My wife and I will be spending a quick 2 days in Paris next month before we are off to Italy. We purchased a 3 country EuroRail pass so we could at least spend a short visit in Switzerland. I checked the train schedule and saw that there was a compulsory reservation. What's the best way to make this reservation? Thanks, Ryan
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32352 posts
ryan,
The method I normally use is to check the rail websites to determine which train I want to use, and then purchase the reservations a day or two before I'll be travelling.
I usually obtain reservations at the nearest station, however as you'll be in Paris you could also obtain these at an SNCF Boutique. There are locations all over Paris - check their website for the nearest location to your Hotel.
Don't forget to validate your Pass before first use.
Happy travels!
Posted by
OP
chehalis, wa
2 posts
Thank you very much. I know now where those kiosks are located.
Ryan
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32352 posts
ryan,
The SNCF Boutiques are not a "Kiosk" but rather a staffed office where you "take a number" to be served. If you were thinking of using automated ticket machines, that might not be an option as an increasing number of ticket machines in France will ONLY accept "chip" credit cards and perhaps coins.
Check the SNCF Boutiques website, as they have numerous locations in various parts of Paris.
Posted by
Mission Viejo, Calif., USA
1010 posts
Hello. My husband and I used rail transportation for our recent trip to London, Paris, Lucerne, Zurich and Lugano. We loved the trains in Switzerland. We bought our TGV train reservation from Zurich to Paris, in advance. We also booked our William Tell (Lucerne to Lugano, part boat and part train)), absolutely beautiful, in advance. We took the Bernina Express from Lugano to Zurich (part bus and part train). We totally recommend visiting Mount Riggi or Mount Pilatus. We had been to Mount Pilatus in 1970. The serene location of Mount Riggi was spectacular. Mount Pilatus was fogged in so we enjoyed Mount RIggi much better.. That is why we didn't go to the Jungfrau, due to the bad weather at the top. We took a day trip over to Berne. We also had been to Lucerne back in 1970. It is beautiful there. The problem with Switzerland is that so many people smoke. The smoking in Lucerne very much ruined our trip to Lucerne. My husband and I are very sensitive to the smoking. England and France ban indoor smoking; Lucerne and Zurich don't ban the smoking. The trains run like clock-work in Switzerland. We recommend that you buy your passes in first class. It is worth the difference in money. If you call the people at Rail Europe, they are pretty helpful. It costs more money to book the reservations through a human being versus on-line. You can always call and ask your questions and then go ahead and book the reservations on-line. That way you won't have to pay the service fee for the live person. Just make sure you know what you are booking, so there isn't a problem. There is a huge difference among the various passes. We got the three day, any time within two months Swiss Saver (two people always traveling together). We ended up buying separate day trip tickets to go to Milan and to Berne. You have to add up your planned, separate day tickets, to see if it would be better to use a pass day.