Rail travel in France



Trains are a great way to get around in France. You can get from pretty much anywhere to anywhere else by train. For long distances, use the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, or High-speed train) on which reservations are obligatory. But if you have time, take the slow train and enjoy the scenery. The landscape is part of what makes France one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

Understand
The French national railway network is managed by SNCF Réseau, a branch of the nationalised company SNCF (Société nationale des chemins de fer français).

Passenger trains are operated by different companies:
 * SNCF operates most of the trains (high-speed, long-distance normal-speed, regional normal-speed).
 * OuiGo is a brand of SNCF, which operates low-cost TGVs. This service is modelled after low-cost airlines: tickets are cheap (starting at €10), but you'll have to pay extra if you want to bring large bags or want a seat with a power socket, and you'll have to be at the train station 30 minutes before departure. Most OuiGo trains serve the same popular train stations as regular SNCF services.
 * International high-speed services connecting to the rest of Europe are operated by several companies, including Eurostar (London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne), TGV Lyria (Switzerland), Deutsche Bahn (Germany) and RENFE (Barcelona). (Thello's night-train service between France and Italy ceased on 1st of July 2021.)

Each company has its own conditions of carriage, and most of them do not accept SNCF discount cards for international journeys (OuiGo is also distinct from SNCF within France despite being owned by SNCF).

The SNCF website Timetables in station (in English) and Gares & Connexions (French only) provide live train schedules, keeping you informed about platform numbers and delays. This information is also available on smartphones via the free application SNCF.

Within France
SNCF operates almost all passenger lines within France.

SNCF
SNCF operates a number of different kinds of high-speed and normal trains:


 * TER (Train Express Régional): Regional trains and the backbone of the SNCF system. TER are sometimes slower but do serve most stations. Available on Eurail and InterRail passes. As they are managed by each region, SNCF conditions of carriage do not fully apply, and you are not entitled for a refund in case of a delayed train. Booking is available in two classes: première classe (first class) is less crowded and more comfortable but can also be about 50% more expensive than deuxième classe (second class). There is no food or drink service on board. A few trains are equipped with power sockets next to some or all seats.


 * Intercités: Long-distance normal-speed trains (see network map. Includes lines with compulsory seat reservations (light green on the map) and lines for which seat reservations are optional (dark green on the map). The reservation-optional trains are what one will often use on passes. There is no food or drink service on board. A few trains are equipped with power sockets next to some or all seats.


 * Night train services (Intercités de Nuit) also exist, although they are slowly being phased out. These include couchettes second class (6 bunk beds in a compartment), first class (4 bunks) and reclining seats. Wagon-lits (a compartment with 2 real beds) were totally withdrawn from French overnight trains. However, you can ask for a "private room" (in first class). As of 2022, night trains link Paris with Briançon, Toulouse, Rodez, Latour-de-Carol, Cerbère, Albi, and Lourdes, in addition to Biarritz and Hendaye in July & August. The train attendant sells snacks and drinks. Very few trains are equipped with power sockets next to some or all seats/beds.


 * TGV InOui (Trains à Grande Vitesse): The world-famous French high-speed trains run from early morning to late evening in most of France (see network map). Most trains operate to/from Paris, reaching Lille in 1 hr, Reims in 45 minutes, Metz or Nancy in 1 hr 30 mins, Strasbourg in 1 hr 45 mins, Dijon in 1 hr 30 mins, Lyon in 2 hrs, Marseille in 3 hrs, Nice in 5 hrs 45 mins, Montpellier in 3 hrs 30 mins, Toulouse in 4 hrs, Bordeaux in 2 hrs, Nantes in 2 hrs, Rennes in 1 hr 30 mins, but some trains also link cities without stopping in Paris. There is a bar in coach 4 or 14 that sells drinks, snacks, and microwaved meals, but no proper restaurant (there is no bar service between Paris–Lille and Paris–Reims). Wifi is slowly rolled out, SNCF expects all trains to be offering wifi by the end of 2018.


 * TGV OuiGo: the low-cost version of TGV, with service between Tourcoing (next to Lille), Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Marseille, Strasbourg. Some OuiGo trains to Nantes, Rennes, and Bordeaux, leave from Paris-Montparnasse, but most OuiGo trains serve stations in the suburbs (Massy TGV, Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy TGV - Disneyland, Charles de Gaulle airport TGV) that can be reached in about 45 minutes from the centre of Paris with public transit. This service is modeled after low-cost airlines: tickets are cheap (start at €10), but you'll have to pay extra if you want to bring more than a hand luggage, a seat with a power socket, and you'll have to be at the train station at least 30 minutes before departure. There is no food or drink service on board. There is no wifi on board, and no plans for it.

