When I search SNCF for tickets for a Saturday in August, I get totally different times than if I search in early July. Is this because I'm searching so far in advance? I get the same thing if I search on Captain Train.
We're not actually travelling until September, but just wanted to see approximately train times. We will be traveling from Paris to Bayeux on a Saturday.
Thanks for your help.
If you are just looking for times use the DB site. They list the days of operation - click on the days of operation. My guess is there are extra trains for heavy demand periods
The schedule may not be officially out yet on SNCF. This has been seen to be an issue on the Paris-Bayeux route. Give it a couple weeks to early June. We panicked last year, rearranged our schedule, took the much longer and m,ore expensive train pair, and then two weeks later the regular trains were listed.
Sue,
I'd suggest just checking shortly before you leave for Europe. I'm not sure there's any advantage to buying advance tickets on that route, so just buy them when you arrive in Paris. There are numerous SNCF Boutiques scattered about the city, and you can buy there or at one of the stations.
Be sure to allow adequate time to get from the area where you're staying to Gare St. Lazare.
Thanks all for the information. I'll check again in a month or so. We'll be taking the train from Amsterdam, so just need to figure out connections and how much time it will take us to go from Nord station to outgoing station to Bayeux.
thanks again.
If you buy far enough in advance you can get significant discounts. I bought our Paris -> Bayeux tickets that way. The caveat was that there was no seat reservation possibility, but it wasn't a problem at all...plenty of seats available.
I was bedeviled by this last year, with contradictory indications on the SNCF and DB sites. For some time, it appeared the direct Paris-Bayeux train would not be running, which was critical to our planned day trip to Normandy. Finally, about three months ahead of our trip, tickets for the direct train became available on SNCF and we were able to make definite plans. Buying tickets in advance was quite a bit cheaper and we were able to reserve seats. In fact, the three of us were automatically assigned facing seats with a table in the middle. The seeming uncertainty of the process was a bit nerve-wracking, but it all worked out. The train was fast, smooth, comfortable and right on schedule.
If you can get the direct train from St. Lazare to Bayeux (and you should be able to), it is about a mile and a half walk from Nord to St. Lazare, you know your speed, if you are carrying your stuff comfortably. It is about 25 minutes by Metro, only one stop, but that is because you will still be looking at about 1/2 mile of walking total from Nord to the Metro and again from the Metro to St. Lazare. A cab should probably take less time, i do not know about the costs.
