We will be traveling from Paris to Arles in July. It looks like TGV has a direct train between the two locations. Any suggestions on how early I can book to get the best deal on p.t.p. tickets; and the best way to get the tickets from the TGV site. Thanks in advance!
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
You can book up to three months in advance, and they do go quickly. You might actually try to book the evening before the three months, to see if they've already loaded the latest fares in after midnight, Paris time (9 hours ahead of you.) Just make sure you keep telling the tgv-europe.com site that your home country is Great Britain. You should be able to get second-class tickets for about 35 Euro on the direct run....40 Euro in first class. You will be able to print these PREMs tickets at home.
If you miss this one, and are forced to book one of the connecting trains, then you won't be able to print your PREMs tickets at home, since it involves a ride on a TER regional train, which is not reservable and does not offer PREMs. In that case, you can simply pick up your tickets at a train station ticket wicket in Paris, with the credit card you used to purchase them. You could also try to get the PREMs ticket to Avignon, then just buy a ticket for the local train to Arles...it's only about a 20-minute run. Check schedules to make sure you're not sitting around Avignon for a long time....or use it as an excuse to spend a few hours seeing that city.
A couple of notes....PREMs tickets are not refundable, nor are they changeable. And they are the only tickets you can print out at home. All other reservable tickets must be picked up at a ticket office, with the credit card used to buy them.