I will be taking the TGV from Paris to Avignon late next month and was checking the schedules and fare. The fare given for a U.S. person was $75 one way. Just for kicks the next time I selected France as my home country. Then the fare, on the same train, was 37 Euros, or about $47. Is there an explanation for this?
Also, for shorter trips such as Paris-Chartres and Avignon-Arles is there any benefit in buying the tickets before leaving America rather than just buying on the day of travel?
Posted by
new york
43 posts
I suspect that when you checked the price as a US resident, you may have been shunted over to the Rail-Europe website, which often has higher prices than SNCF.FR or TGV-Europe. FWIW, I (a US resident also) purchased my Lyon-Paris tickets from SNCF and had no problems. In fact, the conductor never came to our car to check tickets. I do think that prices go up as the departure date approaches, but I wouldn't swear to it.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
As Barry said, you probably were bumped to the Rail Europe site which doesn't offer discount fares. To be precise, the fares for TGVs don't go up as the departure date approaches. A full fare ticket bought today for a date in September will cost the same as a full fare ticket bought on the day of departure. What happens is that as time passes the allotted number of discount fare tickets sell out and all that is left are full fare tickets. For Paris-Chartres and Avignon-Arles you will be on regional trains. There is no advantage to booking those tickets in advance. The price never changes.
Posted by
OP
anacortes, wa
2 posts
Yes, you were correct. When I went back to make reservations the discount fare in France was gone and the lowest fare was 75 Euros. However the fare on Eurorail had not changed from $75 so it became the lowest fare choice.
Posted by
Monein, Pyrenees, France
425 posts
Always book well in advance. Try the http://www.voyages-sncf.com/ web site.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19103 posts
RailEurope must be tapping in on those discount tickets (just selling them for more than on the French Rail website). I looked at tickets for Sept 5. The lowest fare was $90 for a 3hr 36min connection at 11:27. There was another one for $93 for a 2hr 41min connection at 12:37. For Sept 19, the 11:27 connection was not shown, and the 12:37 connection had gone up from $93 to $116. There were 2hr 41 min connection at 15:03 on both dates for $143. I didn't see any $75 fares for the dates and times I checked.