Great video…have done this journey many times, living close to Marseille. Just a small correction…at 10:04 the aqueduct you saw is the Aqueduc de Roquefavour, built in the 1840s. The magnificent Pont de Gard is some 80km to the west near Nîmes.
Thanks for the kind words and... damn... I hate making daft mistakes like that! I shall pin your comment to the top and at least add a correction in the description even if I cannot now edit the video itself.
It's also well worth to take a TGV InOui that continues to Nice. While it's using the classic and therefore slow line along the coastline, the views are absolutely fabulous, and much more exciting than the proper HSLs. When travelling to Nice, make sure you have a seat on the right hand side of the train.
Thank you very much for the kind comment. 👍 The carriage was really cosy, and as I say at the end, neither the upper or lower are better. They are just a different experience.
My first ever ride on a high speed train was this route (approximately). I went from Paris CDG airport to Marseille in January 2008 after having landed from Montreal on my European backpacking trip. It was such a cool experience, even in my jetlagged state
Yeah they are cool trains. Those big power cars look like muscle cars. You can't help but be impressed! Thanks for watching and sharing your memories 👍
If you think a 658km travel with a duration of 3 hr 22 mins is "impressive", try this: TGV Paris-Bordeaux (570 km), September 6, departure Paris 9:11am - arrival Bordeaux 11:14am, journey time 2 hr 3 mins. Best price at 25 euros (2nd class).
Indeed. One day I would also like to ride that train. Ouigo is a great product at a very good price. I had a look on SNCF Connect and just one week in advance that train is still as cheap as €29 - what a great deal Thank you so much for watching 👍
Another excellent video Johnny, this brought back memories of my only trip on a TGV which was back in 2004. Having flown from Luton Airport to Nice, I spent a few days based there , visiting Monaco and Cannes as well as exploring Nice itself. My journey home was by TGV all the way from Nice to Lille Europe, travelling along part of the route you cover in this. The journey between the two was about 7 hours and 15 minutes with a relatively straightforward connection for the Eurostar to London. A very long but enjoyable journey. Back then of course the Eurostar was still using Waterloo so a tube journey was required to get my train home from St Pancras.
Another brilliant video, Johnny! Out of interest, would the €60 1st class fare apply to both the upper and lower decks? Interesting how SNCF call the train sheds at Paris Gare de Lyon as Halls. Was this also the case in Marseilles ? Your bucket list for train travel journeys must be diminishing slowly!
Yes. The price is the same in upper and lower. I didn't get a chance to select a seat (as far as I could tell) as I was only buying a reservation, rather than a full ticket. I suspect you can select the seat you want if you buy the ticket. But as I say in the video, the lower is actually not a worse option, it is just different. Because you walk through the train at the higher level it means the lower levels are not only smoother ride but also don't have people traipsing through them during the journey. Halls seemed a sensible way of doing it to help people navigate - bit like airport terminal numbers I suppose. Marseille was much smaller and didn't need anything like that. The trouble with the bucket list is that as quick as things are ticked, more seem to appear at the bottom of the list! Thanks for watching!
Another marvellous synopsis of a trully inspirational route. I am astounded to think it is almost fifty years since I first covered the same ground. I took the late night departure from Gare de Lyon. Consider yourself fortunate in 21st century first class bliss !! My 29 pound inter rail card left me standing in the corridor for most of the night .Is looking back in envy part of the aging process ? Keep up the great work . I enjoyed every minute .
As a french guy, I never thought people would be looking forward to taking the TGV. For us it's just that 5 hour long thing where you need to find something to do so you don't get bored 😅 This video is really good tho ! You make great advertising for the SNCF
Thank you! Yes. I had been looking forward to TGV and I suppose the fact you French people find it so ordinary is a testament to how your country has made high speed rail, well, ordinary. Thank you so much for watching and leaving the kind comment 👍
The first time I ever tried to get a TGV didn’t go well as our connection from CDG was late we arrived just as the doors where shutting. Despite us standing at the door the guard wouldn’t open it and it say there for a further 10 mins!! Our second attempt to get too Cannes was much more enjoyable
I did Marseille to Cologne via Paris on the TGV back in 2007 and I think the interior of train carriage for your journey was identical to the one I was on. If I remember right, I think I may have taken a bus to transfer between Gare de Lyon and Gare du Nord rather than using the Metro, which I think may have been the only time I've used the bus service in Paris. I can't remember why I took a bus rather than the Metro, but I'm fairly sure I had at least a couple of hours between my connecting trains. Would like to travel by TGV again one day.
