In France there is a high speed train known as train a grande viteese or in short TGV that runs on five main tracks.
The TVG south east track connects Paris with the south east of France including the main regional cities of Lyon, Dijon, Avignon, Marseille, Nice and Perpignon. This TGV train service also goes through the French Alps and pulls in at Geneva in Switzerland.
The TGV Atlantic line links the capital city of France to the west coast. Major stops on this TGV train line include Nantes, the Loire Valley, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Toulouse and the French Basque country.
Paris and two other major cities of northern France namely Lille and Calais are connected by the TGV northern line.
Eurostar, probably the most well known train line, runs between Paris and London via the Channel Tunnel, stopping at Lille, Calias and Ashford in Kent on the way.
The high speed TGV Thalys links major European cities including Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne consequently making it easy to travel to major cities in Europe from France.
There has been a major development in the high speed train travel in France in the past few years. It is no longer necessary to travel via Paris when you travel between provinces in France as a result of the TGV train service that runs directly between Lyons and Nantes now. The same is the case with Bordeaux and Lilles and many other provincial towns.
515 km p/h is the record speed for the TGV as of now. The TGV normally goes at a speed of 280-300km p/h while in service.
Buying a train ticket in France can be a complicated procedure because of so many different types of special deals on offer. If you're interested in buying a Eurailpass which allows you unlimited travel over a 2 week period, it's advisable to buy this in your country as it will be 30% cheaper than purchasing it in France. The Eurailpass is designed specifically for non Europeans so EU nationals cannot buy it.
The High speed TGV train is a testament to French railway expertise. If you want to know about other means of transport, such as Driving in France please follow the hyperlinks.
