Just took a TGV to Paris from Cote D'Azur yesterday. Had booked first online for an extra 5 euro. Seats seemed only marginally better than 2nd class, and there were no power ports for laptops in case you wanted to work.

Moral: TGV First is not as good as Amtrak Business if that is your reference point.

Paris - Bordeaux First or Second?
 

The wife and I will be traveling from Paris to Bordeaux in early March. Does anyone have experience on this route? If so, would you travel first or second class?

I have not traveled the specific route but I have taken the TGV on numerous occasions over the past 15 years.

I generally always select First class, which often one can purchase for about the same as Second, or just a small amount more. I enjoy the more spacious layout and fewer people in the car. If you can get the two seats facing each other on the single seat side, with a table in between, that is the best.

The posts in this thread are outdated. The last few years (but not specifically on this route) I have always had power ports in 1st class. Add to this the 2-1 seating and the generally quieter atmosphere and the choice is easily made (especially that for bookings made now for March you'll only pay a few Euros more to travel 1st class).

2nd class isn't bad at all on the trains (TGV, Thalys, Eurostar, etc.). Book 1st class if it is a small premium. Book 2nd class if the price difference is more than nominal.

Peak-season, 1st class can work out better if you have much luggage, since there's more room in the car (and fewer people). But 2nd class on the TGV is still pretty nice. Power plugs are difficult to come by in a 2nd class car though, so if you need to get work done, that also would favor 1st.

Thank you for the quick responses. Is there a better website to book through? For example, one that offers better rates?

Book directly through SNCF. Choose to print out your tickets at home, and you're set! Substantially less-expensive than RailEurope.com.

I second that. I've bought tickets on SNCF.com & printed them at home many times. Never a hassle. They even now print properly on 8.5 x 11 as opposed to the metric A4 which is slightly longer (although that never posed a problem for a conductor).

I always print 2 copies and put them in 9 x 12 envelopes (separately) just in case one copy gets wet. I also save the ticket as a pdf file and print from that. At the risk of appearing paranoid, I also save a copy of the pdf in my phone.

As for pricing, off-peak times typically provide the best fares, and I've seen times where 1st is less than 2nd. A nice feature of the SNCF site is that it tells you, when searching for 2nd, when 1st is available at a lower or similar fare.

This may have been said...but the earlier you can buy your tickets the cheaper they will be.

We bought Paris to Avignon last year the first day they became available. 26E in First.

A week later they had gone up to 45E each.

My understanding is they just get higher as the departure day gets closer.

I have taken First a couple of times, but generally take 2nd. It's still perfectly comfortable, and usually quite quiet. Around holiday times, it makes sense to take first if the price difference isn't too big since the 2nd cars can be loud and fairly dirty. But other than that, I'd probably stick with 2nd. More times than not, I had nobody sitting next to me and/or I was able to move to have nobody sitting next to me in 2nd.

Also, avoid IDTGV. I once accidentally got on one instead of my train (it was one of those times when the trains were linked together) and it was absolutely disgusting. Maybe it was just bad luck though, since it was holiday time and I was going Aix-Marseille (the last 15 or so min of the Paris-Marseille route).

My experience in IDTGV wasn't so bad, but I was in a "quiet" car and wouldn't consider one of the others. But one has to keep in mind there are various extra charges for IDTGV if you have much luggage.

We have seen specials, too, on the French-language site, offering First Class 2-for-1. That may work out better for you than second class.

If your train is one of the two-level ones, try to get seats upstairs. The downstairs compartments have lower ceilings, which make them feel small and airless. Also, upstairs you can see more out of the window.

But if you have luggage you'll have to drag it up the stairs...