TGV Paris to Bordeaux

[CaroleLee]

Hi to all. Have a question re TGV to Bordeaux.- Disregarding the rail strikes. Has anyone done this route? When & where did you buy your tickets? We will be in Paris for a few days & I don't want to spend time doing things that could have been done prior to arrival. How easy is it to navigate the Gare de Montparnasse? DH doesn't speak any French. I will be in Bordeaux before him-I speak French

Thx

Carole

[jpalbny]

Haven't been to Montparnasse specifically but have taken TGV trains from other stations. The tracks are not hard to find (follow signs for SNCF or TGV) and the boards will tell you what track to go to for your train.

 

Buy your tickets as soon as they are available - generally about 90 days before the trip. The earlier you buy, the better chance you have to get a bargain. You can buy online and print out at home, or get an e-ticket through their app. The app will also give you the correct platform.

 

If you can read French, DIY on their website (sncf.fr). But even if you can't, pretty much anybody who works in a touristy job in Paris can speak excellent English.

 

Have a great trip!

 

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[laverendrye]

I usually buy European rail tickets through Trainline which I find easy to use and I prefer it to the various national rail websites. As jpalbany recommends, the earlier you buy, the cheaper the fare. Often the very cheapest are snapped up as soon as they become available. Here’s the website:

 

http://www.trainline.eu

 

Gare Montparnasse is very large but in my experience not difficult to use. There’s a good guide to it on The Man in Seat 61 website, an excellent and comprehensive guide to rail travel in Europe. Here’s the page on Gare Montparnasse:

 

https://www.seat61.com/stations/paris-gare-montparnasse.htm

 

Enjoy your trip

 

 

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[laverendrye]

I usually buy European rail tickets through Trainline which I find easy to use and I prefer it to the various national rail websites. As jpalbany recommends, the earlier you buy, the cheaper the fare. Often the very cheapest are snapped up as soon as they become available. Here’s the website:

 

http://www.trainline.eu

 

Gare Montparnasse is very large but in my experience not difficult to use. There’s a good guide to it on The Man in Seat 61 website, an excellent and comprehensive guide to rail travel in Europe. Here’s the page on Gare Montparnasse:

 

https://www.seat61.com/stations/paris-gare-montparnasse.htm

 

Enjoy your trip

 

 

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A further thought. The Man in Seat 61 has a very good summary of buying rail tickets in Europe and if you put in your origin, ie Paris, it will give specific suggestions for France, including a very good table on the pros and cons of various websites for purchasing.

 

https://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-tickets.htm#Important_tips

 

 

 

 

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[pastamom2011]

I'm a big fan of Seat61 for information. I set my calendar alert for 90 days prior to travel and book. We were able to go Alsace to Rome for about $150 and mostly First Class--which isn't necessary and we changed trains in Switzerland and ended up in some super crowded car that wasn't 1st Class--and it was too difficult to consider finding our car with all our luggage. And then in Milan, my husband ended up on the wrong train to Rome-- he had a blast. I had 5 Euro in my purse and no one to talk to and no USB port to recharge my phone. Point there... use Trenitalia in Italy. He had great service, great bar car on the WRONG train... and they didn't charge him.

Probably more information than you needed.

[nativetexan]

We're traveling from Paris to Bordeaux in August and they have released the train tickets for that period. I bought them last week. Bargain! I used the following site.

https://en.oui.sncf/en/train-ticket

 

Hope that helps!

[CaroleLee]

Thx to all. Man in seat 6 info was perfect.

Cruise critic is so helpful

Carole