A guide to French Railway's TGV high-speed trains (2024)

	TGVs now run all over France, the smooth, relaxing & less-environmentally-damaging way to travel. Buy TGV tickets at: www.sncf-connect.com in € with no booking fee; www.raileurope.com in €, £ or $, small fee; www.thetrainline.com in €, £ or $, small fee. Booking opens up to 4 months ahead.

A guide to travel by TGV

TGVs or Trains à Grande Vitesse are the pride of SNCF (French Railways), running at up to 300 km/h (186 mph) on a high-speed network linking towns & cities across France. In fact, trains reach 320 km/h (199 mph) on the newer TGV-Est & TGV-Rhin-Rhone routes. Smooth & quiet even at high speed, it's a relaxing way to travel.Some TGVs are single-deck, an increasing number are double-deckTGV Duplex.

Since 2017 SNCF's TGVs have been marketed under the brand name InOui, French for unheard of or exceptional.

Seating

TGV travel tips

Guide to single-deck TGVs

Guide to double-deck TGV Duplex

Example TGV cafe-bar menu

Fares & tickets

• Seat reservation is compulsory on TGVs, all tickets include a seat reservation on a specific train.TGV seat maps.

• Fares vary like air fares, with cheap Prems fares if you book in advance, much more expensive flexible fares if you buy close to departure date.

• Paris to Nice starts at €25, Paris to Bordeaux from €20, if you book a cheap Prems fare in advance. Booking opens up to 4 months ahead.

• Buy tickets atwww.raileurope.com orwww.thetrainline.com (both easy to use, in €, £ or $, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee or at the French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com, same fares, no fee.

  You can select seats from a seat map when booking a 1st class ticket atwww.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com.

1st class seats

• 1st class on all TGVs has spacious seats with armrests and power-recline, arranged 2+1 across the car width, meaning one-abreast on one side of the aisle and two-abreast on the other. Each seat has a drop-down table big enough for a laptop (face-to-back seats) or a fixed table with table lamp (face-to-face seats).

• All 1st class seats have power-points for laptops & mobiles with European-style two-pin 230v sockets. There is a small bench seat outside each main seating saloon if you need to make a private mobile phone call.

• When making a reservation, two seats facing each other across a table are referred to as Club duo or (in English) Dual face to face, and four seats around a table in first class are Club Quatre or (in English) Club four. Two seats side by side facing seat backs in front are Duo, and single seats facing a seat back in front are Solo.

• For seating plans,see the train seat numbering page.

2nd class seats

• Second class on all TGVs has comfortable seats with armrests, arranged 2+2 across the car width, meaning two-abreast on both sides of the aisle. There are drop-down tables big enough for laptops (face-to-back seats) or fixed tables (face-to-face seats), although laptop/mobile power sockets are not always fitted in 2nd class. There are two toilets for each pair of coaches.

• When you book, the tables for 4 are usually shown as family or facing or sometimes in French as carré.

• For seating plans,see the train seat numbering page.

Luggage & facilities on board

• Luggage

  You take your bags with you and put it on the various racks, either above your head, between the seats or at the car ends. SNCF ask you to label your bags with at least your name.More about luggage on trains.

• Luggage limits: Since February 2024 SNCF has had a more formal luggage policy for TGV InOui which will be enforced from September: There are no weight limits, but you must be able to carry it yourself in one go. You can carry either 1 hand luggage + 2 suitcases or 1 hand luggage + 1 suitcase + 1 specific item. Your hand luggage can measure up to 40 cm x 30 cm x 15 cm. Your suitcase(s) can measure up to 90 cm x 70 cm x 50 cm. Your specific item (musical instrument, pushchair, bike in cover, folded bike, scooter) can measure up to 130 cm x 90 cm. Bikes, musical instruments, snowboards, and skis must be under a labelled cover. You can travel with your pair of skis, without a maximum size, one pair per person. If you exceed these limits there's a €50 fee, but it's not yet clear how tough staff will be.

