How does she get from Orleans to Paris every day?

Hi,

My best friend is traveling to Orleans for a month in June with her husband who is there on business. She would like to go into Paris daily while her husband is at the office. What is the easiest and least-expensive way for her to do this?

Thanks!

~Joanna

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By far the easiest and I woulkd think the least expensive way would be by train.

The trip from Orleans to Paris takes abiout 70 minutes, and she will be arriving at the Gare d%26#39;Austerlitz from which she can easily get to where she wants to go by metro, taxi, bus or on foot, depending on where she wants to go and her own preferences. Trains are frequent on this route.

There is a discount card available for people travelling frequently on the same route. For the Paris to Orleans route, a card valid 3 months, the shortest period possible, would cost 83 Euros. As a holder of this card your friend would be entitled to a discount of 50% on the regular fare every time she made the trip. She will have to decide for herself if it is worthwhile for her to take advantage of this option.

The official French rail site at www.sncf.com will give her more information about this option, as well as giving her train timetables, fare information, etc.

Hope this helps. Give another holler if you need more info.

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Thank you so much! You have been so helpful! By the way, we%26#39;re headed to Ireland next month for our fourth trip... I like your name!

~Joanna

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Thank you so much! You have been so helpful! By the way, we%26#39;re headed to Ireland next month for our fourth trip... I like your name!

One more question, if you don%26#39;t mind... will she be able to purchase this 3-month ticket you speak of at the train station in Orleans? She was sure that a eurail ticket must be purchased in the States. That can%26#39;t be true of this ticket, right? This sounds like a commuter train, similar to what we have here in the Chicago suburbs.

Thanks again!

~Joanna

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Hi Joanna -

You (and your friend) are most welcome to whatever help I can give you.

I did check the 2nd class fare from Orleans to Paris and it is around 32 Euros RT. So your friend would only have to make about six trips to make the 83 Euro 3-month %26quot;Abonnement frequence%26quot; as it is called worth purchasing.

I don%26#39;t know how much French your friend speaks, but more info about the %26quot;frequent traveller%26quot; card can be found on www.sncf.com, which does have an English language server. The pass can also be purchased online, but I think will have to be delivered to an address in France. The alternative would be to purchase the card at the main station in Orleans, which I *assume* (I have never done this myself) would be no problem. Other forum members may have more info about this.

And just for your (and her) information, European rail tickets of most kinds and in most countries can be purchased online from the source, usually at a considerable savings.

Hope this helps.