Buying train tickets should be pretty straightforward. For some places it is, and for other places you have to work a little harder than you would like. As I booked my trip to Europe, I found there were more quirks with France Train Tickets than I would have liked. That’s not to say it was hard, but I will say I had more issues with France than anywhere else. So, if it can save anyone some frustration with French train tickets, this post will be worth it.
Where to Buy Train Tickets in France
Before we get too far into it, there are at least five different ways to buy train tickets in France. Let’s talk about each of options those first.
From an agent at the station
If you’re traveling last minute or have questions, this may the best option for you. However, there is potential for a language barrier as not everyone speaks English.
The downside is that trains can sell out so there is a possibility you won’t even be able to get the train you want. And if you wait until the last minute to book, prices can be significantly higher (especially for long distance trains).
From a ticket machine in the station
This option eliminates the language barrier, but you still have the same potential issues as buying from an agent. Trains may be sold out and you may end up paying more for your ticket if you wait until you’re in France.
From the SNCF website
Tickets can be booked far in advance and from wherever you are in the world. There’s no language barrier (just change your language from French to English). Plus, since you can book your tickets early, you may find yourself saving some money.
From the SNCF app
There’s not much difference between the app and the website. However, I had much better luck getting my payment to go through on the app. More on this later.
From a third party website
Third party websites, such as thetrainline.com or omio.com, exist to help travelers purchase tickets. These are valid options and don’t cost much more than booking direct with the train company. The big benefit is you’ll see all of the options for a particular route, not just one company. The tickets will cost a bit more money though because these websites have to make a profit somehow.
Purchasing Your France Train Tickets
Once you know when you will be traveling, book directly through either the website or the app. For more popular routes and high speed rail lines, you’ll be able to get better deals the further in advance that you book, so book early!
SNCF Website
For some strange reason, it’s not entirely obvious where you go to book your train tickets for France. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not hard, but it’s just not obvious. When you first go to the SNCF website, it will be in French. If you can speak French, great. My French is very minimal and broken, so I need English. In the top right corner you should see “Langue Fr” with a drop down arrow.
Use this to change to English.
You’ll be tempted to use the itinerary planner on the main page, but this just looks up itineraries. It will not give you the option to book. So if you actually intend to purchase a ticket, do not use this option.
Instead, click “Book Now” and then “Book Your Ticket”. This will take you to another SNCF website where you can actually book the train tickets for France.
But it’s still not straightforward.
In the search box, type your destination. For example, if you want to go from Paris to Tours, type Tours in the box and select the station from the dropdown and hit enter. Now you will finally be brought to a page where you can enter in all of your journey details.
From here, the process finally becomes more straightforward.
Enter your departure city, confirm your arrival station, enter your date, and add a return journey if needed. Select your trains and check out.
SNCF App
Download the SNCF app. When you first open it, you can create a free account. You will need this account later.
You’ll follow the same basic principal as the website. On the Trip tab of the app, enter your arrival station in the search box. This will take you to a more detailed search where you can enter your departure station, confirm your arrival station, and pick the dates needed. From here, it’s very straightforward.
General Booking Tips
When you first start your search, make sure the age is set appropriately, even if you aren’t using a discount card. I had mine set to 30-55 years old with no discount card, but I got all the way to checkout before it wouldn’t let me continue. I had to enter my birthday which indicated I was 29 years old (entering your birthday is mandatory). So I had to go back and start over. I was hoping there would be a minimal drop in price since I changed my age group, but there was no such luck.
Do yourself a favor. Make sure your age is set properly the first time.
Once you are solidified with your dates, book your train tickets, especially for longer distances within France. Trains can and do sell out. Plus the closer you get to your departure date, the more expensive train tickets can be.
If Your Payment Fails
You may run into technical errors with your credit card while purchasing your train tickets in France. When I booked on the website, it gave me a confirmation page and my credit card showed the charge. Two minutes later I got an email saying there had been an error and my payment was declined.
I contacted my credit card company who were able to verify it processed on their side so the issue was on SNCF’s side. The one great thing is SNCF immediately issued a refund so there was no money held on my account but the reservation no longer existed, which meant I had to do the entire process again. Ugh!
When I talked to my credit card company, they recommended two things to try to get a successful payment.
- Make sure your VPN is off.
- Use a different browser.
I originally did my booking in Firefox, so I switched to Google Chrome, but was having issues with that browser as well. I finally switched to the app (which I guess counts as a different browser) and had success. While I can’t say for certain, I believe the reason the app took my payment and the website failed was because I used ApplePay when I purchased my tickets through the app. After that point, I purchased all of my train tickets exclusively through the SNCF app and had no further issues.
How to Find Your Train at the Station
At smaller stations, it’s pretty easy to find your train. There are just fewer platforms (and fewer trains). But even at larger stations, it’s really not that hard.
Find an information board that displays all of the train departures. Then it’s just a matter of finding your train, reading the platform number, and heading to that track. Once at that track, look up to find another information board. That will confirm you are on the correct track.
Seating
On high speed rail trains, you’ll select a seat when you purchase your ticket. Pay attention to which seat you select. That is your seat and you must sit in that seat on the journey. To find your seat on your train, you’ll need the coach number and the seat number. Both of these can be found on your train ticket.
The coach numbers are displayed on the exterior of the train, so as you walk down the platform, keep an eye out for your coach number. Inside your coach, seats will be labeled, similarly to what you might find on an airplane.
On local, regional trains in France, you will only get a designated seat if you purchase a first class ticket. On a second class ticket, it’s open seating. So, just enter a second class train carriage, find an empty seat, and sit down. As a note, you may not necessarily find a seat. When traveled through the Loire Valley, my final trains of the day were so full that the majority passengers stood shoulder to shoulder wherever they found room. It sucked, but that’s what I get for not spending the money for a first class train ticket.
What to Do If Your Train is Cancelled
You booked your ticket in advance, so what happens if something happens? Well, this happened to me. There were strikes in France during my trip, and it caused one of my trains to be cancelled. The rebooking process was actually very easy. I logged into the SNCF app and selected a new train to replace my cancelled itinerary.
Now the one thing I will say is that I was not notified of my train cancellation. I had logged into the app about a week before my trip to check schedules for another route. I just happened to notice that my train was cancelled. Like I said, it was easy enough to rebook another train, but I’m glad I checked a few days before. So that’s my recommendation. A few days before your trip, just log in and verify that all of your trains are still running as scheduled.
Final Thoughts
It’s not difficult to purchase train tickets in France, but I ran into more frustration and headaches than I have with any other transportation provider. That is the sole inspiration for this post. So I hope this was helpful to someone and they can be spared the nearly hour I spent fighting with French train tickets.
Continue Your Adventure
Paris: Whether you have a layover, two days, or five days, there’s so much to see in France’s capital.
France’s Loire Valley: This is France’s chateaux country, with hundreds of castles dotting the region. While many people recommend renting a car, I utilized public transportation and explored the region without a car.
France Travel Guide: For everything you need to know about planning your trip to France, check out my France Travel Guide.