• Cafe-bar

  See Also

  Treinreizen in Frankrijk met TGV - Reis snel en comfortabel | NS International | NS InternationalNaar Frankrijk met de treinTGV Frankrijk: Tips voor voordelige treinkaartjes (vanaf € 10)

  All TGVs (except a few very short-distance ones such as Lille-Paris) have a café-bar serving hot & cold drinks, sandwiches, a few hot dishes such as quiche or lasagne, small bottles of wine & spirits - see sample menu. The café-bar is located in the centre of the train between the 1st & 2nd class. The coffee is good, credit cards are accepted as well as cash. There is a standing area where you can eat & drink or you can take your purchases back to your seat.

  You can skip the queue by ordering on your phone for collection at the cafe-bar counter,see the travel tips section below.

• WiFi & power sockets

  Most TGVs should now have free WiFi, although a few may still be unfitted. If you have a 3G or 4G mobile data package that normally works fine aboard the TGV for most of the routes.

  How to check if your TGV will have WiFi: Run an enquiry onwww.thetrainline.com and select your train. If it says Options, WiFi, Free at lower right, your train is scheduled to be one with WiFi.

  All TGVs have power sockets in 1st class. Most now also have power sockets in 2nd class too, although some TGVs with early-generation interiors don't.

• Toilets, smoking, wheelchairs, baby-changing

  All TGVs are entirely non-smoking. All TGVs have one or more wheelchairs spaces & wheelchair-accessible toilets in both classes. All TGVs have toilets and at least one baby-changing facility.

Travel tips

	Ticket gates. These are being installed at the entrance to TGV platforms at main Paris termini. Scan your ticket barcode to access the platforms. This is Paris Montparnasse.
	Train formation display, showing where along the platform each car of a train will stop, so you can be waiting in the right place when your train comes in!

• Boarding

  As with most European trains, there's no check-in, you just walk into the station, look at the TV screens or indicator board to find your train and get on any time before it leaves. At terminal stations, you may see the platform announced anything from 15 to 30 minutes before departure. Access to the platform may be stopped a minute or two before departure time to ensure an on-time departure.

• Automatic ticket gates

  TGV platforms at the main Paris stations now have automatic ticket gates. You place the barcode on your ticket, printout or phone app against the glass scanner to open the gates and access the platforms. There's usually be an extra-wide gate if you have large luggage or a pushchair.

• 1st or 2nd class?

  2nd class is absolutely fine, there's no need to pay for 1st class unless you see a good price. 1st class simply means more leg & elbow room as you can see in the photos below, and a quieter environment with more business travellers tapping on laptops and fewer families with kids. There is no difference in the on-board service as no food or drink is included in 1st class on most French domestic TGVs. 1st class is just nicer seating, with the option of solo seats or a face to face table for two.

• Choosing your seat

  In first class, ask forClub Duo or Dual face to face if travelling as a couple for an intimate table-for-two, or Club Quatre (Club four) if three or four of you are travelling together so you can sit cosily around a table.

  If you're booking 1st class on a TGV onwww.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com you can select your exact seat from a seat map.

• On double-deck TGV Duplex, ask for an upper deck seat for the best views. Stairs to the upper deck are wide and easy so not a problem, only choose the lower deck if you have serious mobility impairment. There are toilets & luggage racks both upstairs and downstairs, the bar car & access between cars are upstairs. You can select upper or lower deck if you book online at www.raileurope.com,www.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com. It is not usually possible to specify a forward-facing seat on a TGV Duplex, as the unit could be running either way round, you cant tell which way round it will be running.

• Forward-facing seats

  It's only possible to specify forward-facing seats on a handful of TGV routes which have the Christian Lacroix interiors which feature variable illuminated seat numbers - the correct set of seat numbers illuminate depending which way round the TGV unit enters service. Such routes include single-deck TGV services on TGV Est (Paris to Reims, Metz, Strasbourg, Luxembourg, but not trains operated by TGV Duplex). You'll only be given the option to specify forward facing seats if (a) you book usingwww.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com and (b) the specific route and type of TGV supports this feature. Most routes & TGVs don't, it's only a few that do.

  TGV Duplex trains with the very latest Océane interior have 1st class seats that rotate to face the direction of travel, see here.

• Order food & drink on your phone to skip the line at the cafe-bar

  The queue at the cafe-bar can be quite long, but you can skip the line by ordering on your phone.

