Tim,
We are purchasing a France & Benelux pass. Will these 2 routes you describe require an extra fee since they go through Swizerland?

One more question: How many rail pass days will the overnight journey from Paris to Chamonix require--1 or 2 since we technically arrive the next morning and will have to take another morning train(s) to get from the connecting station to our final destination of Chamonix?

Am I making any sense?

Claire,

Here is a quote from the RS railpasses section: "Passes are good for use only in the countries selected. If your train passes through a country not on your pass, you must buy a separate ticket for that stretch in advance, or pay a fine for purchasing the ticket on board. Examples: Crossing Austria on the Munich-Venice route costs about $30 additional in second class (separate ticket is an option on daytime trains, but you must have Austria on your pass for night trains). Crossing Switzerland on daytime trips from Paris to Italy costs $50 additional (but direct night trains are covered even without Switzerland on the pass)."
Since the Basel train station is considered to be in France as well as Switzerland, I think you'll be OK for my night train route #1. However, you'd certainly have to buy tickets for the subsequent parts of the route that pass through Switzerland.
I suggest you call the experts at BETS (Budget Europe Travel Service): 800-441-9413.

Claire...do you have a Rail pass already? If so, for RailEurope, simply fill in the starting point and end point, select the date, choose "evening" so you'll get the overnight train, then check the little box that reads "Click this box if you have a Rail Pass" and it will bring up overnight trains with the sleeping accomodations and prices available. Depending on where you're travelling, you will get a better deal if you call their reservation line directly. Getting SNCF to communicate in English is next to impossible...but maybe the rail service of your country of destination. If you don't have a railpass, let us know, and post your starting point and destination, and you'll get more details advice.

Claire...forgive me for not reading the headline of your posting :) There is a chance that RailEurope isn't specifically listing the overnight sleeper train via Annecy because it's sold out. How far ahead are your dates of travel? You can call RailEurope direct and ask them to book it for you, if there are any spots still available. 1-888-382-7245

The reason that your route doesn't show up on either the RailEurope or SNCF site is that it requires too many changes. According to the timetables at www.bahn.de, you have two night train choices.

1. Paris-Basel-Bern-Lausanne-Martigny-Chamonix, with the Paris-Basel leg being a night train.

2. Paris-Karlsruhe-Basel-Lausanne-Martigny-Chamonix, with the Paris-Karlsruhe leg being a night train.

1 is faster.

You can book either night train leg at sncf.com. SparNight fares are available for the Paris-Karlsruhe leg. Booking that leg at http://buchung.nachtzugreise.de will be cheaper than using the SNCF site.

You could buy tickets for the rest of the way when you get to either Basel (#1) or Karlsruhe (#2). Or you could book everything at once by phoning the Deutsche Bahn Call Centre. Dial 011 (US & Canada international access code) + 49 (country code for Germany) + 1805 996633. Ask about discount fares (like SparNight) when you call.

The "7:00 pm rule" says that a night train that departs after 19:00 uses only one pass day, the day of your arrival. That's the date you enter on your pass. So you won't use an extra day for the portions of your daytime route within France as you make your way to Chamonix.

Thank you! I think I'm going to have to make some phone calls.

Actually, there is a sleeper service listed on SNCF that goes via Annecy and St-Gervais-les-Bains, so it stays within French territory....it takes a comparable 11 hours. It runs Friday, Saturday, Sunday thru most of May and June, then every day thru July and August. The problem is getting a sleeper reservation on SNCF...not something you can do on their website. Try RailEurope for such a reservation, or other companies that others have suggested, at least for the overnight service Paris Austerlitz-Annecy....then the regional service from there.