Train/Rail Passes in France (TGV line)?

Question

My friend and I are going to France for 3 weeks (22 days) and we want to travel the country by Train. We have planned our route, and we have the train schedules (times of departure and arrival), however, we are SO in the dark about Train *Passes*.

We know that the rail line is the TGV, and we have our route (where we're going and what we're seeing) and the daily schedule planned out... but other than that, we're lost.

We want to buy a rail pass that either gives us unlimited travel for a set number of days, or that will give us a set number of train trips within a set number of days, or SOMETHING like that. How does (do) the rail pass(es) work? How can we max our traveling by rail without breaking the bank?

Can anyone shed some light on how to travel with the rail passes in France? What packages/options are available? What are the prices? Where can we buy the passes? Any websites you can direct us to?

THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE!

Answer 1

I don't think there an "unlimited" train pass available. There are some discount passes you can buy and get significant discounts on your trips. But I would always advise to reserve your places in advance. Best is to check tgv.com and sncf.com websites and carefully read all information available. Eurorail.com is also a good source of information and for reservation.

Answer 2

Rick Steves has a lot of good info describing rail passes and  making a rail pass work for you.  http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/rail_menu...

On the TGV trains, you'll need seat reservations that you can make at any train station (or gare in French).  I think they're €3 each.  If you take any other train (Corail or TER), with the exception of a sleeper train, you won't need reservations - just your rail pass.

To make a rail pass work, divide the cost of the pass by the number of days the pass is good for -- then compare this cost to the price of a ticket from one place to another.  Often it's cheaper to just buy a ticket (billet)  instead of using a rail pass day.  You can get a rough idea of a point-to-point ticket price here: http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/france.ht...

Have a great trip!

Answer 3

Go to tgv.com where you can book and work out your train travel  on the tgv trains. You can calculate the distances between each destination, scheduled time of departure and arrival, book your tickets, cost... etc.

Click on the english version if you don't understand french

Answer 4

Here is an explanation of how the French Rail Pass works http://www.raileurope.com/us/common/how_...

By the way, the TGV is a type of train and not the only train. TGV means Tres Grand Vitesse (very high speed). There are many other trains and for short trips there may not be much of a speed advantage if any traveling on a TGV rather than an ordinary train.

You might want to sit down and check the individual prices of each leg of your rail travel to find out what types of costs you are looking at. Then you can compare these to the costs of the pass. You can easily do this on the SNCF (French Rail) website: http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/_SvH...