claude13

Holy cow, i am having no luck w/ buying tickets from the sncf.com website for TGV tickets in France. I live in Canada, but in the country drop down menu, there is no Canada (or U.S. for that matter) listed. I tried to avoid this whole situation by simply buying my tickets (which i would like to pick up from the TGV station in CDG), but the site won't let me proceed without a mailing address (which i can't input since my country's not there!). Aarrggghh!!! HAS ANYONE FROM NORTH AMERICA PURCHASED TGV TICKETS ONLINE? How the heck did you do it? Please help!!!!

ira

Hi c,

You have a response to your other post.

To find your posts, click on your name.

MargrietVanderBanck

No worries; I've bought tickets online from SNCF several times. As I recall, I've put my Canadian address in the address block, tagging "Canada" on at the end of the part I typed in (even though the country block is showing "France&quot. I suppose I could put in the address of my hotel, but I've never bothered, and it's never been a problem.

If you're buying PREM fares, you'll get a pdf file, which you print out and present on the train. If you're picking up the ticket, be sure to have your reservation number and the card you used to pay for the tickets. There are machines in the station, but they can only be used if you have a "smart" credit card, which has a chip in it and requires a PIN rather than a signature.

Good luck, and post if you have more questions.

Langcraft

Claude:

Go to www.TGV.com. I have found that it works better than the SNCF site.. IF you have further problems, let me know..

Luis

claude13

Hi Margriet,

Thank you for your help w/ the address. Did you have any trouble getting your tickets within the 7 days the site mentions? I purchased our tickets online, but nowhere did the site allow me to change the method of delivery (we wanted to pick them up since the timelines are so short). I kept thinking, okay the next screen will ask me, but the next thing I know, i'd bought the tickets and it confirmed that they would be sent to our home. I've emailed SNCF, but they say there is no way to change that. Ugh.

Christina

good luck with that. I know a few folks have done that by mistake, and did get their tickets mailed to North America.

I have bought tickets online from sncf.com from the US with no problem whatsoever, and it doesn't make you put in a mailing address. I have put in France as country of pickup and had no trouble, and it does not require you to have them mailed or even put in a mailing address. I think you must have done something wrong, but I don't know what.

Sometimes people on here have made similar complaints to yours about the address problem, but it was just because they assumed you had to put in your mailing address or wanted to, but it doesn't require you to (as with many forms, things marked with an asterisk may be required, but others are not). I've never put in a mailing address on sncf.com. If you select the option to receive the tickets free by mail, it requires an address (but should force FRANCE as the country if you said you were in France on the first page), but not if you choose the option to pick them up.

anyway, maybe all will go well and you'll receive them in the mail. I thought the 7 days it mentioned on the web site are for mandatory pickup in France, not for mailing. Sometimes I've gotten things mailed from France within four days, but up to three weeks at other times.

jobellview

Hi Claude13,

I live in Canada as well as it seems that you are forced to put in your address. I also would like to pick them up at CDG airport and not have them mailed. What happened Claude? Could you at least print out a pdf to bring with you? Also the TGV.com site forces you to the sncf.com site.
Jo

ParkerB

Sorry for reviving an older thread. But, I just had a similar experience and thought this might help someone. I think certain fares are just not available for online purchases while others are, and the website does not indicate the "unavailable" options. For example, I selected the PREM fare for CDG to Avignon and the site would let me purchase the tickets if I entered an address in any country but the US (or Canada), however there was no option for purchasing this rate online and picking up tickets. On another try, I selected the Full fare for the same train and it did allow me to purchase online to pick up at the station. I did try calling to get the better PREM fare but the representative told me that that fare was not available via phone, only the web.

I have not tried putting my US address into the form and leaving the country stated as France. This might work, because the representative said she could mail the "full fare" ticket to the US.

Hope this helps someone.