Nuremberg to Paris: Train? Air?
 

My husband and I will be travelling from Nuremberg to Paris in May. The train seems to be about 2 - 3 times the cost of air (Air Berlin), but we're leaning towards the train so that we can see the country. Has anyone taken the train? Buy ticket in advance? I think we have to change trains from what I've found. Any help would be appreciated.

www.bahn.de will give you the best connections - German rail web site with schedules for all trains in Europe and pricing for trains in Germany

there are some SPAR fares available for the Nurnberg-Strasbourg German portion if you book far enough in advance - otherwise you may just as well buy there - same price i think

The French portion TGV or ICE train that goes over Europe's newest high-speed train route, TGV-Est at speeds approaching 200 mph, go to www.voyages-sncf.com for similar online only deals

You may get a thru fare Nurnberg-Paris on www.bahn.de however - i'm not sure or you may have to get two tickets.

If you keep topping this up sooner or later TimS or Larry in Colorado will probably help on the SPAR type online fares - those two know lots on using the bahn.de site. Larry especially is a guru on German rail travel, TimS on French as well as i learnt from pass posts of theirs and they are always very helpful.

Take the plane and use the time to explore the landscape.

The high-speed trains are not exactly a perfect way to see the country.

If you play around with time and date, you can probably find a fare around €68.

The TGV part now goes from Paris to Stuttgart and maybe alternatively to Frankfurt. You can book that part online for €39 as a Euro Spezial fare. For Nürnberg to either Frankfurt or Stuttgart you might find a Dauer Spezial fare as low as €29.

You can find the connections together on the German Rail website, bahn.de, but PalenQ is right, you probably can't book them together online.

Larry the Railteam Alliance i talked about in a yesterday post hopefully will allow such thru ticketing within in a year or so.

Instead of flying, we took the Karlsruhe-Paris train first class. It was considerably more expensive than flying but we liked it a lot, plus the convenience of train travel is so much better -- show up 20 mins. before departure, hop off at destination, and you're done.

j 999 9: and could not you see the countryside perfectly well?

unless you want to just see airports on your european trip take the train whenever feasible IMO as to see the lay of the land in between cities is one reason we go to Europe

Now you can still get a one-way ticket with Air Berlin for €29 pP incl. tax and fees.
I think you have to like train travel a <b>lot</b> to enjoy a 6 1/2 to 8 hour trip (change trains twice).

I, indeed, did see the countryside, and it was very relaxing. I think the trip was about 3 hours. Contrast that with a 90-minute flight Paris to Frankfurt:

-- The usual 1-hour minimum hassle of getting to the aiport.

-- Making sure you're there 2 hours ahead of time to get through security, etc.

-- Flight time. Waiting to land. Waiting for a gate.

-- The 1-2 hours to get luggage, get through immigration.

-- The 1 hour to get into the city from the airport.

If I could, I'd take the train all the time.

delayed planes?

For a day route, book a Dauer-Spezial fare of &euro;29 for Nuernberg-Stuttgart, departing Stuttgart at 09:41. Book a Stuttgart-Paris special fare of &euro;39 on the train that arrives in Paris at 16:34. Book both tickets well in advance at www.bahn.de.

For a night route, book a Dauer-Spezial fare for the Nuernberg-Stuttgart train departing at 20:35. Book the Stuttgart-Paris night train well in advance at http://buchung.nachtzugreise.de to get SparNight fares of &euro;49 for a bunk in a four-person couchette.