Our family (2 adults and 2 children) will be traveling to Switzerland this spring and plan to visit Paris for several days toward the end of our trip. Since the bulk of our trip will be in Switzerland we planned to buy Swiss Rail passes (the kids will travel free) and just purchase separate tickets to Paris. We'll be traveling from Lausanne to Paris, and then from Paris to Zurich. The trains between these destinations seem to generally be TGV trains that would require reservations. Given the time that we'll be spending in Switzerland and the trains we'll be taking there I did not think that a two country Eurail Select Pass would work well. However, while the price from Lausanne to Paris was not too bad, but Paris to Zurich was quite expensive. Is it possible to purchase tickets just from Paris to the border (or coming from Lausanne, from the border to Paris). We would still have days that we could use on the Swiss Rail passes that we planned to buy, so the travel within Switzerland would be covered. I can't find any information on the French rail site on how to do this. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Is it possible to purchase tickets just from Paris to the border (or coming from Lausanne, from the border to Paris).
Yes, as long as your Swiss Pass (or some other Swiss ticket) is valid on that day.
From Paris to Zürich, the border station is Basel
From Lausanne to Paris, the border station is Vallorbe or Geneva, depending on which route the train takes.
But, coming from Paris to Switzerland, where are you heading for? For most locations in central Switzerland it is quicker to change trains in Basel and go from there direct to your destination.
However, while the price from Lausanne to Paris was not too bad, but Paris to Zurich was quite expensive.
Not sure why, unless you picked a holiday. Where are you looking for these prices? I hope it is the company running the trains ( https://www.tgv-lyria.com/en ), or one of the National Railway companies ( SNCF or SBB ), or https://www.trainline.eu/ and NOT an reseller on a different continent.
Finally, why are you going back to Switzerland? Why not just fly home from Paris?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17427 posts
When in spring?
If you buy on SBB.ch it will figure in your Swiss Pass discount and offer you a Sparangebot price for the French portion. I see tickets for the direct train from Lausanne to Paris as low as 68 CHF on March 29.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
I don't see a significant price difference for same-day Paris-Basel or Paris-Zurich direct-train TGV Lyria tickets through Rail Europe, such as these random tests for one person: from $53 mid-week/mid-May, from $73 mid-week/March-April.
It could happen when buying for a group of 4 that the shopping cart doesn't have 4 seats available at the best price. In that case, Rail Europe's cart will bump everyone up to the next price level, while SNCF or other vendors may be better able to split the fare categories.
Your assessment is probably good not to get the two-country pass for this trip. Both passes offer free kids, but the age ranges and other coverage varies. With a 2-country pass for 2nd class, pass holder reservations on TGV Lyria cost about $33 per person.