Europe train novice needs advice. Will be taking train from Paris to Bayeux in about 3 weeks. Do these tickets needs to be purchased in advance? Or can they be purchased the day of the trip at the station. We are traveling on a Friday afternoon if that matters. Thanks!
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
You can book them in advance at www.tgv-europe.com: to avoid being redirected to raileurope.com which has less trains and fares available claim to live in the UK. However, if you are booking 3 weeks in advance it's probable that the cheap fares will already be sold out, especially on a Friday afternoon when people tend to be leaving cities for weekend trips. French fares go on sale 90 days in advance for future reference. Also the pre-booked cheap fares are for a specific train only, so if you are travelling to Paris the same day you will have to buy full-fare replacement tickets if you are delayed and miss the train.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
You easily can buy your tickets on the day of departure. Just be sure to allow plenty of time in case there are long lines at the ticket windows. The standard anytime 2nd class fare is €36.60. However, if you book NOW at tgv-europe.com, you may still be able to get a Prem's fare as low as €15.00. Those tickets are for a specific departure date and time and are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. To keep the site in English and to avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site, choose Great Britain as your country of residence. Choose France as your ticket retrieval country. You will be able to either print your own tickets or pick them up at any SNCF station in France.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
I just checked the tgv-europe site and found that the lowest Prem's fare still available for 27 April is €25.00.
Posted by
OP
Midlothian, TX, USA
2 posts
Thx so much for your help! Tickets booked.
Posted by
Los Angeles
2 posts
I'm in the same boat. As the original poster to this topic. When I go to www.tgv-europe.com, I'm redirected to http://www.raileurope-world.com. Is that correct? I only see bad reviews for using rail europe. Thanks.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32867 posts
anthony, read the entire thread, especially the first response by Philip. He has the answer for not getting redirected.
Posted by
Los Angeles
2 posts
Thanks, it worked!
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10223 posts
That's a holiday weekend. Smart move to book ahead. People will be traveling Friday to Tuesday.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
I just did this trip, and I also booked ahead on the sncf.com website and got those cheap Prem tix. The only problem with the Prems we bought was that I couldn't buy a seat reservation with it. So even though I had cheap 1st class tix I wasn't guaranteed a seat. Luckily we were able to find some free seats. If I were traveling during high tourist season I would not select any ticket for which a seat reservation could not be made.