I wish to travel from Paris to Basel in July. I can buy the tickets online right now at a good price. It is much cheaper to list France as the pick up place (as opposed to sending them to me in the US). Can I pick them up in Paris a day or two before I use them?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
The French Rail website will not send tickets to the US. If you tell them you live in the US, the will redirect you to RailEurope (which by the way, they own), where the ticket prices will be higher than the most expensive price (full fare) you would pay in France. I believe, however, you can pick them up over there in advance. One other thing you can try is the German Rail (Bahn) website. They won't sell you a ticket from Paris to Basel SBB, because both ends of the route are outside Germany, but you can specify Basel Bad Bhf, which is a German Rail station inside Basel Switzerland, only a few km from Basel SBB. Theoretically, Paris to Basel Bad Bhf prices start at €39/p, but the route includes Paris to Strasbourg, a popular route, so the least expensive tickets often sell out almost immediately. I did see some at €49 almost 92 days in advance, but others were €79. With Bahn tickets, you can purchase in advance and print the tickets out at home.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
You can buy your tickets online right now. There are some discounted tickets left - some in 1st class. I've seen fares as low as 25Euro for mid-July but even now, most of the low fares are gone. If you wait until you get to France, it is most likely that all of the discounted fares will be gone. List France or Great Britain as your ticket collection country. If there are any differences in fares as a result of listing either of these two countries, I haven't seen them. Once you buy your tickets, you will receive an email. You can print out your tickets at home. Here's a LINK to what I see for July 19.