French train tickets vary enormously in reward.
The French train transaction is close, efficient and comfortable. You can sleep on the Lunea, go from one Megalopolis to another on the TGV or oomph cheap on the Teoz. However whether you wait until the ultimate mo and pay for at the SNCF duty in the station, you may salary aggrandized than you exigency to.
Select the least expensive ticket that works for you. Note that some are "Internet only" tickets, with very limited refund possibilities, called iDTGV. These are the cheapest tickets you can buy without a discount card, and are sometimes cheaper than regularly priced tickets with a discount card, but buy them only if you are sure of your schedule.
It is bounteous helpful to decide that you craving to receive from Paris to Hendaye at some objective in the basic week of Aug than to establish a particular period and allotment.
2. You can gratify to all ample cities in France by train.
Ascertain the names and ages of those travelling with you. The SNCF offers Journey reduction cards, including those for children under 12, adolescents between 12 and 21, and adults over 62. Although you get to shop for the cards, you can save as even as 50 percent on tickets, so one extensive trek more than pays for the card. The children's card is approximately 70 euros as of summer 2010, nevertheless it is expressly beneficial owing to it entitles you to a decrease of at least 25 percent on tickets for up to four passengers moreover to the child.
3. Paris is the hub of French train travel.
Go to the SNCF website. Click on the English option (look for the British flag in the list of flags) to receive an English menu. Open the "Trains" menu, click on "Reservations" and type in your ideal itinerary. Review the list of tickets available. Try the day before and the day after, if that flexibility is possible for you.
4. Trains offer a quick Stare at French countryside.
Try the search again, specifying that one of your traveling companions is eligible for a reduction card, if that is the case. You indicate this in the description of the passenger. Rerun the possible dates and mark the differences in price. If you decide on a discount card, buy it in on the SNCF site or at any French train station. It is valid from the moment you buy it. You will need a passport to verify the age of the card-holder passenger as you travel.
5. French beaches are not far away by train.
Instructions
1. Bias your itinerary as early as doable. Allow yourself as even flexibility as you can in dates and times of driving.6. If you choose a regular or discounted SNCF ticket, enter your credit-card information and whether you prefer to pick up the ticket from an SNCF agent or through the machines in the station lobbies. The latter option, while convenient, works only if you have a French-style credit card with a chip readable by French machines. Internet-only tickets must be printed on your own printer and shown at the gate to a special ticket agent for such tickets. The agents will be waiting beside the train.
