getting from Paris to Frankfurt

I need to know what is the quickest and cheapest way to get from Paris to Frankfurt? Is there a low cost airline that flies that route? If taking the train how long is the ride. Would I be better off getting a 4 day france/germany rail pass in 2nd class? Any thoughts/

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There is a recent thread on this route. The reason why there is no low cost airline flying there is that, from June 10 2007 onwards, Frankfurt will be linked to Paris by the new TGV Est Europe, in 3h45. So, if your trip is after this date, it%26#39;s a no brainer: take the TGV Est. If it%26#39;s before that, you have four options:

- the normal day train ex Paris Est: 6 1/2 hours

- the Thalys train ex Paris Nord changing at Cologne : 5 1/2 hours

- the night train: only for deep, deep, sleepers

- a false return flight by AF or LH: about 100 euros in the winter if you book early enough.

You can check the train fares on www.bahn.de

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There is another cheap option - http://www.eurolines.fr/ For an midweek overnight coach Paris/Francfort early January the online fare is €24. That%26#39;s a piece of information, by the way, not a recommendation!

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If you check the website Bob S provided, it may not tell you the price. That is the trouble I encountered, anyway, when trying to find a price from Germany to France. I had to go to the train station itself to get a price (only because you%26#39;re crossing a border).

Anyway, I just called the train station here and from Paris East to Frankfurt it is 82.60 euro and it is a 6:20 ride. Not bad considering Frankfurt is 1.00 drive NE from me (Ramstein) and Paris is a 4:30 drive East. The train prices are not like plane prices, you don%26#39;t get a discount the earlier you book it. Also, I don%26#39;t know if it would be a different price if you booked it in France.

Hope this helps a little.

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%26quot;The train prices are not like plane prices, you don%26#39;t get a discount the earlier you book it. %26quot; Not true any more! Our train friends are just adapting to the airline competition, and you can get early bird prices, at least in France. I wanted jjocko to avoid the SNCF website, since it is not the most user friendly in the world, but it will give prices... after a bit a patience!

www.voyages-sncf.fr

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Good to know Bob S. However, I think Germany may be just a little behind the times as I asked if the price changed depending on how early I booked the ticket and I was told, quite frankly, %26quot;No.%26quot;

I don%26#39;t know that I%26#39;ll ever be living in France, but I%26#39;ll keep up with that website just in case.

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Advance purchase discounts on SNCF trains other than on short local trips are nothing new. They have been around for years. On some routes (e.g. Paris-Nice) the discount can be as much as 80%. Advance purchase discounts are also available on the Thalys and Eurostar networks. The French and German rail systems simply operate on very different business models.

That said, I think the only discounts available on the Paris-Frankfurt route are on the night train when the fare can be as low as 40€. Otherwise the fares are much the same as those Calicobaby quotes when booked from France.

Incidentally you can knoock about 1.5 hours off the trip by taking the Thalys from Paris to Köln and changing there for a local train to Frankfurt. The fare for this route is considerablt higher at around 125€, but it might not be if you booked the Paris-Köln leg of the trip separately, especially if you are travelling both ways. Play around with www.thalys.com if you want to investigate this routing.

This handy guide by MorganB will help navigate the SNCF on-line booking system: http://tinyurl.com/qpdef

RT tickets on Air France can be had for ~150€, actually cheaper than the train if you are travelling RT — and wiorth considering even if you are only travelling one way.

Last time I looked at a map, Paris was west of Germany... :-)

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Thanks IrishRovr--West is what I meant. I%26#39;m used to living with a beach to the south (Gulf Coast, USA) that keeps my bearings correct. And since Europe rarely uses compass directions, I am no longer the best at giving directions. :-)

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