  If you're already on board the train, log on to the train's WiFi and open the SNCF intranet, you'll find a page for ordering food & drink. They'll give you a 15-minute time slot for picking it up from the cafe-bar counter, when the time comes you can go straight to the front of the queue to collect your food & drink, saving a lot of time waiting to be served!

  Or you can order online in advance, either on the day of travel or a day or two beforehand, atlebar.sncf-connect.com (please let me know if that link stops working).

  You enter the train number and date and it'll tell you whether this service is available on that train and open for booking. If it is, you can order any food & drink you like, and choose a time slot for collecting it from the cafe-bar counter on board.

• Or bring your own food & drink

  Alternatively, on all European trains you are free to bring your own food and drink (including beer or wine) on board if you like. Or, if you're changing trains in Paris and have time for a drink or meal whilst waiting at the Gare de Lyon, why not use the celebratedTrain Bleu restaurant?

• Where on the platform to wait for your train?

  At most main stations, you can see where on the platform your carriage will stop by consulting a 'Composition des Trains' chart showing the train formation with coach numbers.

• Taking your bike:See the bikes by train page.

• Taking your dog:See the dogs by train page.

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The Christian Lacroix interior

Most single-deck TGVs were refurbished with an interior by designer Christian Lacroix, including those on the TGV-Est route from Paris Est to Reims, Strasbourg, Metz, Luxembourg & some remaining single-deck TGVs on the TGV-Atlantique route from Paris Montparnasse to Tours, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lourdes, Rennes. Incidentally, SNCF's in-house designer still hasn't forgiven Christian Lacroix for breaking the long-standing unwritten 'rules' and using warm colours in 2nd class, cooler colours in 1st class, so see what you think. However, Lacroix's original patterned carpet and random lime green seats in 1st class have now been replaced by all-grey seats and all-grey carpet, watering down the design.

Seat numbering plans: There are various types of TGV, you can find plans of the seating layouts on thetrain seat numbering page.

A TGV at Paris Gare de l'Est, in the latest red, white and dark grey livery.

2nd class with mix of unidirectional seats & tables for 4. Seats 2+2 across car width. Larger photo.		A cheese platter bought from the cafe-bar as the scenery sweeps by.

Later interiors

Another TGV refurbishment is in progress, so you'll see interiors like this starting to appear along with a new grey, silver & red TGV livery.

TGV 1st class latest interior colour scheme.		TGV in current exterior colour scheme.

TGV in current exterior colour scheme.		TGV 2nd class, latest interior colour scheme.

Older interiors

There are still some unrefurbished TGVs knocking about, and these older interiors often don't have power sockets in 2nd class.

TGV 1st class with two club duo seats on the left, a bay of 4 club quatre on the right, and rows of solo & duo seats behind.		TGV 2nd class. Most seats are face-to-back, but there are some bays of 4 face-to-face seats, ask when booking.

The original patterned carpet and mixed lime green and grey seats in 1st class have now been replaced by all-grey seats & grey carpet, watering down the design.

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Double-deck TGV Duplex

On what routes do they operate?

These impressive 186mph double-deck high-speed trains now operate most Paris-Cannes-Nice trains, most Paris-Lyon trains, many Paris-Bordeaux-Biarritz-Hendaye/Lourdes trains, many Paris-Avignon-Marseille trains and even a few Lille-Lyon-Avignon Marseille trains. They also operate some or all services from Paris to Basel, Zurich, Geneva, Stuttgart, Munich & Frankfurt, and Frankfurt to Marseille. SNCF is no longer buying single-deck TGVs, all future TGV construction will be Duplex.

On board the train

You board the train through a wide sliding external door into a small hall at one end of the lower deck. An internal door opens into a lower deck seating area, and a wide, short & easy flight of stairs leads to a landing at one end of the upper deck. You walk along the train from car to car at the upper level, and the café-bar is also at the upper level. There are toilets both upstairs & downstairs.

Upper or lower deck?

