The high speed TGV has been the number one way to travel by train in France and Europe for the past 25 years.
The pioneering French trains, which travel at speeds of over 300 Km/h, offer high-speed services connecting major French cities.
The TGV offers both first and second class, and some trains have carriages specifically for business travellers, families or groups including; Onboard services include interiors designed and refurbished by C.Lacroix, offering spacious reclining seats with footrest and broad comfortable seat cushions, individual reading lights and ample storage space.
Other services include a nursery equipped with a dressing table and a bottle-warmer, and a bar and food counter, which offers refreshments including breakfast, hot and cold dishes and a variety of drinks, newspapers and magazines for the duration of the journey.
The TGV also has facilities for disabled travellers on all major routes.
To get the best deals, passengers should check out the Special Offers section of the website and book early to benefit from bigger discounts. TGV tickets can be booked 90 days in advance of travel.
Rail Pass holders need to validate their pass before boarding the TGV and Flexi pass holders, who still need to buy a TGV ticket before boarding, will use up one travel day when taking a journey with the TGV.
There are no check-in or customs procedures before boarding TGV’s trains.
Popular TGV routes include Paris-Lille in 58 minutes with six daily round trips, Paris-Lyon in just over 2 hours and 21 daily roundtrips, Paris-Strasbourg takes just 2 hours 20 minutes, Paris-Bordeaux just under 3 hours while the southern towns of Marseille and Montpellier can be reached in around three hours. For Nice and Toulouse the journey is 5 hours 28 and 5 hours 12 minutes respectively.
Train travellers looking to benefit from early bookings and who want to plan their TGV train journey around France can pick up tips and advice on Rail Europe’s website.