Paris to Lucerne by Train

Ted and Reesa,

After spending 3 days in Paris, September 2nd to Saturday the
5th/2020, we want to visit friends in Lucerne. I understand there is a
high speed train from Paris to Basil(I believe). We want to take that
and presumably catch another train to Lucerne. How can we check prices
and options for this route?

For train schedules, you can learn the most from the German rail website.

Can we buy food and wine en-route or should we (can we ?) bring our
own?.

Yes, yes, and yes.

Is 1st class on these trains worth it ?

That can only be your call, based on your needs and values and ability to pay.

First class does not get there any quicker, however.

Should we purchase tickets online in advance or get them once we land
in Paris?

If you know when you will be traveling, buy as far in advance as possible. The cheapest tickets are nonrefundable and sell out early.

Best web site for this?

There are several. I will let others explain their favorites, since I have none.

The further in advance you buy tickets for the Paris-Basel segment, the lower the price for a nonrefundable ticket. Prices can range from 58 EUR for 2 up to twice that. Right now, you can only book out to the end of April.
https://en.oui.sncf/en/tgv

Basel to Luzern is always the same price, 34 CHF per person.

2nd class is perfectly comfortable. You can buy food and drink in the restaurant car or bring your own.

We took this trip five years ago, and I used the website below. I kept checking and I believe we bought tickets the first day they were available, which was a three month booking horizon. We took the TGV from Paris to Basel, second class, and it was a pleasant trip. Once we got to Basel we bought the tickets we needed for Switzerland.

https://www.thetrainline.com

Just a suggestion… We took the train from Basil to Engelberg and stayed there for two nights and had a spectacular day traveling up to Mt. Titlis. It was wonderful to have a snowy mountain top experience in the summer. Then we traveled to Luzern for the next part of our trip. We flew out of Zürich, and that was a very easy train trip from Luzern to the Zürich airport.

Laurie

Unfortunately spelling counts on some websites.

Basil is a herb, Basel is the name of the Swiss city. But only in German and English. If look for the same city in French - you might if using the French rail system, and certainly in the Paris train station as you go to board your train - it is Bâle. If you didn't know that you might miss your train.

You may very well be able to get a train all the way through to Luzern. Luzern is the local spelling, in German. Lucerne in English and French. Lake Lucerne is locally known as the 4 wooded cantons lake - Vierwaldstättersee.

I don't think there are any through trains from Paris to Luzern. You would have to go from Paris to Basel or Berne and then change.

Paris to Luzern options for a random day a few months out here https://www.sbb.ch/en/buying/pages/fahrplan/fahrplan.xhtml . Best schedule, IMO, at 7:21 AM less than 5 hours, 1 change. Purchase in advance for CHF 53.00, non-refundable, no pass required. Wait until a few days before and pay CHF 218.00.

Thanks to all of you for your great responses! I especially appreciated the spelling tutorial for Basel. I would have been wandering about the train station trying to find the right train.
I feel empowered enough to go ahead with the booking when it is available.
Ted

Do check availability regularly starting late April, as the old rule of 'bookings open 90 days ahead' is no longer true in France. It's more like 120 days these days, I recently booked tickets for late May!
I think email alerts are available to alert you when booking opens.