Chad

My wife and I will be purchasing one of the passes for our travel in France. I have read that all TGV trains require a seat reservation? Is this true and how much extra should we expect it to cost? <BR> <BR>Thanks

Liz

If you get them at the train station, about $4. If you are traveling during a busy time, and MUST be on a particular train, you might want to buy them ahead. I believe there are limited seats available if you use a railpass on any given train.

Judy

Yes, reservations are required on all TGV trains. And, they are cheaper if you get them at the train station in France. We were going to be travelling on weekend days to our major destinations in southern France in September and decided, to be safe, to get our reservations before we left the States. I think it cost around $15 per reservation. When we made a day trip on the TGV on a week day, we were able to get reservations the same day, but the train was pretty full.

Ritardo

TGV reservations are obligatory on all TGVs to my knowledge, cost FF20, or about $3 per seat. In my experience there is usually not much of a problem getting them except during a few busy travel periods, and then mainly to and from southern France. There have been rumors of a railpass allotment for seats on some TGVs in hectic travel periods like August, but I've never had problems booking first class seats with a railpass, often right up until the time of the train. Second class can be harder to get. As many TGVs are now dupleix trains - two levels - when reserving ask for seats up top if you want a better view. Officials also say that even if a TGV you want to take is full, they reserve a certain number of seats on a "sur-reservation" basis - if you can't get a seat ask if you can reserve "sur-reservation" and the conductor finds a seat for you among expected no-shows, or on folding seats between cars. Note: even if the TGV is nearly empty, you still need a reservation - we once boarded a nearly empty one to go just between Nice and Cannes and the conductor charged us for the reservation, plus a surcharge of about $10 for buying it onboard. If landing at DeGaulle Airport in Paris, an easy way to make TGV reservations there is in the arrivals are of Terminal One, where most trans-Atlantic flights land, at the SNCF (French Railways) desk, a full-service rail booking/ticketing operation. Reservations in the US are done through either DER or Rail Europe or via travel agents who work through them - $11 per seat reservation, plus a $10 order fee; only if you must be on a certain train in a busy period need you book before getting to France. For expert advice I'd call Budget Europe, who specializes in such reservations and always takes time to expertly answer all of my questions (800-441-2387 i think; ask for their free european rail planning guide that loaded with tips.

jean-francois

The new TGV Mediterranean line between Paris, Lyon, Avignon, Marseilles and Nice is so popular that these TGVs may often be full, especially on Fridays and Sundays. But if you can't get on a Paris-Avignon direct TGV then you probably can get on a Paris-Lyon TGV, then transfer to a regular train to go between Lyon or Avignon. Or if the Paris-Nice TGV is full, go Paris-Marseilles, then transfer to a regular train to Nice. Paris-Nice trains can be hard to get on in summer especially. Or from Paris if you can't book a Paris-Nice train, try booking a TGV that goes from DeGaulle airport to Nice (the airport is a stop on the Lille/Brussels-southern France TGV line.