LowCountryIslander

Here is my situation:

I would like to buy 2 roundtrip TGV tickets for a day trip from Paris to Reims at the end of May 2010. I've read through several posts here on Fodors and checked out the section of Rick Steves website detailing rail tickets in Europe.

I've been able to get schedule and ticket price information on the TGV.com website but the only trains that are showing up for me are TER trains that show a connection in Epernay and this option is 1 hour and 45 minutes long. I've seen other informatin that says the TGV takes 45 minutes with no connection.

How can I find this 45 minute TGV option on the TGV website? I've entered a couple different travel days (a Monday and a Tuesday) and I'm looking for a departrure time (from Paris) of sometime between 8:30am-9:30am. I've looked on the German bahn.hafas.de website to check out schedules and they do list a 45 minute TGV leaving Paris at 8:35am,which would be the train I want to buy a ticket on.

I'm aware there are sometimes discounts for advance purchases, but at this point I'm just trying to find the TGV train I really want.

Thanks for any help you can give.

kerouac

You are looking too early. The direct trains will not be available until 90 days before the date of travel. And unlike most people here, I will not say that you need to be on your computer when the clock strikes midnight to get a good fare. There are tons of trains to Reims and plenty of cheap fare available.

The trains you are seeing are showing up because local TER trains do not have reserved seats -- they are just commuter trains.

LowCountryIslander

Kerouac...

Thank you very much. That makes perfect sense and I should have realized that was the reason, I'll check again next month.

mdwahoo

We took the +/- 8:30 train from Paris to Reims in August 09. What a great day trip it is! We bought our tickets in Paris at the SNCF station by our hotel. We paid a ton- so might be wise to buy in advance. In a day we were able to go to 4 Champagne houses- 10 am at Veuve, 12 at Taittinger, 2 pm at Pommery, and 3:30 at Martel. Absolutely loved them all and would recommend making advanced reservations at least at Veuve (VCP). We took a cab from train station to VCP (17 euro- I think we were cheated as Rick says less than 10e), then were able to walk (get a map that is better than Rick Steves'- we luckily happened across some English speakers who lent us one of theirs)- with a good map all the houses are close together and an easy walk. At the end of the day we walked back to the train station (about 30 minutes). Check out the Reims cathedral on the way- it's quite lovely. A good tip is that Reims is French is pronounced more like "Rance". Also, this itinerary does leave time for a picnic lunch w/ a bottle of Champagne- if you bring your own food!

Askar

You won't be able to buy your ticket more than 90 days in advance but you can find the schedules on the French version of http://www.voyages-sncf.com/.
Enter your date of travel and hit "Horaires seuls" (instead of "Réservez")
Don't choose the English version as it will redirect you to TGV.com

Askar

"(instead of "Réservez")"

Oops! I meant 'instead of "Rechercher"'

David

Funny seeing your message just now, LowCountryIslander --- Just this morning I booked two TGV tickets (second class, reserved seats) from Paris to Reims for the 14th of May. Departing Paris Est at 0857 a.m., arriving Reims at 0942 a.m. Then, departing Reims at 645 p.m., arriving back to Paris Est at 730 p.m. Just a day trip for us and we figure we'll hit a couple of the champagne houses, the cathedral, wander around town a bit and have a nice long lunch somewhere in Reims. Total price for both tickets (which can neither be changed nor refunded) was 48 Euros which coverted to $65.58 on my credit card. The purchase was rejected twice by my credit card issuer who called suspecting fraud. But once I straightened that out with them, the purchase went through very smoothly. Within the next couple of weeks you should be able to purchase your tickets for your own trip at the end of May. Have fun!

d_claude_bear

You might not NEED TO book your tickets during the first few minutes after midnight (Paris time) on the date in February that corresponds to the date you want to travel in May--but if you can do it, it can't hurt. David (above) could get tickets for 14 May today (or perhaps yesterday afternoon/evening, depending on his time zone) because it was already 14 February in Paris--same numerical date, three months ahead. [ BTW, When do 29, 30, and 31 May tickets become available, with no corresponding dates in February--inquiring minds want to know? ]

LowCountryIslander

Thanks for all the replies. I really appreciate it. In my zeal for getting my ducks in a row for this trip I never thought about the 90 day advance purchase.

David...sounds like the times you've booked are the ones I would like too.

mdwahoo...wow, you "hit" 4 champagne houses, I was planning to just go to one! Maybe I will need to schedule another one or 2.

Thanks!

TimS

Unless you can handle the French at www.voyages-sncf.com, to get discount Prem's fares you will need to book at www.tgv-europe.com, not www.tgv.com. To keep the site in English and to avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site that doesn't offer discount fares, choose Great Britain as your country of residence.

The cheapest Prem's fare for a TGV from Paris to Reims is €12.