Travel with TGV INOUI throughout FranceTGV trains in France

For most high-speed trains (notably Thalys, Eurostar, TGV INOUI, TGV Lyria and ICE), the cheapest fares are available in limited quantities. So to benefit from the best prices, we suggest you avoid peak times and book your journey as far ahead as possible.

To help you find the lowest prices on the main Thalys services, we can offer you a clever fare calendar: at a glance, you can see all trains with seats at the lowest prices over a period of several months.

In some circumstances, it can be more cost-effective to travel as a group, as some rail companies offer fares which are exclusively available to small groups of 3-5 passengers. Examples include the Thalys "Mini Group" fare or the "Pack Tribu" fare on TGV INOUI.

Finally, many railway operators regularly run temporary offers on fares, offering passengers good deals on rail travel. To ensure you don't miss out on these offers, we recommend you visit our website or Facebook page regularly, or sign up for our newsletter.

The booking period can vary from one type of train to another. The main international trains at a glance:

• Eurostar, ÖBB Nightjet, ICE, IC-Bus and other Deutsche Bahn trains: booking possible 6 months before travel.
• Thalys, TGV, TGV Lyria, Nightjet, Thello and Trenitalia trains: booking possible 4 months before travel.
• "Conventional" international trains (InterCity or regional trains): buying tickets without booking a seat, particularly to the Netherlands, Lille or Luxembourg, is possible 335 days (11 months) before travel. But unlike the other trains mentioned, there are no restrictions on the various fares on these "conventional" trains, so these are available up to the last minute.

Exceptions:

• Thalys seasonal services: for Thalys Snow to the French Alps, booking possible from the end of the summer for the whole ski season. For Thalys Sun to the south of France, booking possible from the end of the winter for the whole summer season (date to be specified each year).
• TGV early bird sale for travel in winter periods (Christmas and ski season) and summer periods (July and August). For these periods, the date of the early bird sale is to be specified each year.
• Every year in mid-December, different European rail companies simultaneously amend their train services, with new timetables taking effect more or less throughout Europe. On certain rail networks (particularly in Germany), the new timetables for mid-December are only confirmed and published at some point during October. When this occurs, bookings for rail travel from mid-December onwards can also only be made after a given date in October.