Travel in France

4 people with two suitcases each (one large, one carry-on size) will need 2 taxis.

Thanks, Susan - I didn't catch that they specified 4 people, not 3!

Thanks for asking such specific questions! I'll answer the ones I can. "We want to take the fastest trains while we are in France. Do you suggest a better time to leave Lyon to head to Bayeux on Monday, April 22nd?" For finding train schedules, the easiest site to use is German Rail, http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en. It has schedules for all of Europe, but will not have prices for trains outside of Germany (like yours). "Which train station do we need to travel out of Lyon?" Lyon has two train stations, Perrache and Part-Dieu. Part Dieu has more services; Perrache is closer to the center. Either one is fine. Using the German Rail site above, just choose LYON without specifying further. You can then see which one your train leaves from (some use both). Don't use St Exupery - that's the Lyon airport. "Will we need to change train stations in Paris on our trip from Lyon to Bayeux? How do we do that? What amount of time is needed to make that transfer?" Doing a quick look for February 14, I see that the easiest trains for you go from Lyon Part-Dieu to Paris Gare du Lyon, and then from Paris St. Lazare station to Bayeux. You'll need to change between these Paris stations. You can take a taxi or Metro (with 3 people and luggage, take a taxi). Not sure how much time to allow. continued..

"What are the major differences in travelling 1st class, 2nd class or 3rd class? (three of our travellers are seniors and one is an adult)" There won't be third class on your routes. The difference is space: second class is 4 seats across with an aisle in between, while first class is 3 seats across with an aisle in between. Since the train width is the same, first class seats are wider. Here are pictures and descriptions of the difference, on the TGV: http://tinyurl.com/aqm24ah Note that the train from Paris to Bayeux is a regional train, not a TGV; I'm not even sure if this has two classes (may be all second class). continued..

"What is suggested as the best way to purchase and reserve our train seats prior to leaving the U.S.? How do we make reservations for the trains at this time (in advance of our travel?)" Use http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/, selecting Great Britain as your country and refusing to be redirected to Rail Europe. Book one ticket at a time. If you can choose the print at home option, do so. For others, choose pick up at ticket window rather than pick up at machine. Picking up at a machine requires a chip and pin credit card. Picking up a the window only requires the card you used for purchase (but you MUST have the card to pick up the tickets). You can pick up at a station, or at an SNCF Boutique (train ticket stores in the cities). Since your Lyon to Bayeux trip is two separate trains, you will probably need to purchase it as two separate tickets. For the TGV, there are definitely discounts for advance purchase, and you may find that first class doesn't cost much more than second class if bought far enough in advance. For the regional, there may not be any advance purchase discount. For trains with reserved seats as part of the ticket (like the TGV's you print at home), you don't need to validate the ticket (if it's a print at home ticket, you will need your passport to show to the conductor with the ticket). For other trains, you will need to validate the ticket before use in the orange/yellow machines, or it's not a valid ticket and you will get fined. Reservations will be included in your TGV ticket purchase; I'm not sure about regional trains. continued..

"any suggestions on better sites to purchase the Museum passes?" Just get your Museum Pass when you get to Paris. They're sold at all the participating museums, as well as tourist offices. Getting it in advance costs more, and has the risk of losing it before you get to Paris. "What is suggested as the best way to travel to CDG for a return flight home? How much time will we need to get to CDG on a Sunday morning? (flight time is 10:40 am) We will each have a large bag and smaller carry-on bag." There are many ways to get to CDG; with 3 people, I'd probably use a cab. It's recommended that you get to the airport 3 hours before an inter-continental flight. CDG is big and can get congested at any time, so I think that's good advice. The good news is that on Sunday morning, a cab will only take about a half hour from Paris to CDG.

A tip: the Gare de Lyon and the Gare St Lazare in Paris are connected directly by the line 14 metro the modern line with escalators and everything. It's probably the single easiest transfer to make between rail stations in Paris (with the exception of walking from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est or vice versa. . . ).