Train tickets for Christmas: these destinations still available and at low prices

Great start! You can now plan your end-of-year vacation if you plan to take the train. The SNCF ticket office, which opened on October 2, will quickly be taken by storm. “Capital” presents the destinations still available at low prices.

It’s D-Day. It was this Wednesday, October 2 morning that the SNCF ticket office opened to reserve tickets for the Christmas holidays. Booking now is a way to be sure of getting a place, but also to save money. In 2023, passengers who booked up to 11 weeks before their departure on vacation, i.e. when the ticket office opened, were able to make savings of up to 38%, according to a Trainline study published in September 2024. Without count the different advantage cards proposed by the railway company which will lower the price of the ticket.

And like every year, first come first served. Last year, when the ticket office opened on October 4, the number of simultaneous connections was so high on the site that it caused a SNCF Connect malfunction. The SNCF justified this slowdown by “exceptional attendance (…), well beyond expectations”, with up to “1 million connections per minute in the morning” when putting tickets online. Capital therefore take advantage of the launch of winter holiday ticketing to present to you the most popular destinations at low prices.

Where to go during the 2024 Christmas holidays at a low price?

Although prices are likely to increase in the weeks or even days to follow, some destinations are currently affordable. Just before the start of winter, how can we not think of the Festival of Lights in Lyon. From Thursday December 5 to Sunday December 8, the city lights up in its most beautiful colors. For a traveler without a reduction card, departing at 10:42 a.m. from Gare de Lyon in Paris on Thursday December 5 and arriving 1 hour 50 minutes later in Lyon, count on 55 euros* for a second class ticket. If you leave at 12:26 p.m. for an arrival at 2:22 p.m., the price of the trip starts at 39 euros*. On the competition side, Trenitalia, which launched its winter ticketing in September, offers Paris-Lyon journeys between 29 and 45 euros on Thursday December 5 and between 29 and 39 euros for Saturday December 7.

If you don’t have a fear of heights, a little ride on the Ferris wheel in Metz should delight young and old alike. To reach the east of the country, and you plan to leave on the evening of Friday December 20, the start of the school holidays, the Paris-Metz train from 7:40 p.m. is currently priced at 57 euros* for an arrival at 9:04 p.m. . For those who like to enjoy the nocturnal atmosphere of a train while reading a good novel or watching the latest episode of their Netflix series, the Paris-Metz train from 9:40 p.m. for a descent at 11:03 p.m. is 38 euros*, also the Friday December 20.

Still in the East, how can we not mention the Christmas markets of Strasbourg. The official launch will take place on November 27. If leaving the capital you want to attend on the first weekend, an OUIGO can drop you off there from 7 p.m. if you take your train at 4:16 p.m. from Paris Gare de l’Est for 35 euros*. If you leave Lyon at 10:03 a.m. to reach Strasbourg, on Saturday November 30 the train will cost you 57 euros*.

If you want to reach the Mediterranean during the end-of-year holidays and admire the Marseille Santon Fair, that is also possible. If you leave Toulouse to reach Marseille on December 24 at 8:42 a.m. for an arrival at 12:37 p.m., you will have to pay 41 euros*. For Parisians who want to leave the capital and see the Mediterranean, prices have already climbed and are already around 100 euros per ticket…

Preparing the new at a reduced price means anticipating

If you are from Lille and want to spend your new year in Rennes, you will have to get up early to make sure you are on time for New Year’s Eve. A train is currently posted at 7:52 a.m. for the vehicle to drop off at 11:17 a.m. for 59 euros*. The Breton city renowned for its evenings could also attract Parisians.

For early risers, a Paris-Rennes flight is available on December 31 at 16 euros* (for a 1h27 journey). To celebrate the New Year in Bordeaux, departure 8:30 a.m. from Paris Montparnasse, arrival two hours later: tickets are currently priced at 35 euros*.

*Price subject to change depending on the reservation date, price displayed without reduction card.