The Seat 61 guide to French train travel

There's certainly no need to fly to France. Not only has Eurostar captured over 70% of the London-Paris market from the airlines, one simple change of train in Lille can see you on a TGV direct to Avignon, Bordeaux, Marseille or Nice.

186mph isn't too fast to enjoy the countryside - as the TGV 'flies' at ground level along the Rhone Valley, you'll see pretty French villages with picturesque churches, and even the occasional hilltop château. All whist sitting back with a good book and a glass of the red stuff.

Price-wise, if you book ahead (up to 3 months) you can get a London-Lille or London-Paris ticket from £39 one-way, £69 return, and a TGV ticket from as little as £22 each way. No baggage fees, no check-in fees, and nothing extra to pay for travel to and from remote airports.

For detailed rail routes to locations within France see our Trains to France booking guides.

1 year, 8 months ago
ManinSeat61
81 ●2

2 answers (answer)

1

I hear there is no issue taking a surfboard on the TGV?

Eurostar have said I can drop it off at St Pancras a day early, then collect when we get to Paris and I want to be sure we can take it on the TGV to La Rochelle - think this will be OK?

Husband is already in Paris, so I have his luggage, and his surfboard, and his children to transport across Paris and down to the West Coast, so would like to think we won't have any hiccups!

J

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10 months, 2 weeks ago
Juliagroves
11 ●1
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0

With Eurostar you are allowed to travel with up to 2 pieces of luggage up to a maximum of 85cm wide and 1 piece of hand luggage. Dismantled bikes in a bike bag are also permitted and these items have a 120cm limit.

Surfboards on the other hand have to go as registered luggage (at an additional cost of about £20-30) so you are right to drop it off beforehand as that way Eurostar guarantees that it will be at your destination within 24hrs after registration. Sending it ahead means that it should, space-permitting, be there for you to collect when you reach Paris.

At Paris Gare du Nord registered baggage is collected from Geoparts, which is open between 7am and 10pm daily. From the station concourse, take the walkway on the far left and follow the signs for ‘Bagages Enregistrés Eurostar/Geoparts’.

Regards the TGV, Loco2 were informed that there are no special fees for oversize luggage. There are spaces for larger items at the ends of carriages and sometimes there is a special luggage coach depending on the TGV train. Just leave a little time to ask a member of staff before boarding to locate it and make sure you label your items clearly as you would regular luggage.

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10 months, 1 week ago
Anila
286 ●2 ●6
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