Riding the Trains
The trains in France are safe, economical and easy to ride. If you plan on going to a somewhat larger city, and don’t have a car, then the train is your best bet. The two most common trains used, are the TGV and the Corail. The TGV (Train Grand Vitess) is used the most often, but it does not go to all cities, yet. Sometimes you will have to use the Corail train, which is not as fast, but does the job of getting you there as well. It is also less expensive than the TGV. 
Booking Tickets
To book a ticket you can either go to the local train station or buy them online at www.voyages-sncf.com. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the British flag that is located at the far left. The English version of the site will pop up. The site is self explanatory and you can easily pay online with a credit card. Just to the left of this page is a passenger guide that comes in both English and French. Click on it to find out which travel pass you can qualify for. You can order your tickets and your pass at the same time online or in person. When you purchase the tickets you will be asked to purchase the pass at the same time. However, you must pick up the pass at the train station. All passes are good one year to the date of purchase.
Special Deals
If you have 3 or more children and at least one of them is 12 years old or under, you 
can get the “Enfant + Card”. All you need is your ID, the child’s birth certificate and his/her picture. They will make the card for you on the spot at the train station. This was the card that I purchased. It is good for one year from the purchase date and allows the child and 4 others traveling with him/her to a discount of up to 50% off of each ticket! During peak travel times it is 25%. This is a big money saver. You can use this pass on both the TGV and the Corail
If your children are older (between the ages of 12-25) you can purchase the “Decouverte 12-25” card. The rules are the same as above. The child’s passport or birth certificate and a photo are all that is needed. In this case the child is the only one who gets the discount with this pass. It is good for 25%-50% off a ticket depending on the hours you are traveling. Again, peak hours will be less of a discount.
For the adults (those between 26 and 59 years of age) there is a pass called “Carte Escapades”. It gives the card holder 25% off a ticket. The percentage goes down during peak hours.
Please note that you must have the pass at all times when you are traveling by train. On each trip you will be asked for your ticket and your pass. If you do not have the pass with you it is a hefty fine. Last I heard it was about 200 euros. The French controllers cannot be talked out of it either, so do not even try. Each year they are cracking down more and more on people riding the train without proof of the purchased ticket price. Apparently they were having too many fraudulent issues.
Eating on the Trains
If you are traveling on the Corail, there is a small cart that an employee will be pushing that travels from car to car. You can get just about anything ranging from sandwiches to candy and they also carry bottled water, soda, and coffee. It tends to be a bit pricey, so I would recommend you purchase something (like a sandwich, or pizza) at the station before you board, or bring something from home.
If you are traveling on the TGV, there is an entire car that is just for food. It has 
chairs and a few tables and there is a much larger variety to choose from. As with the food on the Corail, the food on the TGV is expensive. You might want to try it once just to have the experience, but after that you would probably do just as well to bring your own food.
Luggage
On both trains there is an area for your larger luggage at the front and back of each car and in the overhead of your seat. For bikes or large items, try to find a car with an open area just to the back. It doesn’t have to be necessarily in your car. I did this many times since my children and I had bikes in France. It is highly unlikely that your stuff will be stolen. In any case, you can lock your items, if possible, to a rail or just go back every so often to check on them. If it is a holiday or ski season, these areas become very crowded due to the fact that everyone brings their equipment with them.
Entertainment for the Kids
If your children are small, bring a lot of things to do for entertainment. For a child, the first 20-30 minutes of the train ride is quite exciting. After that, my kids would start to get bored. I made sure they always had their CD players, some books to read, workbooks so they could work on their French, all sorts of card games, paper or coloring books, and crayons. All of their items along with snacks fit neatly into their backpacks. This way they could each help carry their own entertainment! Bon Voyage!
