I will travel by train from Strasbourg to Paris. But now i am out of Europe and my travel is before Christmas day. Do i need to buy my ticket from www.voyages-sncf.com or can i be able to find a last minute offer ticket before getting on the train? Before Christmas can the train be full? I am looking for your help. Thanks all.

Hi arc,

I have not yet seen a last-minute offer from SNCF. The lowest price tickets go on sale about 60 days in advance.

>Before Christmas can the train be full?

Depaends on which day you intend to travel.

I suggest you buy your ticket ASAP.

Unless you are a French citizen holding some sort of special SNCF pass, the best deals are available on the SNCF site in advance. Particularly if you're traveling before Christmas, I'd go to the site and buy a ticket now.

Trains between Strasburg and Paris are likely to be fully booked around Christmas, so there won't be any cheap tickets. It would be safer to book as soon as possible.

A few points...

1. Paris - Strasbourg, in the absence of high-speed service (the TGV Est line won't be ready until 2007), has premium conventional-speed service called "Corail Teoz". Many trains in the corridor are designated this way, and they REQUIRE reservations, just like TGVs. The corridor still has some ordinary "Corail" trains, which do not require reservations.

2. SNCF's Web site has tremendous advance-purchase discounts, called "Prem's"; click the blue box on the left side of the screen. For Paris - Strasbourg, the best "Prem's" fare is less than half the regular fare (20E versus 48E). "Prem's" is 2nd Class only.

3. SNCF's Web site has tremendous last-minute discounts ("derniere minute" in French); click the orange box on the right side of the screen. The current last-minute Paris - Strasbourg discount fare, again in 2nd Class, is 21E. Caution: the fares and the range of cities change weekly.

4. Your time in Europe is very valuable (Rick Steves jokingly mentions the average cost of each waking hour). If you need to get from point A to point B on a specific day, it's worth it to reserve.

Paul Marcelin-Sampson
Santa Cruz, California, USA

I got one more question to ask:
Is there a student discount for ISIC (international student identity card)?

By the way thanks for the responses.

Hi arc,

When you buy your ticket at http://www.voyages-sncf.com/
you will be given the lowest priced available fares for the train you want.

You might have to search through alternate trains for the lowest fare.

Be sure to click on the "youth" when you make your booking.