If you ask me how to get anywhere in France, I will almost always tell you that the train is the easiest way to go. While renting a car and driving in France can be a great way to get around if you are planning a leisurely route with many stops along the way, train travel is by fare the fastest and easiest way to get around the country.
Trains link France with every country in Europe, making it easy to get from France to Italy or Spain (or any other European country) easily and quickly. For regional travel within France, traveling by rail is also your best bet as inter-regional bus services in France are extremely limited. While buses are used extensively within regions or departments—especially in rural areas with limited train lines—buses are far and few between and you are almost always better off opting to take the train.
Especially with France’s high-speed TGV, taking the train can often be even faster than air travel in France. Plus, while flying will require you to worry about transportation to and from the airport (since airports are almost never located in the center of town), taking the train can also save you time by getting you from city center to city center in just a few short hours.
High Speed Trains: The TGV
If you are traveling between major cities and towns in France, the TGV (France’s high-speed train) links Paris with other urban centers across France. Because the TGV travels in excess of 200 mph, these trains can whisk you from Paris all the way to the South of France in just 3 hours (driving would take at least 8).
If you are traveling from London to Paris (or vice versa) the Eurostar is a high-speed option that links the two capitals. Thalys trains links Paris’ Gare du Nord with Brussels and Amsterdam (Paris to Amsterdam takes only 4 hours or so).
However, while taking these rail rockets is a sure-sire way to save you lost of time, you will have to pay the price for these lightning fast trains. However, the saving in Euros is often worth the saved time and the convenience. The same journey in a local train can take 3 to 4 times as long and involved switching trains, layovers and less comfortable seats.
If you have purchased a Eurail pass, the TGV will cost you extra fees, but you will still enjoy a huge discount over non-pass holders.
Regional and Local Trains
If you are buying tickets for train travel within France while IN France, you may have to deal with purchasing your tickets in a foreign language, which can always be a challenge for those who don’t speak any French. Keep in mind that the French ticket systems will often sell you the next available train ticket default, which often means a high-speed TGV ticket. If you are trying to go the budget route, you may want to opt out of taking the TGV and taking a regional/local train (that makes a lot more stops and takes a whole lots longer) to save some money.
Regional trains in France are operated by the government controlled SNCF (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais), which as a few different kinds of trains that serves different routes in France.
Intercity Routes
Corail is the brand name SNCF has assigned to non-TGV inter-city service in France. Corail runs train service between cities of all sizes in France.
Regional Routes
TER (Transport Express Regionale) is the brand name SNCF has assigned to regional trains, often the trains operating within a single region or department of France. Many train stations in France that are too small to be served by Corail or TGV service in France are served by the TER service.
Night Trains
International routes and train journeys that take more than 7 hours will often have night train schedules. For example, if you are trying to get from Barcelona to Nice, you will need to take an overnight train, with a change on the border. Night trains are also perfect ways to cover longer distances on a budget, as spending the night en-route prevents you from having to spend money on a hotel.
>>Read about taking the night train and other options for Getting from Barcelona to Nice
Trains generally leave in the evening and arrive in the morning, though exact departure and arrival times will depend on the length of the journey. Overnight trains are a popular replacement for air travel, in that they allow you to travel long-distance without losing a day.
Sleeping compartments aboard trains vary by country, but most overnight trains have several levels of service. The cheapest fares are usually for standard seats, which can be uncomfortable for sleeping. Increasing in price, multilevel couchette compartments that sleep 4-6 people in fold-out beds are an economical way to get good nights sleep. Finally, private compartments for families, couples, or individuals are usually the most expensive class of service, but also offer the most privacy and the most comfortable sleeping conditions.
Classes of Service
Classes of service vary greatly dependent upon train type. Obviously, TGV trains have the highest level of service in both first and second class, while TER trains have the lowest. First class is really only worthwhile on TGV and other high speed trains (like the Eurostar from Paris to London), as the difference in price between first and second class on other trains is minimal.
On overnight trains, there are usually different classes associated with whether or not you want to get a sleeper car or not. Depending on how soundly you want to sleep, the extra money on these trains may or may not be worth it to you.
Getting Tickets
For those traveling through France by train as part of a longer European trip are probably best off purchasing a Eurail pass, which will allow you passage on most trains between cities in France at no extra cost, and will only charge you a small additional fee for transportation on the TGV.
There are a variety of Eurail passes available for non-Europe residents and Europe residents, which offer unlimited train travel for a varying amounts of time.
If you are purchasing single train-leg tickets, than you can find schedules and purchase tickets through the Rail Europe or SNCF websites.
If you are traveling from the UK to a destination in France (Paris or otherwise), there is a helpful and info packed website called the Man in Seat 61, where you can find information on purchasing tickets, schedules and more.
Photo by Redjar flickr
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
NO, it is not helpful, neither any other stupid french-website found on internet. I only want to find an website that I can search any posible route in france by train, something like the “www.trainroute.fr”" where I can search and reserve ticket from one destination to another. it seems you the french nation are completely stupid, no wonder that me and half of my friends got lost each year in france, because there is an total chaos regarding the maps and finding maps, and finding infos about anything in france. One stupid thing “how the fucking way, when I type <> i found only <>, <>….stupid nation. you deserv shit….no more france visiting, each year i am in trouble getting anywhere in france, even almost got lost in CDG airport because in a cross-road inside the airport there is an way sign with 3 direction , and each doirection showing the same “to Terminal2E”…..wonder….wich way shoul I go….idiots…
Luis’ comment is over the top. I apologize for his rudeness. The sight does need to be updated with “metro” informatin like station locations, cost and zone to zone information.