Trains
Rail travel
Rail travel in France
High-speed trains in France—TGV, ICE, Thello, Renfe-SCNF, TGV Lyria, and the Eurostar connecting Paris to London
Unlimited train travel in France, or France and some neighboring countries, or even all of Europe—Is a Eurail pass worth it?
Sleeping on an overnight train is a relatively safe endeavor, but take a few sensible precautions to avoid pickpockets and thieves and sleep more soundly
Like the trains themselves, French train stations tend to be clean and user-friendly—with tourist info, hotel booking service, left luggage lockers or offices, and decent snack bars (in case you forget to pick up train picnic supplies in town)
More on Overnight trains
Trains links
- Oui.sncf - Parent site for the official SCNF French rail system (and it's low-cost advance-purchase subsidiaries, Ouigo and iDTGV).
- Raileurope.com - Premier service for buying railpasses and train tickets before you head to Europe. Chock full of useful information, and handy for searching train times while planning your trip (though it doesn't have all the tiny routes).Partner
- Bahn.de - Unlike the rail sytems of most countries, which tend to stick to its own national networks, the national German rail site is super handy for looking up train times on any rail network in any country in Europe (not just Germany), including trains between countries. Unfortunately, they won't show you the prices if it's not a trip that starts of ends in Germany, but it's great for planning out the timing.
- Europetrainsguide.com - General train info from a private site devoted to European rail travel.
- Seat61.com - General train info from a private site devoted to rail travel, including detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to get from Paris to just about any other country in Europe via rail.
- Railfaneurope.net - A site for train afficionados; handiest for travelers is the page of links to national rail sites.
Travel comfort links
- Neck pillow - For the plane or long train rides. I prefer one that cinches at the front to provide all-around-the neck support (wear it backwards to keep your chin up); some rave about the the funky J-Pillow; other go for the Travel Halo with its built-in eye mask.
- Eye mask - Some love 'em; some don't. I find every bit of help sleeping helps.
- Noise-canceling headphones - The one silly travel gadget I actually use (it makes flying less stressful, even if you don't sleep; also: way easier to hear the movie). There are tons of models. I currently rock a JVC HANC250—les than half the price of Bose; nearly as good. Or go super low-tech with earplugs (sadly, I'm one of those people who cannot tolerate wearing them).
- Book - Just bring one or two. Some hotels have book trading shelves. Also, most local book stores have an English-language section.
- Tablet/E-reader - For long plane and train trips. If a tablet or e-Reader, load up on titles before you leave, or get one with WiFi (so you can download outside the U.S) or a Kindle with 3G (which connects for free in 100 countries).
Useful French phrases
Useful French for rail travel
| English (anglais) | French (français) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
| Where is? | Où est? | ou eh |
| ...train station | la gare | lah gar |
| train | train | traah |
| ticket | un billet | uhn bee-YAY |
| ticket counter | les guichet | lay ghee-SHAY |
| departures within the hour | départs dans l'heure | day-PAR dohn luhr |
| local departures | départs banlieue | day-PAR bahn-LYOO |
| long-distance departures | départs grandes lignes | day-PAR grahnd leenyh |
| departure time | heure de départ | uhr de day-PAR |
| arrival time | heure d'arrivée | urh dar-ree-YAV |
| first class | première classe | pruh-mee-YAIR klahs |
| second class | seconde classe | say-COHN-duh klahs |
| one way ticket | un billet simple | uhn bee-YAY SAHM-pluh |
| round trip (return) ticket | un billet aller-retour | uhn bee-YAY ah-LAY RAY-tour |
| I would like to reserve a seat | Je voudrais réserver une place | dzuh voo-DRAY RAY-sair-vay ooun plahs |
| I have a Eurailpass | J'ai Eurailpass | dzay ao-rail-PAHS |
| sleeping couchette | une couchette | ooun koo-SHET |
| berth in a sleeping car | une place en voiture-lit | ooune plahs uhn vwa-TOUR-lee |
| track | voie or quai |
vwa or kay |
| car / carriage | voiture | vwa-TOUR |
| punch your ticket | composter de billet | cohm-poh-STAY de bee-YAY |
| departures | le départ | luh day-PAR |
| arrivals | l’arrivée | lah-ree-VAY |
| connection | correspondance | ko-ray-spon-DOHNZ |
