Night Train to Paris?
 

In September, I'll be near Nice on the Riveria. We were planning on spending the night in Villefranche and then taking the morning TGV to Paris. But I've just been reading a post about taking the night train to Paris. Could someone give me some advice as to which would be the best way to go? And what's the best (and cheapest!) way to get tickets? Thanks for your help

If you take the overnight train, you'll not have to pay for a hotel (savings) but for comfort's sake, do get either a couchette or a sleeper (sleeping in a seat is awful; I've done it). You can buy your ticket when you get to France - any train station can do that for you. It will be expensive; if you plan to do lots of train travel, look into a Francerail pass. It might work out to be cheaper using that, plus the couchette/TGV supplement, than buying a one-way (aller simple) ticket. <BR> <BR>You miss the scenery, but you arrive in Paris in the morning, not at night.

Thanks Elvira. <BR>I should add that I'm a bit confused by the sites on which one can purchase tickets. Is this the best deal? We are under 26 and married--aren't there discounts for these factors? (I just looked at raileurope.com and the price for one first-class one-way ticket is $133) Any comments are appreciated.

Go to www.sncf.com; it's the French Rail official site, and you can do an itinerary to get prices (yes, there is a discount for you young whippersnappers). <BR> <BR>If you are going to buy a pass, you must buy it before you leave (it's for tourists, not locals). If you aren't going to use the train at all except for the Nice&gt;Paris portion of your trip, then buy just the overnight train ticket. You can do that at any train station (show your passport to get the discounted whippersnapper price).

Thanks again, Elvira. The Nice to Paris train will be our only ticket, but I'd like to purchase it in advance as it's our first time to France, and I'm a bit nervous! <BR>(By the way, it's not quite fair to make me laugh at work--it'll give my nonwork activity away.)

If you'd feel better about getting the ticket ahead, use RailEurope. There is usually a handling fee of some sort, so be aware that'll be added on. <BR>They are reliable, and many travel agents use them when purchasing rail tickets/passes. <BR> <BR>Honest, buying tickets at a French train station is not hard; especially on the Riviera, where there are so many tourists. Above each agent at the train station is a sign showing what languages they speak (look for the Union Jack - not union label - or the Stars'n'Stripes for the English speaker). If you are still worried, write down exactly what you want, and show it to the agent. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your trip - September is a great month for visiting the Riviera. Fewer tourists, but the weather is still nice. <BR> <BR>Sorry about the humor - my medication has worn off.

Elvira (or any other train expert!)- <BR>I was wondering if you had any idea what I could estimate as cost of two one-way train tickets to Paris would from Nice. Like I mentioned, we are under 25, traveling together and are planning on taking the train on a Tuesday late in September. We would prefer a sleeper (and perhaps first-class?) Which leads me to another question, do you know what the difference between first and second-class sleepers are? (By the way I've looked at different web sites for train travel, but I have difficulty gleaning any type of difinitive answers from them.) <BR>Thanks for all your help.