Buying train tickets at gare
 

I've purchased all my train tickets online and printed them for my upcoming trip to France, except the Bordeaux-Perigueux leg of our trip. Since I can't print these from home, I figured I might as well buy them at the station the morning of departure. Is there any reason I should pay for them online, ahead of time? I use the SNCF site.

Not if they are regional TER tickets, fixed price and no reservation necessary.

I struggled with this same question, and in the end I decided to buy them ahead since it seemed easier to retrieve them from a kiosk with a code and my name than have to stand in line to buy them, no credit card involved, etc.
My trip is not until June so I don't know whether it's easier this way or not; it probably doesn't make a big difference either way.
Good luck!

I buy them in advance if I can put them on a card.
I've asked the sncf 'grand voyageur' card which makes the link with my journeys.
If not, I buy them at the station.

Bordeaux to Périgueux is on a TER train with a fixed fare of 22.50€ and no reservation so you can buy them the day of travel.

Anybody using ticket machines should be aware that the SNCF is currently changing the machines so anything you thought you knew about them might not be valid anymore.

Yes, they are regional. I found that out when I purchased Perigueux-La Rochelle tickets thinking I would print them ahead and found out I couldn't. I don't see an early morning trip to Perigueux being in big demand so I decided to get them on site. Thanks for the answers...trying to dot my i's and cross my t's before leaving. PS I know Perigueux has an accent, for you who are cringing, but don't know how to do them on my Kindle. Kerouac, I plan on retrieving my LA Rochelle tickets at the guichet--should be foolproof, right?

We just retrieved tickets last week when we were in France. I had purchased them ahead of time online, but they needed to be retrieved from a French station. I think we retrieved them in Aix en Provence, easily done with the confirmation code.
The leg was for Lyon to Geneva. The only thing to remember is to validate your tickets at one of the little yellow machines before you get on your train.
As I recall our tickets were never even checked, though!
(Trip report coming soon!)

The only time your tickets will be checked will be the time you didn't composte them before boarding;)

If you plan on standing in line to retrieve your tickets, allow time for that. Even in the tiny Périgueux station, if there are 5 people in line it can be a half-hour wait.

Hi Z,

The only problem with buying tickets at the station is the wait.

((I))

PS, StC knows whereof and wherefrom she speaks.

I wouldn't have expected a wait at the Perigueux gare. Good piece of info.

<The only thing to remember is to validate your tickets at one of the little yellow machines before you get on your train>

If you have a full-fare or refundable ticket yes but it is my impression that if you have a train-specific non-refundable ticket there is NO reason to compost or date-stamp/cancel it yourself. Only for tickets that can be reused if a conductor does by chance not pop by and cancel it.

for lots of info on French trains check www.seat61.com- Man in Seat 61 who posts above - his commercial site; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

And with a valid TER ticket I believe you can use that on any TER train within the validity period of the ticket and get on and off without formality in that time period.

TER trains can be very full at times near large cities like Bordeaux IME - first class is not much extra and will guarantee you virtually an empty seat or rows of them. I base this on taking TER trains a lot from Orleans, a big city, to Paris - at rush hours 2nd class is SRO by the time the train departs - so board as early as possible in 2nd class.

Anybody using ticket machines should be aware that the SNCF is currently changing the machines so anything you thought you knew about them might not be valid anymore.>

But if there is a long line try the machines - many American credit cards like mine now have the embedded chip formerly needed to use many train station and ticket machines in Europe. Or they may well take cash - hit the British flag sign for details in English.

I used Captaintrain.com to purchase all our tickets... Mostly TGV which were print at home, they come with assigned seats and you just get on the train and present them to the ticket inspector if asked.
You might want to check out the Captaintrain.com 'help' section. Click on "How do I print my ticket at the station?" It has great step by step instructions on what to click on to retrieve your tickets at a French station.
There is even a "Do I need to validate my ticket?" Section you can click on for information too.
The print at the station tickets in our experience did not come with assigned seats, I think because they are regional trains, and as Palenq mentioned, 2nd class is always more full than 1st class, so if concerned about getting seats together or the cars being very full you may want to get 1st class.
Interestingly even though our confirmation code was for a specific train on a specific date and time, when I looked at the tickets the machine printed for us there was a range of dates printed on it. I think that is why they had to be validated before we got on the train!
A special thank you to Palenq- you were so encouraging to us last year in traveling by train and we now have two successful trips using trains (well rental car too this time).