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Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
First class at 350 km/h for just $93? It's a five-star train journey
Seats are placed in rows of three; a single on one side of the aisle and a pair on the other. Mine is 46 by the window on the right-hand side of the train; for the first part of the journey to Marseille, I'm facing backwards, but it doesn't worry me. The charcoal and red colour scheme is smart; the upholstered seats have a footrest, a mirror, bag or coat hook and a small shelf that converts to a full-size drop-down tray table for a laptop or meal. There's a drink holder, a USB port and a standard European socket plus a button to recline the seat that I keep hitting accidentally as it's on the inside of the armrest. The free on-board Wi-Fi is patchy, so I stick to 5G on my roaming plan. Baggage You must be able to carry all your luggage by yourself. After the station boarding gates, only ticket holders are allowed on the platform. You can take either two suitcases, or one suitcase and one special item (eg a bike or skis), plus one item of hand luggage. Your hand luggage can measure a maximum of 4cm x 30cm x 15cm; your suitcase can measure a maximum of 70cm x 90cm x 50cm. Fees from €50 apply for excess baggage. Food + drink As a private group, we're allocated a host who delivers drinks, meals and snacks to our seats, airline-style. The standard is excellent (apart from typically bad French coffee) and the packaging recyclable. Our cold lunch is chicken with couscous, a mustardy potato salad, a bread roll and a cherry and almond cake. There is also a vegetarian option. Soft drinks are offered throughout the journey and snacks include really good butter cookies with chocolate. If you're travelling independently, meals and drinks can be pre-ordered online and picked up via the priority queue in the bistro car. One more thing Given this trip takes almost six hours, I would recommend forking out for the more spacious first-class seats. Loading The price From €52 ($93) one way for first class, meals extra. See If you want to book a private carriage and host for a group, email The verdict I can't really fault this trip as an affordable, comfortable and sustainable (a tiny fraction of the carbon emissions of flying) way to get across France, straight from the centre of Nice into the centre of Paris. Flying would be quicker, but travelling by train is less stressful and the time goes by quickly. Our rating out of five ★★★★★
Sydney Morning Herald
7 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
First class across France for $93? Mais oui
Seats are placed in rows of three; a single on one side of the aisle and a pair on the other. Mine is 46 by the window on the right-hand side of the train; for the first part of the journey to Marseille, I'm facing backwards, but it doesn't worry me. The charcoal and red colour scheme is smart; the upholstered seats have a footrest, a mirror, bag or coat hook and a small shelf that converts to a full-size drop-down tray table for a laptop or meal. There's a drink holder, a USB port and a standard European socket plus a button to recline the seat that I keep hitting accidentally as it's on the inside of the armrest. The free on-board Wi-Fi is patchy, so I stick to 5G on my roaming plan. Baggage You must be able to carry all your luggage by yourself. After the station boarding gates, only ticket holders are allowed on the platform. You can take either two suitcases, or one suitcase and one special item (eg a bike or skis), plus one item of hand luggage. Your hand luggage can measure a maximum of 4cm x 30cm x 15cm; your suitcase can measure a maximum of 70cm x 90cm x 50cm. Fees from €50 apply for excess baggage. Food + drink As a private group, we're allocated a host who delivers drinks, meals and snacks to our seats, airline-style. The standard is excellent (apart from typically bad French coffee) and the packaging recyclable. Our cold lunch is chicken with couscous, a mustardy potato salad, a bread roll and a cherry and almond cake. There is also a vegetarian option. Soft drinks are offered throughout the journey and snacks include really good butter cookies with chocolate. If you're travelling independently, meals and drinks can be pre-ordered online and picked up via the priority queue in the bistro car. One more thing Given this trip takes almost six hours, I would recommend forking out for the more spacious first-class seats. Loading The price From €52 ($93) one way for first class, meals extra. See If you want to book a private carriage and host for a group, email The verdict I can't really fault this trip as an affordable, comfortable and sustainable (a tiny fraction of the carbon emissions of flying) way to get across France, straight from the centre of Nice into the centre of Paris. Flying would be quicker, but travelling by train is less stressful and the time goes by quickly. Our rating out of five ★★★★★
The Age
7 days ago
- The Age
First class across France for $93? Mais oui
Seats are placed in rows of three; a single on one side of the aisle and a pair on the other. Mine is 46 by the window on the right-hand side of the train; for the first part of the journey to Marseille, I'm facing backwards, but it doesn't worry me. The charcoal and red colour scheme is smart; the upholstered seats have a footrest, a mirror, bag or coat hook and a small shelf that converts to a full-size drop-down tray table for a laptop or meal. There's a drink holder, a USB port and a standard European socket plus a button to recline the seat that I keep hitting accidentally as it's on the inside of the armrest. The free on-board Wi-Fi is patchy, so I stick to 5G on my roaming plan. Baggage You must be able to carry all your luggage by yourself. After the station boarding gates, only ticket holders are allowed on the platform. You can take either two suitcases, or one suitcase and one special item (eg a bike or skis), plus one item of hand luggage. Your hand luggage can measure a maximum of 4cm x 30cm x 15cm; your suitcase can measure a maximum of 70cm x 90cm x 50cm. Fees from €50 apply for excess baggage. Food + drink As a private group, we're allocated a host who delivers drinks, meals and snacks to our seats, airline-style. The standard is excellent (apart from typically bad French coffee) and the packaging recyclable. Our cold lunch is chicken with couscous, a mustardy potato salad, a bread roll and a cherry and almond cake. There is also a vegetarian option. Soft drinks are offered throughout the journey and snacks include really good butter cookies with chocolate. If you're travelling independently, meals and drinks can be pre-ordered online and picked up via the priority queue in the bistro car. One more thing Given this trip takes almost six hours, I would recommend forking out for the more spacious first-class seats. Loading The price From €52 ($93) one way for first class, meals extra. See If you want to book a private carriage and host for a group, email The verdict I can't really fault this trip as an affordable, comfortable and sustainable (a tiny fraction of the carbon emissions of flying) way to get across France, straight from the centre of Nice into the centre of Paris. Flying would be quicker, but travelling by train is less stressful and the time goes by quickly. Our rating out of five ★★★★★