When reserving, you can usually choose a seat on either upper or lower decks if you buy online atwww.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com or book by phone, although you're not given a choice of deck if you buy tickets at some other sites or on the route to Barcelona. If you have major problems climbing stairs the lower deck might be best, but for anyone else the top deck is strongly recommended for the best views of the scenery, as you'll be able to see over the top of the occasional sound barrier along the high speed lines. For couples, an upper deck first class table for two (shown variously as Club duo or Dual face to face) is as good as it gets. Families can book a Club quatre (Club four) in first class or Carré in 2nd class (also shown as Family or facing), both terms mean a table for four.

Seat numbering plan

TGV Duplex seating plan. Seat numbers 11-58 = lower deck. 61-128 = upper deck.

How to tell if your TGV will be a Duplex

Run an enquiry onwww.thetrainline.com and find the train you're planning to travel on. Select any fare, click the Seating link and click the drop down box that says No preference. If the options include upstairs and downstairs, it's a Duplex! If you see an upstairs and downstairs option and also see aForward facing seat option, it's scheduled to be a new TGV Duplex Océane. And if the train is due to have WiFi, it'll say Free WiFi at lower right.

1st generation TGV Duplex

1st generation TGV Duplex operate on French domestic routes including Paris-Lyon, Paris-Marseille, Paris-Nice, where they work alongside newer 2nd & 3rd generation trains. There are power sockets at all 1st class seats, but usually not in 2nd class on these first-generation trains. The first-generation trains are not equipped to run on international routes.

1st class: TGV Duplex 1st class upper deck.		2nd class: TGV Duplex 2nd class upper deck.

A TGV Duplex at Nice in the original blue & grey		Cafe-bar, upper deck in car 4.

2nd & 3rd generation TGV Duplex

TGV Duplex trainsets of the 2nd & 3rd generations (known technically as Dasye & Euroduplex) have blue & purple interiors, with power sockets at all seats in both classes. TGV Duplexes of this type operate the international routes from Paris to Barcelona, Paris to Germany, and all TGV-Lyria services from Paris to Switzerland. They also operate the Marseille-Frankfurt TGV service. 2nd & 3rd generation TGV Duplex work alongside 1st generation TGV Duplex on French domestic routes such as Paris to Lyon, Avignon, Marseille & Nice. Some are still painted blue & silver, but they're being progressively repainted into the latest grey, silver & red colours.

TGV Duplex at Frankfurt. These impressive 320 km/h double-deck trains link Paris with Nice, Marseille, Frankfurt, Munich, Barcelona & Switzerland.		2nd class table for 4 on TGV Duplex upper deck.

1st class seatson upper deck, club duo on the left, club quatre on the right.360º photo.		A TGV Duplex. The 1 near the door indicates 1st class, 2 indicates 2nd class.

The stairs from entrance hall to upper deck. Just 9 wide shallow steps with double handrails. Not usually any problem!		Power sockets: All 1st class seats have power sockets, 2-pin 230v. 2nd class seats have power sockets on 2nd & 3rd generation Duplex, but may not have on 1st generation Duplex.		Luggage racks. You take your bags on board with you and place them on the racks. There are racks both upstairs and downstairs, both at the car ends and (as here) between the seats, which I personally prefer.

TGV Duplex Océane

3rd generation trains with a completely redesigned interior known as TGV Océane entered service in 2017, initially on the TGV Atlantique route from Paris Montparnasse to Brittany, Bordeaux, Biarritz, Lourdes & Hendaye on the Spanish border. Some now also operate from Paris to Lyon and the south of France. All seats in both classes have power sockets & free WiFi, 1st class seats also have USB ports. A major innovation is that 1st class seats rotate to face direction of travel. The seats at the very end of each car don't rotate. The new Océane interior may be retrofitted to earlier TGV Duplex sets in due course.

A TGV Duplex Océane from Paris arrived at Bordeaux St Jean. These TGV Duplex carry the latest grey, silver and red TGV colours and have an all-new interior.

TGV Océane cafe-bar (above left) and 2nd class seats (above right).

TGV Océane 1st class seats. All 1st class seats (except the end ones) rotate to face direction of travel. There are USB & 2-pin outlets above each drop-down table.

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Sample TGV café-bar menu

This photo of a TGV bar menu gives you an idea of what's on offer in a typical TGV cafe-bar. Prices are from Autumn 2017.

Click the image to enlarge.

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