We are going to Paris in July. We will be in France for a week before we need to arrive in Florence. We want to spend a few days in Paris, go to Normandy and then on to Tuscany. What site should I go to for train tickets? Is it better to get a railpass or just buy as we go? We are seniors.
Posted by
Dallas
1022 posts
www.raileurope.com You'll have to compare ticket costs vs. rail pass cost to know which is best.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Likely point to point tickets will be your best bet. You can check tgv-europe.com, the website of the French national rail service, for prices and schedules...and you can purchase tickets there, too. Tell the site your home country is Great Britain and you'll avoid being kicked over to the RailEurope website, which will charge you a lot more and offer far fewer trips. You will definitely need to book as soon as possible for the Paris-Florence route....but I believe that, except for the first class single cabins, the overnight train accommodations are segregated by gender.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
Goodness, don't use Rail Europe for that! You'll pay extra and will only get to use some of the trains.
They're OK for rail passes, but I doubt that's a very good deal for you. Maybe a France Saverpass.
Posted by
S.F. Bay Area, CA, United States
1878 posts
We just went through a travel agent, it did not cost us anything more if I recall correctly. This was back in 2001. You do want to make sure and get your ticket in advance so that you can get a sleeper cabin.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
For Paris to Normandy and return there is no need to book tickets in advance. For example, if Bayeux is your destination, you can get a Discovery Senior fare of 25.80 EUR/person on any train.
For Paris-Florence day trains you should book ASAP (up to 90 days allowed) at www.tgv-europe.com to get a fare as low as 97 EUR/person. As Steve said, choose Great Britain as your country of residence.
If you're going to take the direct Paris-Florence night train, again book ASAP at tgv-europe.com to get a fare as low as 140 EUR/person for beds in a 2-person sleeper. So long as you book both beds, a man and a woman can share the sleeper.
4-person couchettes are either mixed or women only. 6-person couchettes are mixed.