Basel Cruise port to Paris by train

We will be disembarking a Crystal cruise in Basel Switzerland and want to take a train to Paris in September. What is best way to train station? Any info or advise on train etc? Thanks

I took a look on Loco2.com. You can't find details for Sept yet, but there are non-stop trains between Basel SBB (central station) and Paris Gare de Lyon. It takes just over 3 hours, and I found prices as low as 36 euros. You can put in a date and they will notify you when booking opens. You can choose to pay in either British pounds or Euros.

The best way to the train station is probably by taxi. Docking in Basel is frequently some distance from the centre of town. The ship can call the taxi for you.

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Have the ship call a taxi for you - most taxis will take credit cards. but know which train station you need - there are several in Basel!

Additionally you could check the respective country's website, which is for Switzerland: https://www.sbb.ch/en/timetable.html and for France: http://www.sncf.com/en/services/tickets-bookings. Just see which pages will give you the information you need, I chose random english pages at random to give you the correct links.

Or, if you are unfamiliar with train travel in Europe, the man in seat 61 has some good tips: https://www.seat61.com/

notamermaid

Additionally you could check the respective country's website, which is for Switzerland: https://www.sbb.ch/en/timetable.html and for France: http://www.sncf.com/en/services/tickets-bookings. Just see which pages will give you the information you need, I chose random english pages at random to give you the correct links.

 

Or, if you are unfamiliar with train travel in Europe, the man in seat 61 has some good tips: https://www.seat61.com/

 

notamermaid

Loco2 also has lots of tips. I actually found it from seat61 when I was looking for trains in Spain.

Yes, Loco2 is nice. Unfortunately they do not have the SBB as their partner yet, so the OP will need to use another site if they cannot get a ticket issued from SNCF on Loco2, or just buy in the country, of course! For long-distance travel on fast trains I would always recommend booking ahead, though, with seat reservation.

notamermaid

Yes, Loco2 is nice. Unfortunately they do not have the SBB as their partner yet, so the OP will need to use another site if they cannot get a ticket issued from SNCF on Loco2, or just buy in the country, of course! For long-distance travel on fast trains I would always recommend booking ahead, though, with seat reservation.

 

notamermaid

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This is what Loco2 says - a map of Europe follows this - "We're official agents for rail operators in the UK, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany."

A random search did not reveal to me if the train chosen is an official SBB one, yet the French TGV are clearly incorporated in the search results. You can certainly book many different trains.

My apologies, if this is complicated. I cannot say that I am wrong or right. I correctly stated that according to Loco2 themselves they are not official partners of the Swiss state train authorities.

notamermaid

This is what Loco2 says - a map of Europe follows this - "We're official agents for rail operators in the UK, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany."

 

A random search did not reveal to me if the train chosen is an official SBB one, yet the French TGV are clearly incorporated in the search results. You can certainly book many different trains.

 

My apologies, if this is complicated. You're making it more complicated than it needs to be. I cannot say that I am wrong or right. I correctly stated that according to Loco2 themselves they are not official partners of the Swiss state train authorities. Possibly true but rrelevant: they are owned by SNCF so they're tightly integrated into European rail ticketing.

The direct train from Basel to Paris is TGV Lyria, a SNCF/SBB co-owned service. Loco2 sells TGV Lyria tickets so your guesses about what they can and can't do aren't terribly helpful to OP.

https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Switzerland.htm#Switzerland-Paris.

Thank you kentchris,

that is a good case where seat61.com shows superiority in info over Loco2 (and me for that matter). Did not crosscheck. I hope the gentleman keeps up the good work.

notamermaid