TGV from Paris to Bordeaux 6/28 - buy tix in advance?

Joel We arrive in Paris on 6/19, just in time for Midsummer Night.
Thanks, both you & Robert, for the good tips! Jan

Jan - You can purchase your tickets on TGV-EUROPE.COM. To keep from getting routed to Rail Europe specify Great Britian in the Ticket collection country box. Looks like you can save about 10 euro if you book ahead of time. How soon after you arrive in Paris are you going to Bordeaux?

I recently traveled the reverse route, and by hesitating a week or so it cost me a $10-5/ticket more. I still bought the tickets a couple of months ahead of time, and when I checked closer to the time I was leaving I saw it would have cost a lot more then. So buy as soon as you're certain of the date.

The standard 2nd class fare is €79.00. If you book RIGHT NOW, you still can get a Prem's fare as low as €40.00 for certain departure times on 28 June. Prem's tickets are non-exchangeable and non-refundable. If you miss your train, your ticket will be worthless.

OK, I'm locking in a "Loisir" fare, because our travel includes a Saturday night, on the Paris-Bordeaux leg, and coming back from Bordeaux-Paris, I've got an iDTGV fare, which is considerably cheaper & won't name my seats until I pay. I hope that, as an American tourist, I can use both of these fares. I'll hang around a little and hope to hear from one of you. Thanks.

As an American tourist you certainly can book tickets on the tgv-europe site. Just be sure you aren't bumped to the Rail Europe site, either RE-US or RE-UK. You need to choose Great Britain as your country of residence and either Great Britain or France as your ticket retrieval country. Whether you choose GB or France, you will be able to either print your own tickets or pick them up at any SNCF station or ticket boutique in France.

It wont take my Cc# now. On to the next challenge. Picked out great dates and times and seats..... Any suggestions about the cc? Im trying to use my MC sapphire. Wont eve take an AMEX. Thanks.

Did you call your credit card providers to tell them you were going to make an international transaction? If not, then it's likely a computer blocked your purchase for suspected fraudulent activity. Try booking the tickets again while you're on the phone with customer service so they can monitor the transaction.

Also,, ( having personally gone through this battle with idTGV ticket buying myself, but finally being successful) once you have made an attempt to purchase a ticket ,and been rejected, you have to wait 24 hours before you try again with same card or it just keeps blocking you.
And make sure you have notified your card that you are making a foreign transaction.

Great tips, all. Thanks so much!

Still trying to get my CC to work. I called the CC company to let them know I was using it for a foreign transaction & I waited for 24 hrs. I DID, however, just now try on the work computer instead of the home computer. That shouldn't have made a difference, right?

Yes, I'm checking off Great Britain. There are 2 places on the website that I have to say Great Britain. Hope I've got the right combination some day! This is getting aggravating! Thanks,
Jan