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Making Reservations on French Trains
Many French trains need to be reserved in advance, and seats can be limited at times. Make your train trips in France comfortable and reserve your seats before the journey even begins! Most French high-speed trains and night trains can be reserved up to 2 months in advance.
The video below tells you more about train travel in France and making reservations.
French trains with limited seats for Eurail Pass Holders
It’s good to know that the number of seats available for Eurail Pass Holders is limited on the following trains:
- TGV high-speed trains international routes (except TGV Lyria)
- Thalys high-speed trains
- Renfe-SNCF en cooperación high-speed trains
- InterCité trains
- InterCité de Nuit night trains
- ICE high-speed train on the routes Paris-Frankfurt, Paris-Munich and Paris-Stuttgart.
- Eurostar high-speed train from Paris to London
We highly recommend you reserve these trains as soon as possible. If you leave booking these reservations too late, there’s a big chance the allocation of seats to Eurail Pass Holders will be full. Reservations on the above trains can be made up to 2 months in advance.
Regional trains in France
The train you want to take may be fully booked, or you may want to avoid having to pay the additional reservation fees. In these cases, we recommend using regional trains that don’t require a reservation.
This can mean a few more train transfers and longer journey times, but it also gives you the chance to see more of the beautiful French countryside. It’s not always possible to avoid trains with reservations, but it’s always worth checking on the Eurail timetable.
For more information, visit France by train.
Alternative routes for French trains
If the French train you want to take is full, you‘ll need to find a different way to make your journey. We’ve researched the 10 most popular French train routes, domestic and international. We show the fastest option using trains with limited seats for pass holders, as well as some alternative options.
Please keep in mind that train durations stated are approximate and include the time it takes to change trains.