You are correctly assuming that you have to make reservations both for a TGV and for a night train if you want to get a sleeper/couchette.

July 24th is Monday, not the most heavily travelled time, so you should be able to get seats once you get to Paris. By the way, if you are flying to Roissy, there are direct TGV trains from there to Lyon. You don’t need to go to Paris itself, unless you want to.

Booking a sleeper couple of days ahead of time should be OK as well.

Do you have a rail pass of some kind, or will you be buying point-to-point tickets?

Use &quotaris Aeroport Charles de Gaulle TGV" as the departure station if you use the German rail site for schedules.
http://reiseauskunft…
It will give you connections that require going into Paris via RER and the direct connections from CDG to Lyon.

You can probably buy the ticket with reservation in advance from
www.sncf.com — the French rail site. Use "Roissy (95)" as the departure station.

quote: You don’t need to go to Paris itself, unless you want to.

Booking a sleeper couple of days ahead of time should be OK as well.

Do you have a rail pass of some kind, or will you be buying point-to-point tickets?

Thanks for the info. I plan on seing Paris, but on my way back. So if I don’t have to go to Paris to get to Lyon, I won’t.

I am looking at buying either a 5 or 6 day 3 country Flexi pass . The days I won’t travel much I plan to buy tickets and just use the pass on the heavy travel days.

quote:
Use &quotaris Aeroport Charles de Gaulle TGV" as the departure station if you use the German rail site for schedules.
http://reiseauskunft…
It will give you connections that require going into Paris via RER and the direct connections from CDG to Lyon.

You can probably buy the ticket with reservation in advance from
www.sncf.com — the French rail site. Use "Roissy (95)" as the departure station.

Thanks a lot for that information. I am flying into Charles de Gaulles, which I believe is in Roissy.

Does anyone know if I can book my Geneva-Florence night train from the train station at the Paris (CDG)airport TGV station? If not, how about from the Train station in Lyon?

If you’re travelling with a Eurail 21-unlimited travel pass, do you have to make train reservation when travelling. Say, if we head to the train station in the early morning, is there a good chance we can get on a train without reservation? Do you still need to get tickets when holding a pass? We dont plan on doing any night travelling. Thanks!

FYI, using www.bahn.de you could just type in "CDG" instead of &quotaris Aeroport Charles de Gaulle TGV." And indeed "Roissy" and "Charles de Gaulle" is the same airport.
The train station at the airport has a full-service ticket sales point. So you should be able to book any train there, just like at any other train station.

Georgio, I think all of the trains from the TGV station at Charles de Gaulle are (surprise) TGV trains which require reservations. I’ve explained more about reservations in response to your other post.

Is making reservations in Italy during high-season compulsory? We will be using a Eurail 10-Day 2nd Class Youth FlexiPass for all of our travelling. What are the fees like for making reservations?

If we’re in Switzerland for 4 days before heading down to Italy, can we make all of our reservations in Switzerland before heading down there? I mean, when we’re getting off at the train station in Switzerland, can we make all of our onward reservations there so that it is done and we can just come back and get on the train worry free?

Another question: does a Eurail pass allow you to ride the TGV as long as you make a reservation? Or is there an additional fee along with the pass to ride the TGV?

Also, are there non TGV-trains between Paris-Zurich in case we can not take the TGV?

Geogio — whether reservations are compulsary doesn’t vary with the season, it varies with the specific train. If you take a EurostarItalia, Cisalpino, or Artesia train in Italy you have to buy a reservation. However, trains can be crowded in Italy during tourist season, so you may want to buy a reservation if it’s recommended.

Reservations (3 or 4 euros) are required on TGV trains in France. There are lots of slightly slower (because they make more stops) trains that don’t require reservations. Use:
http://reiseauskunft… to look up rail schedules. If you click on the specific train you can see if reservations are required. There will be a red "r" in a circle on the schedule page if reservations are recommended.

I’d suggest railpass.com Click on "info center" and browse the "using your railpass" sections and the general information and the "articles." There’s also good information at the railpass store at ricksteves.com — or visit your local travel agent and ask for "eurail information."

Thanks a lot oldlady! You’ve been very helpful!