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SNCF releases Christmas holiday tickets - and Eurostar ski train returns
Ski trips from the UK start at around £125 one way
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Travellers planning Christmas trips to France, including the Alps, can now book their train tickets, with SNCF adding extra services and Eurostar bringing back its seasonal ski train from London.
For this year’s holiday season, SNCF is offering extra services for Christmas markets and the Alps, including additional seats for travellers.
For example, the additional TGV INOUI services to Strasbourg and Colmar will provide 36,000 extra seats a week between November 26 and December 23.
This includes 25,000 additional seats a week between Paris and Strasbourg, with 10 extra trains extended to Colmar.
A further 11,000 weekly seats will be available on direct services to Strasbourg from Nantes, Rennes, Bordeaux, Marseille, Montpellier and Lyon.
SNCF will also offer more than 300,000 TGV INOUI seats to the Alps over the Christmas holidays.
Meanwhile, six additional trains will run between Paris Gare de Lyon and Bourg-Saint-Maurice on weekends from November 27 through the holiday period.
OUIGO is also increasing services, including a third return journey between Paris and Strasbourg from December 13, stopping at Champagne-Ardenne TGV and Nancy.
Eurostar ski train returns
Travellers thinking of heading to the French Alps to ski this winter can also book the Eurostar Snow service, which connects London St Pancras with Bourg-Saint-Maurice via Lille.
The seasonal service will run from December 19 to February 20, with departures from London on Saturdays.
Return services will run from Bourg-Saint-Maurice from December 27 to February 28, on Sundays and selected Saturdays.
Tickets start at around £125 one way, but can cost more than £500 depending on the travel date and travel class, including Standard, Plus or Premier.
The train stops at Chambéry, Albertville, Moûtiers, Aime-La-Plagne, Landry and Bourg-Saint-Maurice, giving access to a number of ski resorts.
Passengers travelling to Bourg-Saint-Maurice can continue by coach to resorts including Val Thorens, Val d’Isère, Courchevel, Tignes, Méribel and Les Menuires.
For those whose travel dates do not match the Snow service, Eurostar also offers connecting journeys from London via Paris, with onward TGV INOUI services to the Alps.
