France Train Travel – Two questions

Joe, Gare de l'Est is a major station; it will definitely have manned windows (and lines). For that reason (lines), do get your tickets early if possible - I do. AND DON'T FORGET to bring the same credit card you bought the tickets with. There are no extra fees for your luggage; you are responsible for 'lugging' it around, and it goes on a rack above your seat (similar to a charter/Grayhound bus). There is no luggage check. 1st/2nd class - there's no difference where luggage is concerned. There is a space at the end of each car for oversized luggage - if your bags will be carry-on size or slightly larger, there's no need to leave your luggage there. There's always a theft risk when leaving your luggage where you can't see it - right in front of the door, too. Some people aren't concerned, others locked their luggage to the rack.

Thanks for the reply! I plan to arrive early to leave time for ticketing. Unfortunately I think my suitcase will be larger than what will fit above head. Bringing a lock is a good idea! Again thanks for the info.

Something to be aware of is a larger suitcase may not fit on the overhead rack and will have to be stowed in the luggage area at the end of the train car.

Be sure to get to the station extra early, not only for redeeming your ticket but also for getting a space at the end of the car for your large suitcase. Space for large suitcases is limited.

I had e-tickets last year and found people to be there even in small towns like Cassis. The Yellow Kiosks do work if you have e-tickets from Rail Europe. There was some sort of number you have to type in as I recall and it printed the tickets. The instructions were in English. There is a some pretty good instructions on how to use these at Rail Europe as I recall. Some Kiosks were inoperable so nothing beats a human! Have fun!

I booked my tickets through Rail Europe and I read about the kiosks and how to use them. It sounds easy and I'll give them a try if available. Thanks again to everyone!

Remember that in France, for security reasons, all luggage on trains - even carry on size - must have a name tag with your name clearly visible.

I would encourage you to rethink taking a large piece of luggage when doing train travel. We usually take the equivalent of one carry-on and a decent sized backpack pp for a month in Europe. Also, for our last trip where we did more train travel, we bought a "spinner" type piece of luggage b/c it rolls down the somewhat narrow isles sideways.

Whoa, is it true you need to have name tags on all your bags when u travel by train , TGV specifically? Thanks

Linda, I'm only familiar with the requirement by Thalys. I'm not disputing anything else. Just pick up some of those free tags at the airport ticket counters...

Yup, I'm afraid that it is so. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, doesn't have to have your address exposed. In fact, make sure to keep your address covered so that you don't have people crawling over your house while away. - And as Eileen says, you can use the throwaway paper ones on every French train counter. But you 'sposed to. On TGV, Thalys and Eurostar it should have your coach and seat number, too.