France
We Tested the Legitimate Train Booking Platforms for France—Here’s What Works Best for Cheap Tickets
I’ve been booking train tickets online for French trains for two decades, both with the SNCF’s official websites and the various good competing private booking platforms. There is now a healthy variety of alternatives for booking French train tickets that can get you e-tickets with the same dynamic pricing as you’d get purchasing directly from …
Schemes for Cheap Train Tickets in France
The minimalist cheapskate writer of this article on a Ouigo train I’ve been whizzing around France on TGV and other trains as cheaply as possible for over two decades. And here, my dear penny-pinching minimalists, is an insider’s guide to the best current strategies, booking platforms, discount cards, sales, and future insights for bopping around …
How to Book French Train Tickets: A Guide to Painless Trip Prep
On another train. My butt’s been in all kinds of European train seats for 21 years. Trains are hands-down the best way to get around France. If you’re not used to France and/or to European train travel, the ticketing options can seem a bit overwhelming. But I’ve been traveling the French rails for the past …
The Best & Cheapest Ways to Travel Between Paris and Barcelona: Train, Bus, and — If You Must — Plane
I’ve long lived in the lovely, romantic French capital Paris and the lively, sexy Catalan capital Barcelona — these are absolutely my favorite two cities in the world. But how to travel between them? There are lots of websites that promise to sell you tickets between the two cities. A lot of them are terrible, …
What Is Iryo? And Are These High-Speed Trains Worthwhile in Spain?
Iryo is one of Spain’s very affordable train services and offers a comfortable, quick connections between key cities. This site’s editor updating this review while on an Iryo train from Barcelona to Zaragoza. Iryo currently runs trains between Madrid and Barcelona more than a dozen times per day in each direction and also runs South …
What Is Ouigo? And Is This Budget Train Worthwhile for Crossing Spain, Catalonia, and France?
Ouigo, put simply, is a railway answer to the budget airline. Here I am riding a Ouigo train in Spain with the distinctive (gaudy?) color scheme of the seats behind me; I’ve taken these budget trains in France for years as well The tickets are cheap, and there are no frills, but you get to …
Late Trains in France: What to Know
This is a look at your chances of having issues due to delays on rail lines with the national operator SNCF in France and what to do if they occur. We have separately covered how to book French train tickets and what to know about French train strikes. Determining if a Scheduled Train Will Be …
Solved! The Problems with SNCF Connect and Ouigo Websites — and How We Buy French Train Tickets in Spite of Them
The server for the error-ridden SNCF Connect website is presumably as functional and modern as this train hardware. Credit: David Hellmann. If you are blocked by error messages on the SNCF Connect or on Ouigo.com, you’re not alone. The websites and apps have lots of redirects and undergo constant updates that can render them in some …
Luggage Restrictions On Trains in France — What to Know Before You Go
If you’re used to travelling by plane and thus conditioned to worry about the size, weight, and contents of your baggage, you’re in for a treat. Luggage restrictions for French trains are generally much more relaxed. The main rule is to not be taking so much that you can’t carry and stow it on your …
Is a Eurail / Interrail Pass Worth It Any More? Price Comparison Results
Me, the cheapskate traveler, just before boarding an Iryo train in Barcelona Sants. Iryo is one of the newer operators that can take you around Spain and Catalonia cheaply, but, like other private operators, is not available on any Eurail or Interrail pass. Eurail and Interrail passes seem like a bit of an anachronism, now …