Very Fast Trains

The French railway system (SNCF - Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer) is one of the fastest and most extensive railway systems in the world. You can get to anywhere in France from Paris in no more than about 5 hours. Make sure the first thing you do when you arrive in France is to buy a Carte 12-25 to give you reductions on all of your train travel. You will be very familiar with the Corail Intercités train services that go between Paris and Vire, but when you want to go somewhere else, most likely you'll be taking a TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse). These trains are inhumanly fast, zooming at speeds of 300-320 km/hr (about 186-200 mph). These trains connect all of the major cities in France, most of them directly to Paris. In addition to the TGVs, there are a few other high-speed train services to know about. All of these trains are TGVs, but they are operated by different companies:

Eurostar - This train only has 2 routes - London to Paris, and London to Brussels. It takes advantage of the Chunnel. Travel time between Paris and London is only 2h15m! And between London and Brussels, 1h55m. It is important to note that it is MUCH cheaper to purchase a round trip ticket than 2 one-way tickets. In fact, A one-way ticket is about as much expensive as a round-trip ticket. Make sure you book early!!! The earlier you book your ticket, the less expensive it will cost. If you book at least two months in advance, it is possible to get a fare for around 70€ round-trip. www.eurostar.com












Thalys - These trains go from Paris to Brussels and continue to either Amsterdam, Brugges, or Cologne, Germany. Travel time to Brussels is an unbelievable 1 hour and 20 minutes, but the high-speed lines stop there, so it goes at a more "normal" train speed beyond Brussels. Travel time to Amsterdam is about 4 hours. However, this travel time is likely to be reduced to 3 hours within the next year (according to wikipedia, end of 2009) because a high-speed line will be opening between Brussels and Amsterdam. Like with the Eurostar, Book Early! The prices will be cheaper the earlier you book. Also, if you find yourself with a little extra cash, consider going in Comfort 1 (First Class). We booked about 3 months in advance, and we got first class for only 20€ more on the return part of the trip. It's well worth it, as they serve you a (good) meal and the seats are huge. There is also Wi-Fi available in the train (for a fee, though it's free in Comfort 1). www.thalys.com











ICE - This is the German version of the TGV, and there are ICE trains that go between Paris and Frankfurt.















All TGVs (Eurostar, Thalys, and ICE included) require a reservation. Reservations for all of these trains can be made at the website www.voyages-sncf.com. This website is only in French, but it gives you the best discount options available. For receiving your tickets, you can either print them, retrieve them in a ticket machine at a station, or have them mailed to you for free. I usually prefer to have them mailed to me.

I am cautious about Rail Passes. If you plan on buying one, make sure you plan out everywhere you go in advance, so you know that you'll be saving money. Going to Europe and "winging it" with a railpass will ultimately be a waste of money to you. Unless you plan on traveling to all places that you KNOW have good train service, I would just recommend buying individual passes. On a similar note, the website to buy Railpasses (www.raileurope.com) is a ripoff. Do not buy your train passes through this website. The fares are similar, but the only option for receiving the passes is via express mail, which costs an additional 20€.

A good website to have for reference is www.ter-sncf.com. The TER is the regional train system. This website will give you all of the timetables for the local TER trains as well as the Corail Intercités and TGV. If there is work to be done on one of the lines, therefore canceling some trains, this is the website to find that information. Also, if there is a nationwide strike, information regarding canceled trains will be posted at this site about 36 hous before strike day.