France Guide
Getting around
By train
SNCF ( 
36.35, €0.34 per minute; 
www.voyages-sncf.com ) has pioneered one of the most efficient, comfortable and user-friendly railway systems in the world. Its staff are generally courteous and helpful, and its trains – for the most part, fast, clean and reliable – continue, in spite of the closure of some rural lines, to serve the vast part of the country.
Pride and joy of the French rail system is the high-speed TGV (train à grande vitesse), capable of speeds of up to 300kph, and its offspring Eurostar. The continually expanding TGV network has its main hub at Paris, from where main lines head north to Lille, east to Strasbourg and two head south: one to Marseille and the Mediterranean, the other west to Bordeaux and the Spanish frontier. Spur lines service Brittany and Normandy, the Alps, Pyrenees and Jura.
A new-style high-speed train, the iDTGV ( www.idtgv.com ), was introduced in 2004 in order to compete with the budget airlines. The trains come with all mod cons, such as facilities to watch DVDs and play computer games on board. Currently available on routes from Paris to Mulhouse, Marseille, Nice, Perpignan, Toulouse and Hendaye, tickets are sold online only and are non-refundable. SNCF's Corail trains provide the main intercity service. Though not as fast as the TGV, they have good facilities, particularly Corail Téoz trains, which link Paris to Clermont-Ferrand, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Nice and have child-friendly carriages with roomy changing areas and bottle warmers. Corail Lunéa are comfortable sleeper trains. Local services are covered by TER regional express trains.
Aside from the regular lines there are a number of special tourist trains, usually not part of the SNCF system or covered by normal rail passes, though some offer a discount to rail pass holders. One of the most popular is the spectacular Petite Train Jaune, which winds its way up through the Pyrenees.