Hey all will be traveling 4 countries may through july was wondering if theres anyway to avoid the needless cost of reservations by taking longer regional trains city to city on these trips: Venice- La Spezia Sestri Levente-Menton Avignon-Paris Most websites, apps and the railpass schedule all have fast trains i don't need to go 200 miles an hour i like to see the country even the parts that arent so pretty. I would also like to know how one gets to Verdun from Paris sites say theres no stations but the maps show it.
Thanks a bunch!
Posted by
San Francisco
14980 posts
Hi, I'll talk about going from Paris to Verdun. It's not direct but still pretty straight forward. Take the TGV from Gare de l'Est to Metz, that'll zip there in less than 1.5 hrs. You need a mandatory reservation when riding the TGV. Or, if you don't mind the slower regional train, take that from Gare de l'Est to Metz, no reservation required for the regional trains. It takes over 3hrs. I've done it both ways. In Metz take regional train to Verdun.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
You actually can make most of these journeys on regional or local trains. Cost is about half but travel time is about double. Expect more train changes. This will make the best use of your railpass which I suspect you may have. Still, at 3-4E for a seat reservation, you might change your mind here or there.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
The German Rail site has detailed timetables for virtually all of Europe. To see routes without high-speed trains that require reservations, click on "Local transport."