Getting out of Paris
Eventually, that day or any number of days later, you will want to get to one of the railway station in the centre of Paris: Gare de l’Est (for Strasbourg, Luxembourg), Gare du Nord (for Calais, Belgium), Gare d’Austerlitz (for the Massif Centrale, Pyrenees, and the southwest), Gare de Lyon (for the SouthEast, Alps), Gare de Montparnasse for Normandy, Brittany and the Loire Valley).
Information about trains leaving Paris for your chosen destination can be obtained from: http://www.sncf.com/ before you leave on your trip, and your train ticket and reservation can be purchased at any station in Paris.
Reservations can be made minutes before departure if space is available; can also make a ‘surreservation’ which may mean standing if all reserved seats are filled.
Seniors discounts are available in Level 1 TGV and blue periods in other trains (i.e. not Saturdays and Monday mornings).