going by train in 1 day from Goerlitz , Germany to Marseille, France

There is a note on Deutsche Bahn site for the early departure to the effect that there is track work going on between Dresden and Leipzig and the train may run 60 minute early. Adjust transfer time to 45 minutes and you get Dep 5:39, Arr 6:47 Dresden-Neustadt, Dep 8:16, Arr Frankfurt (M) Hbf 12:26, Dep 13:58, Arr 23:03 Marseilles-St Charles. That should be adequate cushion.

Deutsche Bahn states that the 99.90 EUR Sparpreis Europa Ticket as detailed above includes seat reservation on the TGV. You pay 4.50 EUR extra for a seat reservation on the Dresden-Frankfurt leg. Goerlitz-Dresden is a regional train without seat reservations available.

It sounds to me that the child has a Eurailpass/Interrail rather than buying tickets. If so, then jajomax is correct - the reservations would not be included.

On a Sunday with engineering works I would be a bit apprehensive about the change in Frankfurt.

Ordinarily I'd do it in a heartbeat - Frankfurt Hbf is easy to get around because it is a dead end station and even when crowded it only takes a very few minutes to walk the full length of the station. On a normal day I'd be happy with a 15 minute connection. But add in a person who doesn't know the station, engineering works back down the line, a Sunday, and the need to get all the way to Paris to make yet another connection and I would worry.

The connection in Paris is easy enough - I wouldn't taxi, the RER and Métro make connections easy, cheap and fast, and the taxi queue at Paris Gare de l'Est can be quite long.

The bottom line is that your boy has picked quite a long and complicated journey to avoid flying. All the way across Germany followed by most of the way across France makes for potential issues.

But he is young and presumably resilient. Any issues will just make for stories to tell.

Getting from Paris Est to Gare de Lyon can be done easily in one hour on the Metro, even by bus which you catch at Nord, if there is no stop at Est. That's bus #65 from Nord to Gare de Lyon. Yes, he can make the time easily. I've taken the bus from Paris Nord to Gare de Lyon as I don't always use the metro getting from A to B in Paris and often times resort to riding the bus, which takes ca 20 mins. Almost on every trip recently, I take the Paris to Frankfurt route going between Germany and France.

Yes, you do need the mandatory seat reservation on the ICE and the TGV He should get to Gare de Lyon as quickly as possible, get the TGV seat reservation there, although it's easier at Paris Est, only because I know Est than Gare de Lyon

For the ICE seat reservation, get that at Dresden-Neustadt Hbf before he boards. Even if it's crowded at the Reisezentrum, which I would doubt, the wait should not be more than 20-25 mins before he is helped.

He also has plenty of time to make the connection 12:58 in Frankfurt Hbf...sounds all very normal since I've done that connection myself to Paris Est.

I would take the same route as your son if I were going from Görlitz, it's the easiest and most direct, plus I know this route the best. You could go from Görlitz to Dresden Hbf direct, then change to Frankfurt Hbf.

Main thing is that he makes the 12:58 connection direct to Paris Est.

For the ICE seat reservation, get that at Dresden-Neustadt Hbf before he boards. Even if it's crowded at the Reisezentrum, which I would doubt, the wait should not be more than 20-25 mins before he is helped.

Why not do that online and not last minute? Look up your train at www.bahn.com and select seat reservation only. Print out and / or download to the DB navigator at your cell phone (to have it on your cell phone is recommended in any case).

I also would prefer the direct Frankfurt-Marseille TGV over the one that connects in Paris. You avoid changing stations in Paris, avoid a second reservation fee, and have more padding in the timing.

If it's not handy for him to buy that mandatory TGV reservation at a train station wherever he is now, then it's also available as a print-at-home ticket at https://ricksteves.mytraintravel.com/ for $15 plus $8 handling fee. (That procedure is different from ICE reservations within Germany which are optional, not available as print-at-home through the same link, and also cheaper in stations or through the DB web site, 4.50 euros.)

Laura, making the reservation through Rick Steves might be the answer considering that he won't get his rail pass until May 25th, is still in the USA and not leaving for Europe until 6/14/19. He wants to save some money and see the countryside.

We tried the Rick Steve's Rail Europe site and got nothing. It wouldn't even give us the times of the trip. Total bust!! My son and I were here together and both working on it.

I just went to www.raileurope.com and got to the payment page for a $15 seat reservation on the TGV from Frankfurt to Marseille on June 23.

When we went to www.bahn.com there was no where to select seat reservation only. the regular timetable page came up, but nothing showed a place to select seat reservation only that gave us a chance to reserve the TGV. We tried to find a way to take the train to Nuremburg and then go to Frankfurt, but it still went through Leipzig where the repairs are being made. He still wants to go o June 23rd. Any other route suggestions? They are apparently only working o the tracks on 6/23/19 because the 24th looks clear.

You just need to reserve the seat for the TGV. It is a French train, and Bahn apparently cannot sell seat reservations alone. Use Rail Europe. BTW, I do see that besides the $15 reservation fee, there is a separate "Ticketing Fee" of $7.95. I got this:

PRODUCT CONDITIONS
From FRANKFURT MAIN HB to MARSEILLE ST CHAR
France-Germany High Speed 9580 - Reservation included
1 x 2nd Cl Pass
Aisle, Coach 016, Seat 025
Refunds/exchanges are subject to an administrative fee in addition to the following conditions.
Refunds: Non-Refundable
Exchanges: If ticket not used, exchangeable up to 3 days before train departure. Thereafter, no exchange allowed. Passenger must pay the difference in price for next available fare in same or higher class of service.

Will try raileurope page again or will send it to my son. He is dealing with it now! Thank you!

Thank you Sam. I forwarded it to my son. This totally makes sense. Thank you for not giving up!

If it was me, would simply take the direct train from Frankfurt Hbf to Marseille. Saves the hassle of switching trains in Paris, and ends up being a shorter train ride and he has a longer cushion of time in Frankfurt.

The problem is that he can’t get to Frankfurt. He will be in Gorlitz and the tracks are being worked on on 6/23/19 and you can’t get through Leipzig. The 7:43 from Görlitz has him making all of these walks from 1 train to the other and going through Paris. We tried Görlitz to Dresden-Neustadt to Nuremburg and that also goes through Leipzig with a warning sign. Not sure what to try at this point. Maybe something through Dresden’s main station. I will look again.

He doesn't want to roll out of bed to take the 5:39 out of Goerlitz I take it.

He would roll out and take it, but it’s the same problem with the track repair. They show it cancelled now.

I am not seeing any change in status of ICE 1652, still says running 60 minutes early from Dresden.
There are 2 other alternatives, still need to get going early.
1. Take the 5:43 train to Cottbus, changing to 7:05 regional express to Leipzig, arriving 8:57, in time to get the ICE 1652 at 9:33 to Frankfurt at 12:36.
2. Take the 5:43 train to Cottbus, changing to 7:01 regional express to Berlin Hbf, arriving 8:24, in time to get the ICE 1634 at 9:04 to Frankfurt at 12:54, leaving 1 hour to make the TGV to Marseille. ICE 1634 is nonstop Berlin to Frankfurt.

Thank you for looking this up... I will send this to my son to explore further. It looks like he could make it.