Fare system (TER, Intercités, TGV InOui)
The SNCF fare system is a bit complex but still easy to understand.

All Intercités and TGV InOui tickets are exchangeable and refundable, minus a fee, before departure. On those trains, you have to travel on the exact train you bought a ticket for. Tickets are generally cheaper the further in advance they are purchased.

For regional trains (TER) and Intercités without a reservation, tickets purchased at a ticket office are valid for any train within one to seven days (depending on the region you travel in).

Discount cards. If you plan to do more than 4 long-distance trips during your stay, investing in a discount card may be worth it. It costs €49, is valid 1 year, and you will need to put a photo on it. The discount applies to TGV InOui and Intercité tickets on full or normal fares, 1st and 2nd class, for travel in France and abroad, but the conditions of applicability depend on the age group the card is issued for.
 * Carte Avantage Adulte can be subscribed by people aged 27–59. The card holder is granted a 30% discount on one-way trips on Saturdays and Sundays, or on one-way trips on weekdays when travelling with a child aged 4–11. The discount is also granted on round-trip tickets with at least one week-end night (i.e. Friday/Saturday/Sunday night) between each leg (they can be separated by up to 61 days). When applicable, the discount of 30% is also granted to one accompanying adult, and 60% for up to 3 kids aged 4–11 travelling with the card holder
 * Carte Avantage Jeune for youths aged 12–27, Carte Avantage Senior for adults 60 years or older. The card holder is generally granted a 30% discount, without any restrictions, on all days of the year, and 60% for up to 3 kids aged 4–11 travelling with the card holder.

On top of the 30% discount, capped fares a guaranteed: never more than €39 for a short journey (under 1h30), €59 for a medium-length journey (1h30–3h), and €79 for long journeys (over 3h). Besides being entitled to discounted tickets, card holders are eligible for last-minute offers.

There is another discount card on offer: the Carte Liberté. It costs €399 which doesn't make it suitable for normal tourists, but only for people who undertake many trips within one year. The card holder is granted a discount of 60% on 2nd-class tickets and 45% on 1st-class tickets off the full or normal fares. Alternatively, the same discount as with Carte Avantage may be chosen, which will be profitable only when being accompanied by children. As an extra bonus, card holders benefit from more flexible exchange and refund conditions.

For more details see the information provided at SNCF's website: Carte Avantage Adulte, Carte Avantage Jeune, Carte Avantage Senior, Carte Liberté.

The discount rate offered on TER tickets depends on the region you travel in: some regions offer up to 50% discounts with these cards, others offer nothing, see this (not quite up-to-date) map here or the information here (French only). Moreover, most regions have their own discount cards.

Fare system (OuiGo)
Basically, the earlier you book, the cheaper it is. Tickets are non-refundable. SNCF reduction cards are not valid.

International
Many companies operates lines between France and the neighbouring countries, but there is almost no competition between them.

To/from the UK
Eurostar is the only option, with high-speed trains between: Detailed timetables are available on the Eurostar website.
 * Paris, Lille, Calais Fréthun in France, and Ashford, Ebbsfleet, and London in the UK, from early morning to late evening, several times a day
 * London, Ashford, Ebbsfleet and Marne-la-Vallée - Disneyland, once a day, with a morning departure from London, and an afternoon departure from Marne-la-Vallée.
 * London, Ashford, Lyon, Avignon, and Marseille, 1 to 5 times a week depending on the season, with an early morning departure from London, and an afternoon departure from Marseille. On the northbound way, you will be required to exit the train in Lille for passport and security controls, before reboarding the same train 75 minutes later.

Three classes are available: Wifi and power sockets are available in almost all trains.
 * Standard, the equivalent of the 2nd class
 * Comfort, the equivalent of the 1st class, with a light meal
 * Business Premier, the equivalent of the 1st class, with a full meal, and access to Eurostar lounges in Paris and London

Due to safety regulations, and the fact that the UK is not part of the Schengen area, Eurostar has airport-like facilities at the train stations, with passport control and X-ray of your luggage: you will have to be at the train station at least 30 minutes before your scheduled departure (15 minutes if you hold a Business Premier ticket).

Book early (reservation opens 6 months in advance), as fares can be really expensive on Eurostar (up to €236 one-way between Paris and London in Standard class). If you're really flexible, Eurostar Snap offers discounted tickets between 1 and 4 weeks before departure, but you'll only get to select the day and a morning or afternoon departure: your exact schedule will be given only 2 days before departure.

To/from Belgium
Eurostar, SNCB, and SNCF offer services between France and Belgium, but mostly don't compete with each other. Eurostar took over the old Thalys routes.

