Ok..now for train reservations. It appears I can purchase TGV tickets and reservations on the RailEurope site. Other posters have referred to the english section of the SCNF site. Which is preferrable for booking from the states and (sorry) do I pick the tickets up in France or have them mailed to me in the States? Our travel is uncomplicated. TGV from Paris to Avignon(Gare Lyon) and TGV from Aix en Provence to Paris(Gare Lyon).

Fares are usually lower on the SNCF site. You can order your tickets on line and then pick them up in France; you'll need to provide the confirmation number and credit card that you used to buy the tickets.

Hi Pam,

Choose "France".

You will get a confirmation number.

Bring that and the CC used to book the travel to any train station and get your tickets.

I purchased tickets (Paris-Bayeux) on the SCNF site yesterday. Instead of putting in an address, I chose the "print tickets" option. It allowed me to pay for the tickets online and I have them in hand. This might work for you too and save you some time and hassle at the station.

SNCF won't mail you tickets in the US.

Printing is a good option, if you have that choice, but it isn't an option in many cases.

FYI, you must prepay by CC online, not just order them or make a reservation , if you expect to pick them up in France more than about a week from when you make the transaction. It sounds like you were planning on paying, however, but I know some people have had that problem.

This is different but when my family and I wanted to travel by TGV and local train from Paris to Berne with a stop in Strasbourg, we went to the SwissRail website and purchased the tickets online. SwissRail can mail the tickets to US addresses. So if the journey involves both France and Switzerland, for example, then buying from SwissRail is a good idea to me instead of buying from SNCF. Please correct me if I'm incorrect.