exchange money in Paris and train tix

desertdune, you can save your indignation for some other occasion.you never asked how much the cash conversion fee was. you asked the best place to change money. the answer to that is 'any ATM'. also, your reply in #2 gave me the impression that you, like many people, assumed that exchanging cash is free, apart from the fixed commmision. that is a common misconception and as said, if you had bothered to browse this board you would have known that.

if you must change cash because you happen to carry large wads of illegally obtained cash that cannot be put in a bank account then please say so to prevent us from telling you that ATMs are the best place to change money.

There is a direct night train that leaves Nice at 20:58 and arrives in Cerbere at 05:53. It has couchettes and the fare for one is 86.30 EUR. Book at www.sncf.com. Click on the British flag in the lower left-hand corner to view the site in English. Leave France as the default country and choose the option of picking up your ticket at a station or ticket boutique.

There are some important things to do BEFORE leaving hoje to be sure your ATM cards and credit cards will work in Europe. Read this helpful article.

One point about reserving your train tickets by internet: In French rail stations, there are kiosks where, in theory, you could retrieve your tickets simply by inserting the credit card used for the reservation. For some reason, the computers at these kiosks don't seem to read American credit cards. So, write down your confirmation code, and be prepared to spend 15 minutes waiting in line to reach a clerk at a sales window (his computer will read your credit card without problems).
I'll give you a differnt opinion about departure time--- I think that the scenery is really beautiful, and that there are lots of great places to see along the way, so I'd advocate leaving during the day if it fits your schedule. If you have time, make a stop or two along the way.

Many thanks for all the replies!

I ended up buying a limited Eurail pass, which will be cheaper than point-to-point train tix, and will try to book couchettes when I get to Paris on Tues. I could not book them online and all the agents in America were able to see availability but would require a week to book and mail reservations.

As to money (which is different from plastic)....I called my bank and they agreed to increase the amount I could withdraw from ATM machines per transaction. I realize that's only on their end and the French banks may impose a different limit. It will work to everyone's advantage (hopefully mine the most ;-)

Thanks to Basie's suggestion of traveling during the day. I will give that some serious thought.

happy trails to all,
desertdune

Ensure you know how to contact your bank from overseas. US banks tend to have difficulty with overseas transactions and even if you tell them beforehand will still block your card

For booking tickets have a look as to what Man in Seat61 says.