Eurostar
Eurostar operates high-speed trains from Paris to Brussels and Antwerp, with dynamic prices starting at €29 in Standard class, or to Liège-Guillemins starting at €39. Morning trains usually cost less than afternoon or evening trains.

Free wifi and power sockets at the seat are available in all trains. There is an airport-like security screening before you can board at Paris-Nord; try arriving at least 20 minutes before departure at the station.

SNCB
SNCB operates Intercity trains between Lille and Mouscron, Kortrijk, Ghent, Antwerp, Tournai, Mons, and Namur.

SNCF
SNCF operates high-speed trains between the Eastern part of France (Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Perpignan, but not Paris) and Brussels.

To/from the Netherlands
Eurostar operates train routes from Paris to three cities:


 * Rotterdam Centraal (2.6 hours, from €45)
 * Amsterdam Centraal (3.5 hours, from €48)
 * Schipol Airport (3.2 hours, from €48)

Morning trains usually cost less than afternoon or evening trains.

Free wifi and power sockets at the seat are available in all trains. There is an airport-like security screening before you can board the Eurostar at Paris-Nord, try arriving at least 20 minutes before departure at the station.

To/from Luxembourg
SNCF operates trains to Luxembourg.

To/from Germany
Deutsche Bahn, Saarbahn, SNCF, and SWEG, operate trains to Germany. ÖBB operates night trains between Austria and Paris with stops in Germany, thus providing overnight connections between Germany and Paris, see here.

Deutsche Bahn / SNCF (Alleo)
Deutsche Bahn and SNCF operate a joint-venture service between: Some services are operated by SNCF trainsets (the train is therefore designated as TGV), while some other are operated by DB trainsets (designated as ICE). Both feature 2 classes of service, a trilingual crew (French, German, English), and power sockets at every seat. ICE trainsets offer free wifi within Germany only.
 * Paris, Forbach, Saarbrücken, Kaiserslautern, Mannheim, and Frankfurt am Main
 * Paris, Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Ulm, Augsburg, and Munich
 * Marseille, Lyon, Karlsruhe, Mannheim and Frankfurt am Main (with intermediate stops between Marseille and Frankfurt).

While SNCF and DB jointly operate these trains, each operator has its own fares and fare system: compare the price between both operators before booking, or use Trainline as they automatically compare both prices and offer the cheapest one.

Eurostar
Eurostar operates high-speed trains between Paris and multiple cities in Germany:


 * Aachen Hauptbahnhof (2.6 hours, from €40)
 * Cologne Hauptbahnhof (3.3 hours, from €42)
 * Dortmund (4.8 hours, from €59)
 * Duisburg (4 hours, from €59)
 * Düsseldorf (3.8 hours, from €59)
 * Düsseldorf airport (3.9 hours, from €59)
 * Essen (4.3 hours, from €59)

Free wifi and power sockets at the seat are available in all trains. There is an airport-like security screening before you can board at Paris-Nord, try arriving at least 20 minutes before departure at the station.

Regional services

 * SNCF operates a TER line between Strasbourg, Sarreguemines and Saarbrücken with connections with trains arriving from Metz.


 * Deutsche Bahn (DB) operates two lines of regional trains between France and Germany:
 * between Wissembourg and Neustadt an der Weinstraße (once every hour), with some trains continuing to Mainz and Koblenz on Sundays
 * between Lauterbourg and Wörth am Rhein (once every hour)
 * between Forbach and Saarbrücken (once every hour)


 * Saarbahn operates a light-rail service between Sarreguemines and Saarbrücken, with a departure every 30 minutes most of the day.


 * SWEG operates a regional service between Offenburg and Strasbourg with a train every 30 minutes to 2 hours.

To/from Austria
ÖBB operates night trains to France on the route Vienna–Salzburg–Munich–Paris three days a week

To/from Switzerland
Lyria and SNCF operate trains to Switzerland.

To/from Italy
Both SNCF and Trenitalia operate high-speed trains between France and Italy on the route Paris–Turin–Milan, most of them via Lyon.

To/from Monaco
Monaco-Monte-Carlo train station is part of the SNCF railway network and is served by TER trains running between Grasse, Nice and Ventimiglia.

To/from Spain
CP, EuskoTren, RENFE, and SNCF, operate trains between France and Spain.

To/from Poland, Belarus, Russia
Due to the sanctions against the Russian Federation, RŽD train services in the European Union have been suspended. Before, they operated a weekly train between Paris, Strasbourg, and Moscow, through Germany, Poland, and Belarus, arriving/departing France on Thursdays.

