Paris to Bayeaux _ tickets in advance

If you wait to buy tickets when you get to Paris, you won't be in danger of not getting a seat. However, you'll pay full fare (€38.20 for a 2nd class ticket). If you book ASAP (up to three months allowed) on tgv-europe.com, you can get a discount fare of €15.00 for a direct train or €21.40 if you have to make a connection in Caen. Discount fare tickets are for a specific date and departure time and are non-exchangeable and non-refundable so be sure you can commit before booking. When you first go to tgv-europe.com there are some special steps you need to take to avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site which doesn't offer discount fares. If you want to know how to do it, just ask.

hi, i booked most of my tickets as soon as possible (ASAP) since i had plans and didnt want to screw them up with something dumb as missing a train that i know i needed to be on. With that said, i did do some off the cuff train travel to Caen when i was in Bayeux. I just bought my tickets at the station that day just to try it and i figured the trains wouldnt be full so getting a seat wouldn't be an issue either. happy trails.

Diane, You don't need to book the tickets in advance, but there may be savings if you do. The easiest method (but not necessarily the cheapest) would simply be to stop by any SNCF Boutique when you arrive in Paris, and take care of all the ticket purchases there. There are Boutiques in various sections of Paris, so there should be one close to your hotel. Be sure to allow lots of time to get from your Paris location to Gare St. Lazare. It's not a difficult journey from central Paris, but will take a few minutes. Cheers!

Hi First , thanks for all your help and patience. I am freaking out. Went to tgv web site- wanted to book tickets form paris to Caen on June 25 - 7AM train. I understand that this isthe train to take to get to caen by 9AM ( for atour we hope to take) When I requested the tickets - it does not show any train that gets there in less than 5 hours. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks

You are not doing anything wrong. The semi-annual train timetable revisions will go into effect on 10 June. Until SNCF (French National Rail) updates its timetables, you won't see all the options for any date beyond 9 June. If you enter 4 June, you'll see that there is a train that leaves Gare Saint-Lazare at 06:45 and arrives in Caen at 08:57. The next train leaves at 07:07 and arrives at 09:03. Those times are likely to be the same for 10 June onward. Keep checking tgv-europe.com once a week until the new timetables appear.

hi, what Tim said. just an for your information, some or many of the trains in Europe dont show times beyond 3 or 4 months. what i do is exactly what Tim did. Look at a time within the 4 month window and ASSUME it will be good for the day(s) i plan on traveling. i didnt have any trouble being somewhere at a particular time if i bought my ticket ahead of time and i was there to catch the train. also, you may want to keep this in the back of your mind. when youre at the train station and waiting for your train, they dont show the trains departure until 15 or so minutes before it leaves. I got there 1 hour before my train left and i had to wait. so pay attention to the reader boards and gates. This was my experience and if im wrong others will correct me. happy trails.