TGV France Ticketing

Bill, I assume you'll be transiting through CDG when you enter France? As I recall, there's a TGV station at CDG so buy your tickets when you first arrive. As you'll be buying two weeks in advance, some discounts may be applicable (however I didn't check). If you're going to be in Paris for a few days at the start of your trip, you can also buy tickets at any SNCF Boutique (many locations around the city). IMHO, the extra cost for first class is not usually worth the cost (especially for a short 3.5 hour trip). I normally buy second class tickets. As Rick says "Remember that nearly every train has both first- and second-class cars, each going at precisely the same speed!" Happy travels!

Bill, Apart from the price on the TGV 1st and 2nd class, what is clearly different is that in 1st class you have got a bit more leg room. That helps. I've been on 4 hr. and longer TGV, both 1st and 2nd class, rides. I say the 1st class is worth the extra expense, if you're not on a really tight budget, which I don't recall was that much more.

You probably won't be unable to get on the train if you book tickets on the day, but the tickets will be much more expensive than if you book well in advance. You can book online at www.tgv-europe.com (claim to be based in the UK, not the USA, and opt to collect your tickets from a station when you get to France) from three months before you travel and if you get in at that time you will probably find much cheaper discount fares. These will tie you strictly to a single train but since that's already true because of your flight time it shouldn't really matter. I don't know if you could have the tickets delivered to the people you are staying with - it might be more practical if you trust each other to send them the money and have them buy the tickets for you in advance themselves.

You don't have to have the tickets delivered anywhere. Just buy them in advance and choose the option to print them from the electronic ticket-dispensing machine at the TGV station on the day of your trip. When you buy them, you'll receive a confirmation code that you just have to type into the machine at the station. Then the machine will print your tickets. Piece of cake.

I suggest you think about spending the night before your flight in Paris. French rail staff are known to go on strike for one reason or another. Delays occur. So you shouldn't consider the train as a completely reliable way to get to you to CDG in time for your flight. As mentioned, use http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/ and select Great Britain as your country; if you select USA you'll be diverted to Rail Europe and almost always higher fares. Elect station pickup. Formerly it wasn't possible to use a USA credit card in a ticket machine to retrieve tickets, but that may have recently changed. We've gone to a window to get ours. Note you'll need the same credit card to pick up the tickets as you use to book.

If you've purchased your tickets online in advance, you DON'T need a credit card to retrieve them from the ticket-dispensing machine at the TGV station. All you need is the confirmation code, which is a series of letters that you type in using the dispensing machine's keyboard. You only need a credit card if you're PURCHASING your tickets AT THE MACHINE. And in that circumstance, only a chip-and-pin card will work.

The tgv-europe site now offers a better e-ticket option for tickets. "Print out your e-ticket confirmation immediately at the end of the ordering process or when you want to before your departure. Your e-ticket confirmation alone is enough. In the event of loss, you can reprint it on line." Re pick up at an automatic ticket machine, the website states that option still requires the bank card used for payment. US cards won't work. Am I missing something?

The website you're looking at is incorrect. All you need is the confirmation code. The machines do give you the OPTION of retrieving your tickets with a credit card, if you've lost or otherwise don't have your confirmation code. But the machines only accept chip-and-pin cards. Below is a link to a PDF which shows exactly how the machines look and work. www.eurorailways.com/kb/brochures/premier/french_etickets.pdf

I don't question that the machines work in the way described, but I find it curious that the official SNCF website doesn't mention the use of only a reference number to get a ticket from a machine. Last Summer when I picked up tickets at a window, I had to show the receipt (which had the reference number) as well as the credit card. I have read of people being refused tickets when they couldn't produce the credit card. Strange.

We're beating this topic to death, but here is a link to the official SNCF brochure on how to use their electronic ticket machines. As you can see, you can retrieve your tickets either by using a chip-and-pin credit card (if you have one), or by using your confirmation number. I rode the TGV twice in September and I can confirm that the machines work exactly as shown in the brochure. And that I got my TGV tickets without having to use a credit card. (American magnetic stripe cards won't work anyway.) http://ants9.org/images/sncf_e-ticket.pdf

As long as we're trying to understand, I don't think we're beating it to death...The website states that SNCF e-tickets booked and paid for in a travel agency can be withdrawn on a self service ticket machine using either the card or the reference number and the person's name. Since the tgv-europe site doesn't offer the latter procedure when booking directly, it would seem that it is available only for travel agency booked tickets. I have no idea why that should be the case.

All I can say is that I did not use a travel agency. I purchased my TGV tickets online, at home, well in advance. And I was able to retrieve them in France, using my confirmation code, exactly as described in the SNCF brochure.

For the prices charged by Eurorailways.com, those tickets had better be outside the station, tap-dancing, and holding a sign with my name on it. Ouch! FWIW, the OP can't even use it - they 'don't go there' (Angoulême)...So basically, since Eurorailways.com is an "authorized European Rail System Representative" and they offer "Personal Travel Assistants", that operates as a travel agent in my book. AND SNCF treats their (Eurorailways.com) tickets as "booked and paid for in a travel agency", so that's all I need to know. And I don't have that kind of money. And according to their website (still), SNCF requires people buying directly from them to do as Tex has said... FOR BILL, those ticket dates will be available for purchase 3-4 months before, so check them every day or so...you can get tickets, 2nd class (fine), for as little as €22,00. Or, you can pay as much as €111,50. Use http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/?rfrr=HomeEdito_header_Home%20-%20Welcome You can print them off at your home, then follow Tex's info on retrieval. Now, a couple of things. I assume your flight is at 14:00 or later? Your train arrives at the CDG train station at 10:45; I, and most others here, want that 3+ hours cushion for security, check-in, etc., especially if you'll be checking any luggage. That airport is a zoo FULL of people. Next, I'd really advise you to consider training-in the day before. Too many things could go wrong, and BAM! you've missed your flight. If you came in the day before, you'd have many more trains to choose from. They stop at Gare Montparnasse, but that's an item to tackle another day...Just my .02...