Hi :)

Since you are changing countries you must have your passport with you. I dont think the permit is nesessary but take it just in case

A ticket is good, too :D

already have ;)

so yeah, a newbie to travel via train to another country, many many questions..

well I hope you've read, first time train travel. I am asking just to prepare myself. You don't have to be rude.

As Maria wrote, take your passport.
You might need your permit to re-enter Switzerland.

Enjoy your trip and have a nice time :-)

It seems a little unusual to travel from Geneva to Paris via Lyon, but maybe there's a good reason for it.  Asking whether a passport is necessary is also a little naive, but the questioner has only been here for just a  few weeks and may still be astounded, as so many newvbees are, that a short ride on a bus or a tram can take you into another country which uses another currency.  I've known more than one person who has assumed that proximity obviated the need for travel documents.

I hope our new friend will have smooth journeys and a great time in Paris.  I would agree that she should take her Swiss permit as well as her passport and add that she should watch out for handbag snatchers.  They can spot a tourist a mile away.

If you take the passport they won't check and if you don't take it they won't check. It's sod's law. 

Also it's franc vice frank. It's a currency, not a person ;-)->-<

Was it a double decker train or single deck? Double decker TGV are fun. 

Not sure if you have left or not. Just make sure you do not hopp on the wrong train.

By the way, it might have been easier to take the TGV straight to Paris. There is a train for 3 hours.

As far as passport, in my short stay in Europe, I learned to always keep my paassport with me in a secure place. You never know when you will need it. Same thing for a few euros.

Have fun..

Hi Helena,

I reply to your posting just for the record, as I believe that by now you are already on your way to Paris... and you will have already 'lived' the answers to your questions.

I find your request for advice on taking passport and carte de légitimation for travel by train from Geneva to Paris well justified.

Passport.-  New rules apply since Switzerland joined the Schengen Agreement on 12 Dec 2008 (with effect 29 March 2009). 

I understand that residents of Switzerland can now enter -by land- other Schengen space countries using a suitable valid id-photo document. However, it is simpler (for the passenger and for the border officer) to present a passport. (Passport remains mandatory for travel by air, even between Schengen countries).

Carte de légitimation.- As it is the document that gives you legal residential status in Switzerland, the Swiss border authorities would like to see it, on your ruturn to Geneva.

Paris & Lyon.  I was wondering whether your train is the direct Geneva-Paris with arrival at Gare de Lyon.... Paris has several train stations and Gare de Lyon is the station for the trains from the south...

I am sure that you decided what was best for you.

Wish you a lovely time in Paris!!! 

Sary