Our first trip to France - Which train? 1st class/ 2nd class? How long is the ride? Can you see the scenery during daylight hours?

For definitive information, go to www.sncf.com (click on the little British flag, upper left-hand corner to get English) - - although you can get much of the same information at www.raileurope.com (click on "Search our database of fares & schedules"). note: the fare information is marked up substantially, and this is NOT a recommendation that you buy your tickets from them.<BR><BR>1st class/2nd class is a matter of personal preference. Seats are more roomy, plusher. I guess it depends on how much you value comfort vs. savings. 121.50 euros 1st class, 75.30 2nd class; 6 hrs 3 minutes for the non-stop (it's not TGV speeds all the way, I think).<BR><BR>As for scenery, I have only gone as far as Avignon, but driven the rest of the way (back and forth a couple of times). Not all that scenic to Avignon; smooth as a whisper, and rarely ANY sense of how fast you're traveling. Onward to nice, the scenery (while driving) takes a lot of people by surprise - - looks a lot like Arizona or Utah.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

From Toulouse or Marseille, the train hugs the coast so you get to see the Mediterranean on your right, the corniches on your left.<BR><BR>I've done that trip a couple of times on a sleeper train (arrive Toulouse at 6am so daylight/awake for the coast) and the rest of the trip in 2nd class. If you are going to take the whole trip in daylight hours, you'll have to make the choice as Rex said, comfort vs savings. I'd pop for the extra if $40 each isn't a strain, and be more comfortable on a long train ride in first class.

We've done the trip by TGV first class from Paris, hanging a left at Marseille, as I recollect, going as far as Cannes. I was not moved by the scenery. From Marseille, one does see glimpses of the Sea and Mastif, but I don't regard the scenery as memorable. Your eyes adjust to the speed (until you whip past a close fixed object). The cars were very comfortable, clean and spacious. The service, nonexistent, though it was on one of those national holidays where no one worked even to collect tickets. Next trip, we'll fly.

We had done this from Nice to Paris. We used 1st class because we were using a Eurailsaver pass. The scenary is well, like this between Paris and Avignon - field, a distant village on a hill, filed, a distant village on the hill, and same thing on an on. More dry around Marseille, going thru industrial complexes. You won't see Mediterranean, at least close enough to it, until near Cannes, and you are near the end of the trip already. This is not a scenic train ride. The prettier section is on a slow train from Nice toward Italian Riviera.<BR><BR>Besure to get your food and drink BEFORE you hop on the train, preferably in town. Their choice is small, prices high, and they run out of things quickly. This is a long train ride.

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My wife and I are also traveling from Paris to southern France in April on the TGV train. Supporting Rex's comments above, the sncf website ticket price for Paris to Aix en Provence is about 50% of Raileurope's website price after you add raileurope's reservation fee and $15. shipping. The sncf site requires a french credit card and shipping address in France. Is there a way for Americans to obtain tickets through the sncf site, or do we just relax and pay double to buy tickets through Raileurope before we leave? We arrive in Paris on a Saturday, and take the train the next Wednesday. I am afraid to gamble on waiting to buy tickets in Paris that Saturday and finding that the train is sold out. Any suggestions?

I think that the probability of youe bing able to buy the tickets you want - - a few days in advance - - is extremely low. This os not a gamble, in my opinion.<BR><BR>You can buy right at CDG when you arrive in Paris, if you wish.<BR>

Is it a gamble to wait to buy tickets when you first get to France? <BR>I was told that there should be no problem making a reservation from Paris to Avignon one week in advance when I first arrive in Paris in mid May. <BR>Any other opinions on this?<BR>

I always get my tickets at CDG when I land, sometimes for the same day and have never had a problem. I should think in April and May you would be safe.

Thanks to Rex, David, and Sue regarding buying TGV tickets. We will purchase when we arrive in Paris.<BR><BR>Mike