French Intercities trains
 

I have an upcoming trip that will be on an Intercities train from Paris to Normandy in mid- March. . I find that while I can make confirmed reservations, I cannot select a specific seat. Is this the norm on these trains or am I missing something on the SNCF site? Are there no reserved seats on these trains? Thanks.

Not sure where you are going to and from. But I live part time in the western part of France and when I book what is called a TER train, you generally can't reserve a seat. So for example to where I am in Royan, from Paris to Niort where I have to change, it is a TGV where I have a reserved seat and then from Niort to Royan it is TER and it is just open seating. So it may be the case with your train as well. Generally I haven't found it to be a problem.

You can reserve a seat on most of the Intercité trains for a fee of several euros. Usually it´s really not needed as they run often and are rarely overly crowded.

Thanks for your responses. We are going from Paris to Bayeux after our overnight flight from the US. I tried the seat reservation option after selecting my trains, but the system said it was not possible. Am I looking too far out, (over 60 days?)

You don't need a seat reservation on the train from Paris to Bayeux. If the system said it's not possible, it's not, so don't worry about it.

There has been a problem with the SNCF websites not allowing the purchase of reservations but normally it is possible on Intercité trains. You could do it at the station but I cannot remember if there is a required lead time for making reservations. You really do not need one.

YOu can reserve seats on some of those intercite trains with certain fares (regular fares). I don't think you can reserve a specific seat on those trains if it is a PREM, so if that's the fare you are buying, that's normal. In fact, while I wouldn't expect any problem, I don't think a PREM on those routes even guarantees you a seat.

Thanks to all for your responses.