I was helped with this before but seem to have lost my mind and cannot get on an english-written site to boo the train, HELPPP! With thanks, Catmeow.

You use the French rail site, www.sncf.com

After you get the booking screen up, go into the url and change
LANG=FR
to
LANG=UK

After that, you should remain in the English version.

Hi CM and TN.

If you do that, you will end up at raileurope.

I use http://www.freetranslation.com/ to navigate foreign language sites.

there are two routes - some involving TGV trains that actually take much longer than the semi-direct route with non-TGV trains (Gare de Lyon to Nevers then Nevers to Decize

and on these trains IME you can easily make any booking right up until the train - some Paris-Nevers trains require reservations before boarding and you get these when you buy your ticket

www.voyages-sncf.com has all the fares and times and in theory you could book your ticket there - but be prepared for untold frustrations if Fodorites and their legions of complaints about the site are any indicator

Just buy the ticket when you get to Paris and take the cheaper and quicker route involving non-TGV trains IMO

Ira, it does work to change the FR to UK. I've done it.

http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/...mp;_AGENCY=VSC

Hi TN,

When I click the English flag at voyage-sncf it takes me to TGV-Europe.

I clicked your link.

I got a blank page with Firefox.

I opened IE and clicked your link.

It told me that the link had timed out.

How did you get to your link?

PS
TGV-europe is a SNCF marketing agent, like RailEurope.

I have gotten it to work by putting in UK, also, as an experiment when I saw this being mentioned on here. I don't think you can do it from a link posted elsewhere like the above, it's one of those dynamic links that only work for you while you are on the site, I think.

Basically, you first have to bring up some schedule by putting in information on the front page (which is in French) in the brief reservations box on the left side of the screen. Even if someone doesn't know French, it's pretty obvious as so many French words as very similar to English. You just fill in the city for departure and arrival, the date and beginning time of day, and when the results come back, you go up to the bar and change the FR in that URL to UK. Then you get English, but you can only do it while you are on the site, you can't save that URL -- well you can but it won't work, in my experience. It does time out if you pause too long, also, while you are on the page, so you can't bring up the English site and leave it there while you go off for a half hour, I don't think.