Luggage at the train station
 

Hi everyone!

If we are planning on taking a late train - and will be checking out of the hotel by early afternoon, what shoudl you do with your luggage? Are there lockers in the train station to lock suitcases. If so - are they safe? How much do they cost?
Do people usually just leave it with their hotel?

How far is the train station from everything in France and Italy?? if it is out of the way, it wouldn't make sense to go there, put the luggage away, and then go back into town. And therefore, we should just book our train tickets for early morning instead.

Train stations usually have lockers, unless the security people have sealed them off. Then there will be an attended check room. It will cost you a few dollars. Safe? I've never had a problem with luggage in a locker or in an attended office.

Train stations are usually near the center of town, within a mile or so. In bigger cities there can be a half dozen stations on the perimeter and in the busiest parts of the city. They are usually linked by metro or bus service.

I agree with hopscotch, but in most places you can just leave them in the hotel. It's for free and if the hotel is close to the places you want to see the last day it probably saves you time.

If you are leaving a hotel, it would be better and cheaper to leave your luggage there. Even cheap hotels will look after luggage.
There are thousands of railway stations in France and Italy. Some are in city or town centres, and others are not. You need to be more specific about where you're going.

Well from Paris we would be taking the TGV to Nice. I have not reseached which trains station that would be - but that is our destination.

The trains from Paris to Nice go from the Gare de Lyon which has left luggage; the luggage is put through a scanner then you put it in a locker. Unless your hotel is out of the way, it will be best to leave luggage there until you need to go to the station. The Gare de Lyon is served by several metro and RER lines so is easy to reach.

The TGV to Nice departs from the Gare de Lyon. Leave your luggage with the hotel and have them arrange a taxi to take you to the station. The current PREM price for Paris-Nice is 70€ on the days available, but you could get a PREM rate of 25€ to Marseille and take a connecting train to Nice, which might save you some money - assuming the available dates match yours.

BUt I say airline tickets with easyjet for only 16 euros. Why would people take the train then - with airline rates as low as this?

You don't have the hassle to go to the airport.

Also, how common are these 16 € plane tickets? Because anyway, you can also find train tickets for as low as 25€.

FROM PARIS TO NICE? I can't find anything under $120 by TGV. Where do I get these 25 Euros tix???

You can't. I checked again, and I was wrong. They do announce it, but they must be very rare (I couldn't find one despite trying several dates and times) and most certainly not on a TGV, but on a night train.


The regular TGV fares are between 83 € and 105 € one-way, depending on the time of the day. The PREM fares (not refundable, not exchangeable) are 60€ or 70€ one way.



I could only find one example of a 120€ ticket, and I can't find it again. Except if the 120 € you're mentionning is the price for a return ticket, then that would be correct : 60 € times 2 would be the cheapest fare.

I called directly the SNCF and they told me that the prices for the PREM fares (Paris-->Nice, 2nd class) were :

35€, 60€ and 70€

They assured me there were 35 € tickets. I searched once again, but still couldn't find one. So they probably exist, but I suppose they must be very few of them and that you must try hard to get your hand on one.

There definitely are tickets costing more than 105 €, up to 120 €, but after many tries, I must say they are rare too.