Editing France (section)

===<FONT COLOR="#333399">'''Taking the train'''</FONT>===

Usually in France you are expected to always buy your tickets before you get on board - even on smaller or suburban trains. If you forget and you tell the controller as soon as you see him he would usually sell you the tickets on board but he will charge some extra 10 to 20% of the price - if he is in bad mood you might as well get fined! You MUST not forget either to make sure you punch your tickets before getting on board - there are dedicated machines (orange colored for the elder ones otherwise bright yellow) that are usually located at the beginning of every platform - otherwise you might once again get fined.

If you are planning to take the TGV (French bullet-train) you will probably have to buy your ticket several days / weeks before departure and the sooner, the cheaper. However for smaller distances like regional trains (TER) you can buy your ticket directly at the train station just before leaving. 

A useful website to find '''timetables''', '''fares''' and '''buy tickets''' online is [http://www.sncf.com/indexe.htm SNCF.com]. For complete timetables for all Europe, look at [http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en Bahn.de].