Need help, please. Have never purchased tickets for, not ridden on, TGV rail. We will be departing Paris from Gare de l’Est terminal for Reims on TGV. Do you purchase TGV rail tickets at the station or are they purchased online? Can anyone orient me about the station so I would know where the sales office is arriving via Metro? This is a last-minute day trip that we are furiously researching so anything regarding Paris-Reims via TGV would be helpful!
Posted by
Bend, Oregon
2545 posts
You can purchase online https://www.sncf-connect.com/app/en-en/home/search
You can also download the SNCF app and make purchases there. The app is very useful.
Posted by
San Francisco
14979 posts
One can , of course, purchase TGV or regional train tickets in the station on the main floor as you enter from the central , ie main entrance. TGV trains departing for Reims are frequent. They don't sell out.
If you're arriving by Metro, go up to the ground floor. Signs at Est are in English, German as well as in French.
Posted by
Paris
7300 posts
One can , of course, purchase TGV or regional train tickets in the station on the main floor as you enter from the central , ie main entrance. TGV trains departing for Reims are frequent. They don't sell out.
There are indeed plenty of ticket machines. The line for actual ticket booths is usually very long, so use the machines if you do not have a ticket. However, if you know that you will be going to Reims on a certain day, you really should book online in advance: it is much cheaper. You can book up to 120 days ahead, usually.
Posted by
Florida (previously California)
3984 posts
I purchase online even when there is no cost advantage to purchasing ahead of time simply to know that I have the ticket and will not have to deal with the machines. It's easier for me to get my tickets while sitting at home or in my hotel room without the stress that I place on myself of worrying about missing the train because I mess up at the machine. Also, then I know where my ticket is at all times -- it's on my phone in the app.
Posted by
91 posts
TRAINLINE--I used this site for tix Paris to Chartres (pre-RS Paris tour) and for tix Gare de l'Est to Reims (post tour). Inexpensive, but that's really not my travel philosophy, efficient. 1st class on trains was about 2 Euros more than 2nd.
Posted by
Chicago
8551 posts
Purchase on line as early as possible. We actually lucked out a few years ago and got cheap tickets a week in advance -- usually that requires months in advance as the cheap tickets sell out quicikly. but the most expensive tickets are those purchased last minute, sometimes by a factor of 4 or so. And if you wait till the day of travel you may miss the train as lines for ticket windows can be long and slow if you h ave any problems with the machines.
Posted by
28 posts
I purchased the tickets from Paris to Reims on the Trainline app. Very easy and I had the tickets before I left the States. Printed and on my phone.
BTW...check the departure gate about 20 minutes before departure just in case they have changed it since your arrival at yhe station as they did in our case.