  New Zealand call toll-free 0800 000 554 or see website.

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Find hotels in Paris & France

My favourite hotel search site: www.booking.com www.booking.com is my favourite hotel booking site and I generally prefer booking my hotels all in one place here.  You can usually book with free cancellation - this allows you to confirm your accommodation at no risk before train booking opens.  It also means you can hold accommodation while you finalise your itinerary, and alter your plans as they evolve - a feature I use all the time when putting a trip together.  I never book hotels non-refundably.  I have also come to trust their review scores - you won't be disappointed with anything over 8.0. Tip:  It can pay to compare prices across multiple hotel sites:  HotelsCombined.com is a price comparison site which compares hotel prices on Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia, Accor, Agoda and many others.  Though if there's not much in it, I prefer keeping all my bookings together in one place at www.booking.com.

Hotels near the Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est, Gare de Lyon & other Paris stations:

If you need to stay over between trains, here are some suggestions that are both very close and get good reviews:

• Hotels near the Gare du Nord with good reviews:  Libertel Gare du Nord Suede (5 min walk from Gare du Nord, 2-star), 25 Hours Terminus Nord (formerly the Mercure Terminus Nord, now refurbished in a decidedly funky style, 3-star, directly across the road from the station);  Art Hotel (3-star);  Avalon Hotel (2-star);  Hotel Cambrai (5 min walk from Gare du Nord, 1-star).

• Hotels near the Gare de 'Est with good reviews:  Libertel Gare de l'Est Français (opposite the station, 3-star);  Libertel Gare du Nord Suede (350m from the Gare de l'Est, 2-star).  Comfort Hotel Gare de l'Est (2-star).

• Hotels near the Gare de Lyon with good reviews:  Citizen M Hotel (just along the road from the station, 4-star, great reviews), Hotel Terminus Lyon (right in front of the station, 3-star);  Mercure Paris Gare de Lyon (on the station itself, 4-star);   Novotel Paris Gare de Lyon (opposite the station, 4-star);  Mistral Hotel (800m from Gare de Lyon, 1-star);  Hotel de Reims (5 min walk from Gare de Lyon, 2-star);

• Hotels near the Gare Montparnasse with good reviews:  Mercure Paris Gare Montparnasse (150m from the Gare Montparnasse, 4-star);  Best Western Sevres Montparnasse (15 minute walk to Gare Montparnasse, 3-star);  La Maison Montparnasse (10 min walk from station, 2-star);  Hotel du Maine (5 min walk from station, 2-star).

A special hotel for that romantic break in Paris...

• There's the famous & flashy Paris Ritz in the Place Vendôme of course (over €900 a night) or the similarly-priced Le Meurice, but if you want a really special hotel for a luxury break or romantic weekend and can afford to splurge around €280 a night, I'd recommend the small, sumptuous and intimate L'Hotel.  It's on the bohemian left bank, walking distance from the Seine, the Ile de la Cité & Notre Dame.  Oscar Wilde spent the last days of his life here in room 16, and the hotel has been used by many famous people from Sinatra to Mick Jagger.  Rooms are on the cosy side, but they are beautifully decorated and have character that other hotels lack.

Other hotel sites worth trying...

• www.tripadvisor.com is a good place to browse independent travellers' reviews of the main hotels, and it has the low-down on destination sights & attractions, too.

Backpacker hostels: www.hostelworld.com...

• www.hostelworld.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in Paris and most other European cities at rock-bottom prices.

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Travel insurance & VPN

Always take out travel insurance...

You should take out travel insurance with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover from a reliable insurer.  It should cover trip cancellation and loss of cash & belongings up to a reasonable limit.  These days, check you're covered for covid-19-related issues, and use an insurer whose cover isn't invalidated by well-meant but excessive Foreign Office travel advice against non-essential travel. An annual policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I use an annual policy myself.  Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, see the advice on missed connections here.  Here are some suggested insurers, I get a little commission if you buy through these links, feedback always welcome.

www.staysure.co.uk offers enhanced Covid-19 protection & covers you even if the FCDO advises against non-essential travel.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over 65, see www.JustTravelCover.com.

You can use www.confused.com to compare prices & policy features across major insurance companies.

  If you live in the USA try Travel Guard USA.

Get a Curve card to save on foreign transaction fees...

Banks often give a poor exchange rate, then charge a currency conversion fee as well.  A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month as I write this.  The balance goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.  And you can get a Curve card for free.

How it works:  1. Download the app for iPhone or Android.  2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to most European addresses including the UK.  3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app.  4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, just like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance onto whichever of your debit or credit cards you choose.  You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.

I use a Curve Blue card myself - I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I'm recommending it here because I think it's great.  See details, download the app and get a Curve card - they'll give you £5 cashback through that link, too.

Get a VPN for safe browsing.  VPNs & why you need one explained...

When you're travelling you often use free WiFi in public places which may not be secure.  A VPN means your connection to the internet is encrypted & always secure, even using unsecured WiFi.  In countries such as China where access to Twitter & Facebook is restricted, a VPN gets around these restrictions.  And lastly, you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geographic restrictions which some websites apply - for example one booking site charges a booking fee to non-European visitors but none to European visitors, so if you're not located in Europe you can avoid this fee by browsing with a UK IP address using a VPN.  VPNs & why you need one explained.  ExpressVPN is a best buy and I use it myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using the links on this page, you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription, and I get a small commission to help support this site.

 

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