Major international airports are situated in Paris,
Nice, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Lyon. Smaller airports,
such as Beauvais can offer cheaper fares.
The French have a very up-to-date and efficient railway
system. Unfortunately services to smaller towns are
not always direct and sometimes the simplest journey
can involve lots of changes and waiting around. The
price of the ticket is measured on a kilometric scale
so a return ticket is double the price of a single.
See SNCF
(French Railways) for up-to-date information on timetables
and fares.
Discounts: SNCF divide the week up into red, white and blue periods. Red times are usually Friday afternoons and all day Saturday; white days are Sundays and Monday mornings and the rest of the week is a blue period unless there are school or public holidays, in which case, most of the weekend becomes a white period. Depending upon the time of your travel, ticket discounts are available for students (usually under 25s).
A 'Carte 12-25', costing around 50, is recommended to those of you that will travel a lot by train, giving you between 25 - 50% discount on tickets.
Carrissimo: This is the most popular deal among students under 25 and gives you a 50% reduction on blue period days and 20% on white days. On red days the deal is not available. You must buy four or eight journeys' worth of Carrissimo reduction at a fixed price and buy your discounted ticket on top of this. The first journey will probably not be much cheaper than full fare, but the next tickets you buy will be discounted.
Look out for special promotions on Carrissimo tickets at the beginning of term; the SNCF often gives a deal for new students.
Billet BIGE: BIGE tickets entitle you to reductions of up to 25% according to the country, for journeys from France to other countries, on specified trains on particular days. If you are spending your year split between France and another country, you may find it both cheaper and more convenient to use this method when travelling between the two, (especially where there is no direct air link). BIGE tickets can be bought from travel agents in towns or the SNCF station. The requirements are that you are under 26 and a student.
NB: Carrissimo and BIGE tickets are valid on the TGV but the usual reservation fee must still be paid.
Tip: Before boarding a train, ensure that you validate your ticket by using the dating and numbering machines (composteur) in all stations. If you fail to do this, you are liable to be fined by the ticket inspector onboard the train!
An Underground system now exists in Marseille, Lyon, Lille and Toulouse as well as in Paris. On the Paris métro, a one-price rate is applied whatever the length of the journey in zones 1 & 2. The introduction of the carte orange ( 50 for zones 1&2, equivalent of about 5 carnets - worth it if travelling to and from a given destination everyday) allows you, by buying a monthly or annual ticket, to travel freely by bus or tube in the Paris transport area.
An advantage of the French bus system is that one ticket will give you unlimited travel within the town. There is a time limit for each ticket, which is usually an hour, but can vary depending on the size of the town. Unfortunately, buses tend to stop very early in the evenings (between 8pm and 9pm), although there is often a limited night bus service. Buses on Sunday are few in number.
Just as you must stamp your train ticket, so you must validate your bus ticket as you get on the bus by having it stamped by a machine. Plain-clothes inspectors frequently check to see if you have done this and will fine of up to 30 you if you haven't, even if you have a ticket.
