Cheapest price for Lille to Paris return?

[All Line Rover]

What's the cheapest possible price for 3 adults and 1 child (over 12) for a return trip on a Saturday from Lille to Paris, leaving Lille between 7am and 10am, and leaving Paris between 6pm and 8pm?

I've no familiarity with international transport, and have been astonished by some of the prices quoted by Rail Europe!

 

[WestCoast]

Avoid Rail Europe. Here's some tips:

For all European Timetables use DB Planner. Simple and clear to use and you can actually use it for the UK as well. I find it clearer than NR!

As a general rule, if your journey is within one country, use the national rail company to book tickets. So, for Paris to Lille that would be SNCF.

Could I have the dates please?

 

[MCR247]

For the cheapest french train tickets, use tgv-europe.com and make sure you don't get redirected to rail europe!

 

[johnnychips]

What's the cheapest possible price for 3 adults and 1 child (over 12) for a return trip on a Saturday from Lille to Paris, leaving Lille between 7am and 10am, and leaving Paris between 6pm and 8pm?

I've no familiarity with international transport, and have been astonished by some of the prices quoted by Rail Europe!

See what you mean! The SNCF English site directs you to Rail Europe and your child is an adult in France!

 

[All Line Rover]

I have no specific date in mind, as I have not booked any hotels yet. I don't care how fare in advance the date is - I just care how cheap it is!

Apparently, any child over 11 is classed as a "Youth," and "Youth" fares don't seem to be much cheaper than "Adult" fares. Compared to the UK, child fares are a rip-off! Is there an equivalent of the Family Railcard in France?

 

[johnnychips]

So you're staying in/near Lille, but having the day trip from there on a Sat?

€228 this Sat. Sure people can beat that though.

 

[WestCoast]

Apparently, any child over 11 is classed as a "Youth," and "Youth" fares don't seem to be much cheaper than "Adult" fares. Compared to the UK, child fares are a rip-off! Is there an equivalent of the Family Railcard in France?

They have them all; senior, youth, family, student e.t.c. Apparently, the family railcard is supported by the Government and depends on income/number of kids to decide what discount you get. Don't assume anything follows the UK system, often it won't.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The cheapest TGV ticket I can see 120 euros return for all people, all TGVs are subject to compulsory reservation. The journey takes just over an hour.

 

[All Line Rover]

The cheapest TGV ticket I can see 120 euros return for all people, all TGVs are subject to compulsory reservation. The journey takes just over an hour.

Thanks for checking. That sounds more palatable, although to be honest, InterCity travel is much cheaper for families in the UK! And the French railways are supposed to be subsidised more heavily!

 

[radamfi]

£12 per person for a 225 km each way trip at 300 km/h with no railcards doesn't sound too unreasonable to me!

 

[starrymarkb]

Timings may not be suitable but you could try the IDTGV?

http://www.idtgv.com/en/

 

[WestCoast]

Thanks for checking. That sounds more palatable, although to be honest, InterCity travel is much cheaper for families in the UK! And the French railways are supposed to be subsidised more heavily!

That's because you're not really comparing like-for-like, as you can discount TGV fares quite significantly with Family railcards, special offers e.t.c just like you would in the UK.

I realise Paris is a big draw, but if you're looking for a cheaper high speed trip, trying something like Brussels (which is easily accessible from Lille) to Cologne or Amsterdam may be much more attractive in terms of price per mile. Checking DB's website, I can see 19 euros p.p.o.w on Thalys (the "international" TGV) and the DB ICE for these routes.

Equally so, something south of Paris on the TGV may prove to be less 'expensive'.

There's also a regional train from Lille to Paris involving one change, but I don't know about the pricing of this.

 

[radamfi]

I went from Lille to Strasbourg direct for €34 single 1st Class last October, including the very high speed stretch (up to 320 km/h) between Charles de Gaulle airport and Strasbourg.

 

[richw]

Id advise against visiting lille, drove over in November by eurotunnel, was extremely disappointed with lille city. We visited dunkirk on way back, and is definitely worth a visit.

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk

 

[WestCoast]

Id advise against visiting lille, drove over in November by eurotunnel, was extremely disappointed with lille city. We visited dunkirk on way back, and is definitely worth a visit.

I have a friend who comes from Lille (never been to the city myself, only passed through) and he says Gent in Belgium is nicer! I have been to Gent, it's rather pleasant.

 

[starrymarkb]

I quite liked Lille