We really enjoyed our train ride aboard the TGV Lyria. We took the route from Zurich to Paris, and…read morehad a very quiet and comfortable ride. The whole trip took about 5 hours (with a few stops here and there to pick up/drop off more passengers). The train leaves the station at a rather slow pace, but once you get into the open road, it really picks up speed. There is a monitor in the train car that tells you how fast you are going. I think the fastest we got up to was 316 km per hour (almost 200 mph!) On board, there is a café car with sandwiches, beer, soda, coffee, and some other snacks and drinks. There is also a rack above the seats for smaller carry- on bags and items, and a large rack area in the middle/front door-areas of each car where you can put your larger luggage. I think we may have had a newer model train, because the seats and the interior were both very clean and colorful/modern. The seats (at least the two that we were at) had power sockets, cup holders, reading lights, tray tables that fold down, and one ingenious part of the seat design - the seats have a small notch on the back of them to restrict how far back you can lean into the person behind you! It still offers quite a bit of pitch, but does put a limit on how much you can disturb the tray table of the passengers behind your seat. I thought that was great! On our trip back to Zurich from Paris, we had a group of school students join us in our quiet car (about 40 young students coming back from a summer trip with all of their band instruments) so it was a little less relaxing, but that is nobody's fault. Just bring headphones and take a nap or enjoy the view as it passes by!

The "Train à Grand Vitesse" was a revolution in train travel for Europe when it was introduced…read morenearly fifty years ago. Lyria TGV is the French-Swiss train line. It became even better, when SNCF's double-decker Lyria TGV was rolled out and the prices made it even more affordable for rail travel. For us retirees and for about $150*, we could go First Class from Switzerland to Paris in three and a half hours. Nice. I have attached the TGV service map to give you some idea of where to can travel throughout France and Europe. The German system ICE (Inter-City Express) also travels into and out of France and has a similar network. See service maps attached. Most European train stations are located in the center of the city. So no schlepping from a large airport several miles away to the city center. Btw, almost all European airports have a train into that very same central station. So you'll be traveling by rail no matter how you get there. LOL Oh yes, there are always several food options and Magazine/Newspaper stands, which also have carry-on food items available for your trip. It's absolutely a better, more relax way to travel. * Booked online several months ahead and prevailing currency conversion.