trains
 

I'm trying to purchace a TGV ticket from
Paris to Nice from the TGV web site with
no luck. Any suggestions?

When do you want to travel? You can't book anything more than 60 days in advance.

Try again, using a day of the week that corresponds to when you want to travel if the date is more than 60 days in advance of today. You will leave from the Gare de Lyon.

By the way - you can get a really cheap budget flight between the 2 for just as much as the train tickets would cost you. The earlier you book - the cheaper the flight rate is.

Here are some budget airline sites:
www.easyjet.com
www.ryanair.com
www.whichbudget.com
www.volareweb.com

We are leaving in Sept.
Also, they had three vastly different fares with little explaination of the differences.

Some variables:
2 people traveling together
traveling over a Saturday night
refundable vs nonrefundable
exchangeable vs nonexchangeable
peak vs nonpeak times
youth/senior vs standard fare

Hi thillt,

Apparently you can call up the possible tickets.

What, specifically, concerns you?

Their web site has every country in the world listed for ticket pickup except the US. If you pickup in France I assume it is at the station.

Also, I see there is a train station at the airport but you can't get to Nice from there? Do we first have to get to Paris by other means?

Leave the country as France.
Select the option to pick up at a station. (some fares let you print from your pc, even better; otherwise, this option will not be presented on the screen).
Save your confirmation email.
Go to an SNCF station, taking your email and same credit card (they use it to ID you). You can sometimes retrieve from a machine but folks say it is tricky, only certain credit card types work. Go to a ticket window.
Alternate - go to an SNCF boutique; here is a list of the locations:

http://www.voyages-sncf.com/info_res...?NumAdress=198

Thanks for the help.
Do I need to find transportation to Paris to catch the train for Nice?
Has anyone stayed at the Tim Hotel in the Latin Quarter?

What is a PREM train fare?

A PREM fare is a discounted fare on major TGV lines, the most common being Paris-Bordeaux, Paris-Avignon, Paris-Lyon, I believe. They are usually 20, 25, or 30 euros, a considerable savings over the normal prices. The links to them are listed on the opening screen of the SNCF website in the top left-hand corner.

there are TGV trains to Nice from the airport - the Brussels-Nice TGV trains stop here and there are several Roissy airport-Lyon, Avignon, etc. trains that you could take from the airport and with a change somewhere reach Nice. Much better than going into Paris to the Gare de Lyon.

Thanks to everyone. You have been very helpful. Hopefully, I can pull this together.

Hi thill,

You want to enter "AIRPORT CDG 2 TGV (95)" as your departure point.

"Nice" is your arrival point.

"France" is the country where you will pick up your ticket.

Remember to bring the same credit card with which you purchased the tickets.

Thanks ira but I'm still having problems. I went to their FAQ and they say they don't take reservations from North America. Sounds like I've wasted alot of time.

Dear thillt,

You leave the pickup country as France.

You pay for your tickets by CC.

You get a confirmation number.

You print out what they have given you.

You bring that to the train station at CDG along with the same CC.

They give you a ticket.

It is just like getting an eticket on an airplane.

thillt: follow ira's directions. It's not that hard. IGNORE the fact that they don't deliver tickets to North America - you don't want them delivered. Leave France as the country for pickup. Don't fill in any address information. Choose the "pick up tickets" option. Give them your CC number, print out the confirmation, take it with you along with the same CC you used to buy the tix, and get to the station a bit early to go to the ticket window to pick them up.

And don't forget to "composte" (punch) your ticket before getting on the train.