 | Paris Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc. Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 205 |  |
 | |  |  | Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: Down by the station, early in the morning ... | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
The kids' song I have picked up in the heading continues " ...see the little puffing billies all in a row".
The long distance railways in France are run by the SNCF and 'puffing billies' definitely are not part of their fleet! Many of the trains, such as the ones in the photo, now are TGVs (Train a grande vitesse, tr 'High Speed Trains') which cruise along at over 250km/hr, it's interesting to think that the Ferrari also appearing in my 'transport tips' would have no speed advantage! What's more, these do not have to contend with traffic and many are express to their destination, which means that it is possible to get quite a way from Paris on a day's return excursion.
I took the TGV from Gare Montparnasse to Tours, a trip of 230km by road: the TGV ate the distance in about 1.5 hours, with one stop, and it was pleasant to watch the countryside scrolling past the picture windows. Saving time further, the train travels between city centres, avoiding the problems of getting to airports and the inherent airport delays. The fares are more or less comparable to discount airlines and you do need to pre-book your seat. Note though that the SNCF website does not seem to allow for bookings from some countries - I had to book through my local tourist agency. Yes, there also are discount fares for seniors, international seniors cards are accepted. Theme: TrainWebsite: www.sncf.fr/
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| | | | Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: Gare Saint-Lazare | Tip Rating: | | | | |
This is the station that was painted by Claude Monet in 1877. You can see the painting in the Musée d'Orsay, but if you don't feel like standing in line for the museum you could always come over and look at the station in person. Here's what it looks like from the back, from Place de l'Europe.
Second photo: Trains arriving at Gare Saint-Lazare.
Third photo: As at the East and North Stations, there is a major construction project underway here at Gare Saint-Lazare, designed to modernize the station, optimize access and create an attractive public square at the front.
Fourth photo: People waiting for their trains. From here you can get trains to the suburbs and to cities like Rouen, Le Havre, Cherbourg and Dieppe.
Fifth photo: These posters hanging from the ceiling are meant to suggest that all these folks have covered up their cars for the summer and have gone on vacation by train instead. This is of course rather tongue-in-cheek considering the actual vacation habits of French automobile owners, but it's a clever advertising campaign for that very reason. Leave a Comment Theme: Train
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| | | | Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: VIIIth - Pinky Big Ben... | Tip Rating: | | | | |
If you want to go to London from Paris, and visit the one and only Big Ben, you have to go to the Gare du Nord train station. But, I don't know why, this weekend, they have decided to advertize for the "Shuttle" crossing the Channel, in front of the Gare St Lazare train station... And they try and made us believe that Big Ben was...a pink candle !! Fair enough !!! It's the best opportunity for me to introduce you to the brand new features of the "Cour de Rome", the place fronting the train station, whose modern design (looks like a nut, no ?) basically hides the entrance of the subway station... Leave a Comment Theme: Bicycle
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| | | | Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: EuroCity trains | Tip Rating: | | | | |
These EuroCity trains, which used to take over six hours to go from Frankfurt am Main to Paris, have now been phased out in favor of the new high-speed connection in which German ICE trains run on French TGV tracks.
At the moment (summer 2007) there is only one through train per day, an ICE that leaves Frankfurt at 6:34 in the morning and arrives at Paris East Station four hours and seven minutes later. But there are two other connections which involve changing from one ICE train to another in Saarbrücken, the reason for this being that they do not yet have enough ICEs that are equipped to run on French tracks.
Starting in December 2007 they are planning to run five direct high-speed ICE trains per day in each direction.
Second photo: The EuroCity trains no longer had dining cars for the last few years, but they did have vendors coming through on both the German and the French sides of the border, selling quite different kinds of coffee by the way. The vendor in this photo is on the French side, as you can tell from the stacks of individual-filtered plastic coffee cups. These make good coffee but are not environmentally-friendly as they use four different kinds of plastic for the cup, the handle, the filter and the cover.
Third photo: Bicycle transport was still possible in the EuroCity trains, but is not possible in the InterCityExpress (ICE). The General German Bicycle Club (ADFC), of which I am proud to be a member, is campaigning on this issue.
Fourth photo: Arrival by EuroCity at Gare de l'Est (East Station) in Paris, June 2006. Leave a Comment Theme: Train
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| | | | Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: WHERE TO LEAVE YOUR LUGGAGES | Tip Rating: | | | | |
AUTOMATIC LUGGAGE BOX:
* Angers, Avignon-centre, Bordeaux, Cannes, Lyon-Perrache, Marne –la Vallée Chessy, Marseilles, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse.
PARIS
* Gares de Paris: Austerlitz/Est/Lyon/Montparnasse/Nord.
Open 7am-11pm
The rate is depending of the size:
3,40 € (1), 5 € (1) ou 7,5 € (1) for 72 hours.
Austerlitz = gate 27, 7am-11pm
Saint Lazare = no
Gare du Nord = 7am-11pm
Gare de l'est = 7am-11pm
Gare de Lyon = 6.30am-11.30pm
Montparnasse = 5am-1am
MANUAL LUGGAGE BOX:
* Dijon, Lille-Flandres, Lyon-Part Dieu, Metz, Mulhouse, Rennes, Strasbourg. Ouverture périodique en gares de Saint-Raphaël, Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Moutiers et Saint-Gervais-les-Bains.
Rates: 4,50 € (1) per lugage (valise, colis), for 24 hours.
Rates: 5,30 € (1) bike, fauteuil roulant for 24 hours.
(1) Rates on 01/08/2002.
* ATTENTION: for security reasons, it may be closed. Leave a Comment Theme: OtherWebsite: http://www.voyages-sncf.com/info_resa/passenger_guide/home.htm Other Contact: www.sncf.com
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