twoflower

I'm looking at finishing our driving tour of France by taking the TGV from Avignon back to Paris (Gare de Lyon). Never having taken a high speed train before (the nearest we've come to it in the past is the Eurostar between London and Paris), the idea appeals as a (hopefully scenic) change from driving after a long trip of several weeks in the car.

I'm curious as to where this TGV route will take us, what towns/stations it will pass through. Every TGV website's map (Eurail, bahn.de & others) shows a dead straight diagonal line between Avignon and Paris, which I feel is highly unlikely. Can anyone tell me where the TGV route really goes, and does it stop at any stations at all along the way? Thanks...

twoflower

BTW, I did try bahn.de's "show intermediate stops" option, but it lists nothing. I assume this means that it doesn't stop anywhere along the way. Unfortunately though, it doesn't tell me anything about what route it takes or what places or stations it might pass through.

kerouac

There is no stop between Avignon and Paris. You will basically just see the terrain and vegetation change from "southern France" to "northern France," with some picturesque villages in the distance if you have a sharp eye. The trip is less than 3 hours.

michelhuebeli

In Avignon the station for the TGV is about 4 miles outside of town, it's called Avignon-Gare TGV (duh...).

On the website of the French railways, www.sncf.com/en/passengers you can input your trip and see the details.

When you get the search results (timetables), click on the train numbers. On the next screen you have a column that lists "Stops". If there are none listed, there are none.

In Paris you'll arrive at the Gare de Lyon.

The journey will take a bit over two hours. That's fast (GV = Grande Vitesse = High Speed!). No intermediate stops!

mjs

There was one stop when I took that train in June but it was during a strike so I do not know if the stop was normal. There were two stops from CDG to Avignon on the way down.

Underhill

I remember a very short stop somewhere in Burgundy, but not in a city.

greg

There is nothing visually appealing on that route. For that matter, pretty much any high speed train routes are this way. They need to route where it is flat, away from the population when not at the station, and straight line = boring landscape.

StCirq

There is a very occasional TGV that stops in Tours, but otherwise no, it's a straight zoooooom from Avignon to Paris.It's not pretty or picturesque for the most part. It's just fast and efficient.

kerouac

I think the station Macon-TGV is on the same line, but the train from Avignon does not stop there. You can barely see it as you whiz through. A couple of years ago there was a problem on the line, and the train went through Lyon-Saint Exupéry and even stopped there, but that is not normal at all.

Lois2

Well we traveled that route in July and it did make at least two brief stops...it is very comfortable and the landscape was beautiful...you are really moving so more of a big picture that actually seeing things village or town by town ..nice experience but at Avignon station anyone can and does get on and off the train and some tourists had stuff stolen..train leaves and you are out of luck..keep everything right with you which means packing fairly light and if leaving bag on shelves keep within eyesight. We enjoy the trains.

Southam

The TGV north to Paris travels on its own dedicated tracks and doesn't go through intermediate urban areas. As noted, the Avignon TGV station is on the edge of the city. The trains are electric, riding on welded rails and with hydraulic compensation for curves. Smooooth!

twk

The train moves so fast that you really can't see the nearby things as you pass by--if you are looking out the window, you have to look on the horizon to see things in any detail.

twoflower

OK, thanks everyone - I think I get it. No stops, pretty much its own dedicated line a lot of the way, too fast to see any nearer scenery but OK if looking further into the distance, but a worthwhile experience anyway! Have I got that right?

Thanks,

kerouac

Yes, most definitely a worthwhile experience if you are not familiar with the TGV.

annhig

As well as the non-stop Avignon to Paris service, there are trains that stop at Avignon and other stations between there and Paris - we caught one that stopped at a number of places before we reached Lille [I think] where we caught the Eurostar.

the train definitely stopped at Lyon, and a couple of other places, but I can't remember where they were. However it doesn't stop for long and you don't have much time - someone on our train got off for a cigarette and was almost left behind!

kerouac

The trains between Lille and Avignon take a different route than the ones between Paris and Avignon.

Whathello

You have a stop sometimes at ? les mines ? (monceaux les mines ?) which is the stop I take when in Avignon.

StCirq

Whatever route you take, you're traveling so fast you can hardly "take in" the scenery unless you keep your eyes on the horizon. If you want scenery, take a slow train.

annhig

here's a timetable showing the stops - I believe that this is the route that our train took as I remember it stopping at about 4 places, including CDG:

http://www.groundedtravel.com/routes...rain#timetable

Though as St C says, it's difficult to take in the scenery as it's going past so quickly.

kerouac

Oh, that already qualifies as an "omnibus" for me!