Rail ticket. Buy online or at station

Roger, I wouldn't bother using Eurail, as they're often more expensive than the national rail networks in each country. They're a marketing entity, so don't actually operate a rail network. In Switzerland the sbb.ch site is best, in Germany use the bahn.de website and in France use SNCF. The German rail site has information for most places in Europe. Regarding tickes, I usually buy at the stations a day or two before I'll be travelling. In many cases the cost is slightly higher than pre-purchase, but it provides more flexibility in terms of my departure times. The quickest and cheapest way to get from Lyon to London will probably be an EasyJet flight. They offer flights from LYS to both Gatwick and Stanstead and current fares are listed at ~€50 PP. Flight time to LGW is 30 minutes. The prices will increase as the flight fills, and there will be a few extra "fees", however those are still good prices. Happy travels!

First, stop using Rail Europe immediately. They don't list all trains, and mark up prices. For train schedules for all of Europe, follow Rick's tips on using the Bahn website: http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/db_tips.htm. If you train starts in Germany, you can book it here as well. For trains starting in France, use http://www.tgv-europe.com. Choose Great Britain as your country and France as your ticket collection country, and refuse to be redirected to Rail Europe. For trains starting in Switzerland, use http://www.sbb.ch/home.html (as you already did in your first post). To see how much you save by buying in advance, and to get a sense of whether the trains you want will sell out, compare travel tomorrow with travel on your actual days. In some cases, you will spend a FORTUNE to get the flexibility you seek. In others, there's no discount for advance purchase at all, so you can buy on the day with no problems. If you do want to book advance tickets, post the specific routes and dates, and people here can help you (many of the websites have tricks, but they are conquerable, so don't worry). continued..

continued.. Depending on the route, a pre-booked ticket and a seat reservation can be two different things. For example, in Germany, on almost all trains including the fast ones, a seat reservation is not required. If you buy an advance ticket or a same-day ticket, you don't automatically get one; you just sit wherever there's an empty, non-reserved seat. However, a seat reservation is available for an extra €4, and can be a very good idea on crowded routes. But in France (and Italy), tickets for fast trains come with the required seat reservation. From Lyon to London, look into the train as well as the plane. You can get a train that goes through CDG and Lille; you have to change trains in Lille, but don't have to change stations (as you would if you went through Paris). Details here from the famous train authority, The Man In Seat 61: http://tinyurl.com/bv7seaa Lastly, the Man in Seat 61 is a great resource for all train matters. Spend some time poking around his site, and you'll be a pro.

I can only speak to Switzerland. No benefit to buying ahead for travel within Switzerland. The price will be the same buying at the station, and reservations are not necessary. Basel to Interlaken Ost is 58 CHF whether you buy ahead or walk up and buy a ticket ( u less you can find a Supersaver Ticket but they are elusive).