compartment?
I have been assuming that grdngrl was travelling from Paris to Loire on the TGV.
Are there compartments on trains for this sort of trip. We travelled from Paris to Lyon (a similar sort of trip?) and the First class was simply cars with one fewer seats across and perhaps fewer rows.
BTW - day we travelled (Admittedly May 1) we and another couple were the only ones on the car.Twenty minutes out of Paris the conductor had a seat, put up his feet, removed his hat and went to sleep.

Some TGVS at least have Bureau Compartments mainly for business types i believe in first class - these - perhaps called Club compartments or some such thing and you could have sat in one of those.

Most modern high-speed trains are mainly open seating now with the exception of some family compartments and such business oriented club compartments.

Yet lots of mainline trains in Europe still have the traditional compartments that have largely vanished from high-speed trains - probably because they can get more seats in the same space.

I have to admit I don't remember exactly which train we were on that had the compartment. It could have been Venice- Santa Margherita Ligure, or Santa Margherita Ligure-Nice. It must not have been a EuroStar, because it did stop very often, thus my problem of being in people's way as they tried to enter and exit.

In any event, the other trains we took were Italian Eurostar, and I was struggling with my huge bag. Just lifting it up into the luggage racks was a pain. Going up and down the multiple stairwells was also a problem.

My point is that, having two bags would have been less problem, I think. At least I would have been more balanced!
>-

"Overhead rack but pretty narrow"

I'm traveling on the TGV from Paris to Aix with a 22in rolling suitcase. Would it fit in the overhead rack?

I was going to comment on the 1st class comment as well. I've found that even in the off-season we had some trouble finding space for our one suitcase a piece near our seats. The overhead is tall enough for your 22" carry on even if it's overstuffed.

Luggage Delivery System:
I just looked this up and here is what it says...

"SNCF will pick up your luggage at your hotel in Paris in the morning before check out and deliver it to your hotel in Nice [I would presume elsewhere but it may be worth a phone call to check], where it will be awaiting your arrival. The cost is €15 for the first bag, and €10 for each of two additional bags, with a maximum of three bags per person."

SNCF Luggage Delivery Service (tel. 08-03-84-58-45).

Now I don't know about you but, in the grand scheme of things, that price doesn't look exorbitant to me and it DOES look to be geared to vacationers.
Assume 4 pieces of luggage for 2 people - €50... hotel to hotel.
Take the Metro instead of a taxi....
Solves a lot of problems.

As many have already said -- travel with the LIGHTEST, SMALLEST SUITCASES you can.
I never have back problems until I travelled with a small, but heavy suitcase, lugging it around train stations, lifting up on overheads while traveling.... I eventlually had surgery to correct BACK PROBLEMS.

I can't say what the train will be like from Paris to Aix, but the last couple times I took a TGV train in France (last year), there was no room on the overhead racks for anything but tote bags and day packs. Perhaps an 18" suitcase would fit, but I'm not even sure about that. A 22" would not. They didn't seem to be making them for regular luggage any more, only the equivalent of "carry ons". You had to put your luggage at the place at the end of the car, and then there was another big space in-between a couple rows of seats for more. There was plenty of room for everyone, but the car wasn't completely fully, actually. I think it would have been tough if everyone in that car had had even one suitcase.

I thought this was unusual compared to some years ago when you always could put a 22" suitcase on an overhead rack in TGVs (or you'd be in one of those compartment things in first class). Often there isn't a problem in first class because it isn't full and so you can just keep the bag next to you if you are in a row with two seats, for example.

I've been on French trains that weren't completely full in first class just last year.

This is also my experience with first class on TGVs - i've often seen some empty seats and these act to relieve the luggage congestion problem a lot.

If loads of luggage go first class IME

PQ - the lack of response since the original post has convinced me that grdngirl has already left on her trip, solved the problem or just doesn't really care

balletgirl - <b>I'm traveling on the TGV from Paris to Aix with a 22in rolling suitcase. Would it fit in the overhead rack?</b>

No way ... maybe room for a laptop case in the overhead but that's about it.

Is this in an ES train? If so, my Mom's suitcase was much larger than a 22in and it fit in the overhead.

Our 21&quot; rollies fit on the ledge above the seats on the Thalys...

<b>Is this in an ES train?</b>

Sandi, I was describing the overhead space on the TGV from Paris to Avignon and Aix ... enough room for a briefcase or laptop, not enough for a suitcase, at least on the train we traveled on 3 weeks or so ago.

there's always room for a 22' suticase - on your lap!

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'll report back on if the TGV had room overhead or not. I'll plan for putting it in the luggage area.

PalenQ:
<i>&quot;...there's always room for a 22' suticase - on your lap!&quot;</i>

But wouldn't that make it.....a <i>laptop</i>?!
And everyone has said laptops fit overhead.

Sorry. Circular thinking.

not a 22 foot laptop - should have said 22&quot;

All the description I was making the other day proved to be an omen. When we boarded our Thalys train first class from Amsterdam to Paris on Tuesday, I was even more shocked. The luggage rack at the end of our car literally held three - count 'em, three -- suitcases and was already filled. Fortunately the overheads are large and held a lot, but by the time we reached Brussels, people had luggage everywhere, aisles, seats, etc.

NeoPatrick

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35034274