I want to travel from Barcelona to Paris and vice versa in June 24, but there is no way to make seat reservations. I used to buy them on the train station in Barcelona, but it seems SNCF doesn’t sell their seat reservations for Interrail in Spain anymore(or any other country it seems, only on trainstations in France). I looked on the SNCF website but I cannot find a way to only make a seat reservations. How can I book my seats? Thanks!
Answer
SNCF and seat reservations
Best answer by thibcabe
They are indeed not available at Spanish counters anymore since RENFE and SNCF ended their cooperation.
You can book TGV seats through Rail Europe (desktop version) : 35€ to Paris, no fees, no passholder quota.
However you could book AVE reservations for the train to Lyon (10€) at a Spanish counter and then change there for a TGV (10€ limited fare, 20€). It doesn’t take much more time so it mainly depends on whether you prefer a double or single decker train! :)
They are indeed not available at Spanish counters anymore since RENFE and SNCF ended their cooperation.
You can book TGV seats through Rail Europe (desktop version) : 35€ to Paris, no fees, no passholder quota.
However you could book AVE reservations for the train to Lyon (10€) at a Spanish counter and then change there for a TGV (10€ limited fare, 20€). It doesn’t take much more time so it mainly depends on whether you prefer a double or single decker train! :)
Thank you, indeed the best and most secure was has been to book the seat reservations through RailEurope.com, clicking on the option “Add railpass” and only paying for the seat reservations. The second option is a bit risky, as there might nog be seats available for interrail pass holders once you arrive in Lyon. It seems SNCF has ended their cooperation with other countries/companies too, I tried to book the seats through the NS in Holland, but same story. What a pity! Anyway, solved it with this website, I hope this serves for other travellers too!
I was suggesting to book the AVE to Lyon at a Spanish counter (since you seem to live there) and the TGV online in advance through Rail Europe. Nothing too risky! :)
Note that there is no passholder quota (except on Eurostar + TGVs out of Brussels) so as long as regular tickets are available passholder reservations are too.
Btw availability is rarely an issue on Lyon - Paris as there are trains every 30-60 min.
SNCF still cooperates with SBB, DB. I don't think they were ever in partnership with NS (unless you include Eurostar).
Ah, I see what you mean with the Barcelona-Lyon Lyon-Paris “trick”, also a good option then! I decided to book all in advance on the Rail Erope site, as I need to be sure to have the Eurostar to Rotterdam as well (hence the involvement of the NS). And good to know they still cooperate with the German and Swiss companies! Thanks for the tips!
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