Booking tickets


It is possible to book the same journey through a number of different travel agencies websites (in different languages and currencies). The fares for journeys inside France are the same with every travel agency.


 * SNCF-Connect: SNCF's booking site for all kind of SNCF tickets.


 * OuiGo.com: French-language booking website where only OuiGo tickets can be booked. It can sometimes get confusing, and is known to hardly work when you try to buy a ticket from abroad or with a non-French credit card. Be careful: you will need the credit card that has been used for payment to retrieve your tickets from the ticket machines. If you don't have it, your tickets will be lost, and you will need to buy new tickets.


 * Trainline is a multilingual international booking website. It aims to be as easy to use as possible. You don't need your credit card to retrieve the tickets, only the reservation number and the last name entered for reservation. You can pay with Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Paypal. Tickets can be printed or downloaded on your mobile phone or Apple watch or Android watch. This website sells tickets for 19 European countries, including SNCF tickets for trips in France and abroad, Lyria tickets for trips to Switzerland, Eurostar tickets for trips to the UK, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, and RENFE-SNCF tickets for trips to Spain. For SNCF-DB joint-operation (Alleo) journeys between France and Germany, Trainline automatically compares SNCF and DB fares, and shows you the cheapest of both (although it's for the same train, SNCF and DB have their own fares).


 * RailEurope: Multilingual international booking website. Fares will often be more expensive on this site.

SNCF tickets can also be booked from vending machines in railway stations, but the older machines for TER tickets accept only coins! Ticket booths and kiosks have disappeared from most small stations.

Getting on board
To find your train, locate your train number and the departure time on the departures board. There will be a track ("Voie") number next to the train and departure time. Follow signs to that track to board the train. You will have a reserved seat on TGV trains. On other long-distance trains, you can make reservations (at least one day in advance); if you do not have one you may use any unused seat not marked as reserved. To find your reserved seat, first look for the train coach number ("Voit. No"). Pay attention to the possible confusion between track number ("voie") and coach ("voiture", abbreviated "voit") number. As you go down the track, the coach number will be displayed on an LCD screen on the car, or maybe just written in the window or right next to the doors. Within Paris, on the RER and Transilien networks, four-letter codes (such as COHI, FACA, QYAN, VICK) are generally used in place of train numbers.

The reserved-seat rules are lax; you are allowed to switch seats or use another seat (of the same class, of course) if it is empty because the TGV is not fully booked or the other person agrees to switch with you. The only requirement is not to continue using a reserved seat if the person holding the reservation claims it.

On the main lines, TGVs often run in two. There are two possibilities: either the two TGVs are considered as one train with one train number (in this case each coach has a different number); or the two TGVs are considered as separate trains which run together during a part of their journey, with two different train numbers (in this case, the two trains may have two close numbers such as 1527 and 1537), and each train will have its own coach numbering. So be sure you are in the right train (the train number is shown on the LCD screen, with the coach number).

If you are early, there is often a map somewhere on the platform (displayed either on LCD screens, or on older LED panels marked "Composition des trains") that will show how the train and car numbers will line up on the platform according to letters that appear either on the ground or on signs above. That way, you can stand by the letter corresponding with your coach number and wait in order to board the train closest to your coach. You can easily go from one coach to another, so if you are very late, jump in any coach of the same class before the train starts, wait until most people are seated, then walk to your coach and seat number.

Beware: To avoid any form of fraud, paper tickets must be punched (composté) by an automatic machine (composteur) to be valid. Older machines are bright orange, newer machines are yellow and gray. The machines are situated at the entrance of all platforms, but there is no barrier preventing you from entering the platform or boarding the train without stamping your ticket; the onus is on you, the passenger, to remember to do so. There is a knack to using the composteur, and it can take several attempts if you don't know what you're doing: insert the ticket face up, left end (with the SNCF logo on it) first, into the slit of the machine, as far to the left of the slit as you can. If the validation is successful, you will hear a buzz that's a bit like the sound of paper being torn, and see a small light on the machine flash green. The ticket won't look any different after validation.

Failure to punch the ticket may entitle you to a fine even if you are a foreigner with a limited French vocabulary, depending on how the conductor feels, unless you approach the conductor as quickly as possible and request that your ticket be validated. Likewise if you step aboard a train without a ticket, you must find the conductor ("contrôleur") and tell him about your situation before he finds you. However, printouts of e-Billet electronic tickets do not have to be punched: in doubt, punch it anyway, you won't be fined for punching an e-Billet.

French information booths, especially in larger train stations, can be quite unhelpful, especially if you do not understand much French. If something does not seem to make sense, just say "excusez-moi" and they should repeat it.