Point-to-point train tickets - France

You can definitely buy them when you get to France - but you might want to check out the pricing a couple of months in advance since there are generally cheaper tickets to be had. The advantages of buying once you are there is that you have more flexibility and aren't locked into a day/time slot - but if you have a pretty fixed itinerary, then buying ahead has it's advantages. Although trains rarely sell out, it does happen occasionally - which doesn't mean you can't go on the day you want, you might just not be able to go at the time you want. I tend to purchase my train tickets ahead of time - means one less thing I have to do when I'm there and I have saved quite a bit by doing it this way.

Hello Carolyn, If your dates are locked in then buy them ahead of time and you'll save a small fortune, you can buy up to 90 days before your travel dates. The price for a ticket goes up the closer to the travel date – for example, the cheapest ticket for Nice to Avignon for travel tomorrow is 45 euros, the same trip in mid January is 20 euros. All of these trips have a section when you'll travel by TGV so book your tickets on the French rail site http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/home/?rfrr=Basket_header_Home For the trip Carcassone to Barcelona use this link - http://www.voyages-sncf.com/ Pay for them on line and choose the option to print your tickets at home. The second link is in French but easy enough to work out. For further info on European trains try this site it's invaluable – http://www.seat61.com/France-trains.htm#How%20to%20use%20voyages-sncf.com
If you want to save money and have flexibility with your travel times and dates don't use Rail Europe.

I bought in advance and saved a lot of money. Plus the security of getting a good seat.

"I bought in advance and saved a lot of money." Maureen, if you bought them from a national rail company, especially from the Bahn if they were German tickets - you probably did save money. If you bought them from RailEurope - no way did you save! Carolyn, someone here will probably give you the URL for French Rail tickets, the one that doesn't automatically switch you to RailEurope. If you want discounted tickets, buy them from French Rail.

Good point Lee.
Carolyn – use the first link in my message above for your trips within France - when you get to the site,in the drop down box labelled "Ticket collection country" choose a country like Burkina Faso or Cameroon and you won't get redirected to Rail Europe. I've done some further research on the leg from Carcassonne to Barcelona and no matter what date or time I choose I can't get a seat on the Spanish leg of the trip. After reading the Man in Seat 61 it seems like the best bet is to book this leg via Rail Europe (www.raileurope-world.com ) – he says you can still print your tickets at home and there's only a small surcharge. Maybe another train guru could help further with this part of the trip.

I would post this question in the Train travel forum on Trip Advisor. Huge knowledge bank there on train travel, including the Man in seat 61 himself. Never buy with Rail Europe!

Here are some indicative prices from SNCF's journey planner right now. I'm looking at the latest dates I can book today, which are in January, but this should demonstrate the kind of savings to be had from booking as early as possible: Nice to Avignon travelling this afternoon - €49 / as low as €20 for a random date in January, but booked today. Avignon to Carcassonne travelling today - €36.60 if you don't mind the TER regional train (4 hours) or €40.90 with TER and TGV (2 hours 45) / as low as €30.90 for the TER/TGV in mid-January if booked today Carcassonne to Barcelona today or tomorrow - €60.40 / too early to see prices for dates after the Europe-wide 15th December timetable change because RENFE hasn't changed its ticket system yet, so picking a random December date before that I can see prices as low as €45.10. Two other points to note: 1. If you have problems with the SNCF site redirecting you to Rail Europe, or refusing your credit card, try https://www.capitainetrain.com/en - it uses the SNCF booking system so it shows all the available trains and the same prices as SNCF, but it doesn't redirect you. 2. Right now the route from French locations to Barcelona involves a change of trains at Figueres Vilafant (there is one direct 'Talgo' service from Narbonne to Barcelona but it's slower than changing at Figueres). However, by the end of this year the online journey planners should be showing more options, because direct high speed services will be starting between Barcelona and various French locations. Keep checking back, because no one knows exactly when those services will be announced and made available for booking.

I just want to second Kevin's tip about the capitainetrain website--no redirects to Rail Europe, same prices as the "official" French rail site, and easy to use with US credit cards. https://www.capitainetrain.com/en

Thanks everyone for all the info. I really appreciate!! Carolyn