| coming from | en provenance de | un pro-veh-NONS de |
| going to | a destination de | ah des-tee-nah-tzee-YOWN de |
| Is this the right platform for the Paris train? | Est-ce que c’est le quai pour le train de Paris? | es kuh say le kay poo-rh leh traah de pah-REE |
| delayed | en retard | hn ruh-TAR |
| information | information | een-for-mah-tzee-YOHN |
| left luggage | consigne | cone-sah-NYEH |
| exit | sortie | sohr-TEE |
Basic phrases in French
| English (anglais) | French (français) | pro-nun-see-YAY-shun |
| thank you | merci | mair-SEE |
| please | s'il vous plaît | seel-vou-PLAY |
| yes | oui | wee |
| no | non | no |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais? | par-lay-VOU on-GLAY |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprende pas | zhuh nuh COHM-prohnd pah |
| I'm sorry | Je suis desolée | zhuh swee day-zoh-LAY |
| How much does it cost? | Combien coute? | coam-bee-YEHN koot |
| That's too much | C'est trop | say troh |
| Good day | Bonjour | bohn-SZOURH |
| Good evening | Bon soir | bohn SWAH |
| Good night | Bon nuit | bohn NWEE |
| Goodbye | Au revoir | oh-ruh-VWAH |
| Excuse me (to get attention) | Excusez-moi | eh-skooze-ay-MWA |
| Excuse me (to get past someone) | Pardon | pah-rRDOHN |
| Where is? | Où est? | ou eh |
| ...the bathroom | la toilette | lah twah-LET |
| ...train station | la gare | lah gahr |
Days, months, and other calendar items in French
| English (anglais) | French (français) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
| When is it open? | Quand est-il ouvert? | coan eh-TEEL oo-VAIR |
| When does it close? | Quand est l'heure de fermeture? | coan eh lure duh fair-mah-TOUR |
| At what time... | à quelle heure... | ah kell uhre |
| Yesterday | hier | ee-AIR |
| Today | aujoud'hui | ow-zhuhr-DWEE |
| Tomorrow | demain | duh-MEHN |
| Day after tomorrow | après demain | ah-PRAY duh-MEHN |
| a day | un jour | ooun zhuhr |
| Monday | Lundí | luhn-DEE |
| Tuesday | Maredí | mar-DEE |
| Wednesday | Mercredi | mair-cray-DEE |
| Thursday | Jeudi | zhuh-DEE |
| Friday | Vendredi | vawn-druh-DEE |
| Saturday | Samedi | saam-DEE |
| Sunday | Dimanche | DEE-maansh |
| a month | un mois | ooun mwa |
| January | janvier | zhan-vee-YAIR |
| February | février | feh-vree-YAIR |
| March | mars | mahr |
| April | avril | ah-VREEL |
| May | mai | may |
| June | juin | zhuh-WAH |
| July | juillet | zhuh-LYAY |
| August | août | ah-WOOT |
| September | septembre | sep-TUHM-bruh |
| October | octobre | ok-TOE-bruh |
| November | novembre | noh-VAUM-bruh |
| December | décembre | day-SAHM-bruh |
Numbers in French
| English (anglais) | French (français) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
| 1 | un | ehn |
| 2 | deux | douh |
| 3 | trois | twa |
| 4 | quatre | KAH-truh |
| 5 | cinq | sank |
| 6 | six | sees |
| 7 | sept | sehp |
| 8 | huit | hwhee |
| 9 | neuf | nuhf |
| 10 | dix | dees |
| 11 | onze | ownz |
| 12 | douze | dooz |
| 13 | treize | trehz |
| 14 | quatorze | kah-TOHRZ |
| 15 | quinze | cans |
| 16 | seize | sez |
| 17 | dix-sept | dee-SEP |
| 18 | dix-huit | dee-SWEE |
| 19 | dix-neuf | dee-SNEUHF |
| 20 | vingt | vahn |
| 21* | vingt et un * | vahnt eh UHN |
| 22* | vingt deux * | vahn douh |
| 23* | vingt trois * | vahn twa |
| 30 | trente | truhnt |
| 40 | quarante | kah-RAHNT |
| 50 | cinquante | sahn-KAHNT |
| 60 | soixante | swaa-SAHNT |
| 70 | soixante-dix ‡ | swa-sahnt-DEES |
| 80 | quatre-vents ‡ | kat-tra-VAHN |
| 90 | quatre-vents-dix ‡ | kat-tra-vanht-DEES |
| 100 | cent | sant |
| 1,000 | mille | meel |
| 5,000 | cinq mille | sank meel |
| 10,000 | dix mille | dees meel |
* You can form any number between 20 and 99 just like the examples for 21, 22, and 23. For x2–x9, just say the tens-place number (trente for 30, quarante for 40, etc.), then the ones-place number (35 is trente cinq; 66 is soixsante six). The only excpetion is for 21, 31, 41, etc. For x1, say the tens-place number followed by "...et un" (trente et un, quarante et un, etc.).
‡ Yes, the French count very strangely once they get past 69. Rather than some version of "seventy,' they instead say "sixy-ten" (followed by "sixty-eleven," "sixty-twelve,' etc. up to "sixty-nineteen.") And then, just to keep things interesting, they chenge it up again and, for 80, say 'four twenties"—which always make me thinks of blackbirds baked in a pie for some reason. Ninety becomes "four-twenties-ten" and so on up to "four-nineties-ninteen" for 99, which is quite a mouthful: quartre-vingts-dix-neuf.