Often less tedious than flying, the train can be a very good option for those who want to travel directly from one city to another. Long a victim of competition from low-cost flights and often uncompetitive fares, the train is once again becoming a good solution for travel at low prices. Here are 4 good tips to know.
Izy: the new cheap trains between Paris and Brussels
Low-cost trains will run between Paris and Brussels from 3 April. Launched by Thalys and green in colour, these trains, christened "Izy", will run three times a day in the Paris Gare du Nord/Bruxelles Midi rotation. On sale since the beginning of March on a dedicated website, they are neither exchangeable nor refundable and are offered for sale from 19 € and their price can go up to 59 € maximum
However, for reasons of reduced maintenance costs, the journey will take about 2 hours 15 minutes, which is slightly longer than with Thalys (1 hour 20 minutes on average). This offer is designed to compete with carpooling, which is very successful in Paris-Brussels.
To make a reservation, click here
Ouigo: low cost TGV tickets
Only on sale online on the Ouigo website, these TGV tickets have particularly low fares, starting at 10 €. For children under 12 years old, the ticket is always 5 € whatever the journey or the amount of the ticket of the accompanying adult.
Ouigo serves Paris (via Marne la Vallée), Lyon, Avignon, Aix, Marseille, Montpellier, Nîmes and Valence. In Paris, the TGVs serve Marne La Vallée station and soon Massy TGV and Charles de Gaulle TGV (airport). In Lyon, they serve the stations of Lyon Perrache, Lyon Saint Exupéry and Lyon Part Dieu
New destinations to come: Nantes, Rennes, Le Mans, Angers, Lille/Roubaix, Amiens. Finally, the tickets can be printed or downloaded to your smartphone via the ouigo application.
The interRail Global Pass: travel up to 30 European countries in 30 days
This pass allows you to discover almost 30 European countries in unlimited. The trips remain flexible and above all they are really cheap if you want to travel through a maximum of countries during a given period of time. The price of the pass changes according to your age, your budget or the destinations you wish to visit. It is valid on regional, high-speed and night trains and on tourist rail routes. Its duration is variable, as is the choice of destinations. However, the use of the pass on certain trains is subject to the purchase of reservations.
The following countries can be visited with the InterRail Global Pass: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. For those under 26 years old, the pass starts at 184 €. More information by clicking here.
Trocdestrains.com: get a train ticket at the last minute at a mini price
You missed all the great deals to go on a weekend trip to France? The site trocdestrains.com could well allow you to make a very good deal. Trocdestrains.com connects people who have bought a train ticket that is neither exchangeable nor refundable (but can no longer leave) with people who are looking for cheap tickets often to leave at the last minute. This is often the right plan for the buyer because these non-exchangeable and non-refundable tickets are often at really low prices especially since the site does not take any commission and the seller cannot make any price increase.