That's a very good point on using the bus over the metro if you have the time. The same is also true in London. ie. the underground metro services are quick and reliable, but you see nothing of the city - whilst even a service bus gives you an overground tour as you gaze out of the window. In the next video in this series I go from Gare de L'Est to Luxembourg - I had enough time to walk from St Lazare to L'Est - a very pleasant 30 min walk indeed... Thanks you so much for watching 👍
Nice review but this TGV ran faster and longer than you said. 658 km was the distance between Paris GdL and Avignon-TGV. From there, you traveled another 94 km to St Charles.
@@JohnnyHooverTravels Your TGV started on the old PLM tracks at Gare de Lyon, took part of the Ile de France bypass, joined the original LGV Sud Est route at Moisenay, left it to bypass Lyon along LGV Rhone-Alpes towards LGV Mediterranee. I don't know of any authoritative measurement and I made an estimate with help from various sources (wikipedia route maps and "bilans LOTI", the mandatory post-hoc evaluation of significant French public investments).
Hi Johnny... Amazing video! We were just looking for luggage storage. We are taking the same route in october to join NCL Epic in Marseille. We have 2 regular carry on luggage and 2 big ones like 23 kg eacg. Is there a fee for the luggage. Are there lots of storage for it thoigh. Thanks in advance. And thanks for sharing us this video. ❤
I don't think so there is a fee on InOui, but be sure you aren't on Ouigo, which is the budget version and does have extra costs for luggage. If you are on the same train as me you should be ok. 23kg isn't super big and should fit in the luggage stack and carryons should probably fit ok overhead. If you are at Gare de Lyon in plenty of time then it might be worth queuing at the gate for the platform as early as you can so you aren't last on and find the luggage racks all full. Have a great trip (it really is lovely on those trains) and thank you so much for watching 👍
You will have to do it again, next year the firsts new ones will arrive on this line. Design will changed of course, and the bar will be the 2 floors high.
@@JohnnyHooverTravels Thanks and enjoy your trips. Paris -Montpellier will be second on the list for the replacement of TGVs, in case you want to change your destination, it takes 3h15 to reach Montpellier. They ordered 150 new ones, but I don't know the rhythm of deliveries. But it won't be later than 2026, I guess, since we are next.
Very informative video. Du pre-select your seat before boarding? How du know the seat ur selecting is facing front (towards destination) or facing back?
I was on an Interrail ticket so seat reservation was a little more hit and miss. But if you buy a ticket from SNCF directly then you should be able to select your seat from a seat diagram, so you should be ok. If all else fails and you are only offered the option for picking a seat by the number, then a quick bit of googling should find you a seat map of the train. Thank you for watching and for the kind words. 👍
I doubt you can buy them just yet. But SNCF has demand pricing so I would certainly buy them as soon as they become available. You can check prices and availability of tickets on SNCF's website or via the SNCFConnect app. Thanks for watching and happy travels 👍
Btw, my notifications say you sent me a superthanks. Thank you so much for that! Very kind indeed. I'm travelling to Ireland at the end of the month. When I get there, I shall enjoy a pint on you! Much appreciated 🍺❤️
@@JohnnyHooverTravels I once took the DART from Pearse Station to the south. There could be some opportynity for a walk-back along that route. Perhaps between Greystones and Bray.
@@kristinmickey That is advisable as they are cheaper in advance, especially on TGV services. Also the trains can sell out. But you could buy tickets on the day if they are available. Thanks for watching 👍
