London Toolkit 
Rome Toolkit Paris by train from London, Nice and Amsterdam
Fast trains, Eurostar and cheap buses to Paris from France, UK and Europe
The growing number of high-speed inter city train services into Paris have become the dominant transport choice to visit the French capital from within France and neighbouring countries.
The introduction of the high-speed trains has meant that for journeys like London to Paris, train has largely replaced air as the way to travel. With environmental concerns rising, the train will likely be the dominant form of travel for the foreseable future.
So if you are travelling from within France to Paris or from neighbouring countries from cities like London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Geneva or Cologne, rail is the transport of choice for the majority.
This service offers a benchmark combination of speed, convenience, comfort and price often not beaten anywhere else.
Paris mainline stations
Paris has many mainline train stations located in a ring around the centre of Paris. Each has its own catchment area where trains depart from.
SNCF who run the TGV trains are dominant within France, while international routes are more fragmented. All stations are major transport hubs with buses and Metro services to your hotel in Paris, or to another station.
Gare du Nord
Paris Gare du Nord, in the centre of Paris, is now the busiest train station in Europe.
It welcomes passengers travelling by Eurostar from the UK and Thalys services from the Benelux countries and Germany.
It provides a key station stop for:
- Trains to northern France
- LGV Nord to Lille
- Thalys to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany
- Eurostar to London
Gare de l'Est
Paris Gare de l'Est serves a number of destinations to the east, including trains into Germany and Switzerland.
It provides a key station stop for:
- Trains to eastern France and Germany
Gare de Lyon
Paris Gare de Lyon, in the south east of Paris, is the station for high speed TGV services to the South of France, Switzerland and Italy.
It provides a key station stop for:
- Trains to south eastern France, the Mediterranean coast and Languedoc-Roussillon
- Trains to Spain, Switzerland (TGV Lyria) and Italy (Thello)
Gare d'Austerlitz
Gare d'Austerlitz is the departure point for a number of overnight services including trains to the south of France and Spain.
It provides a key station stop for:
- Trains to central France, Toulouse and the Pyrenees
- Trenhotel trains operated by Elipsos to Madrid and Barcelona
Gare Montparnasse
Paris Gare Montparnasse is one of 8 stations in Paris and used by passengers catching high speed TGV trains to the west and southwest of France including Bordeaux, Rennes and Nantes.
It provides a key station stop for:
- Trains to western and south western France
- TGV Ouest and LGV Atlantique
Gare de Bercy
Gare de Bercy is used for the specialist car-carrying AutoTrain service.
It provides a key station stop for:
- Trains to Italy (Artesia)
- TER Burgundy
- Trains auto-couchettes (TAC)
Gare Saint-Lazare
Gare Saint-Lazare is the second busiest station in Paris after Gare du Nord. It serves destinations and cities in northern France.
It also provides a key station stop for:
- Trains to Normandy
Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG)
There is a TGV station at Terminal 2 of Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport.
Trains mostly serve France including both southern and northern cities and Belgium allowing you to bypass the centre of Paris and the awkward interconnections there.
Rail tickets, travel passes and timetables
It is well worth spending some time researching the routes and fares in advance.
Fares can be very volatile, notoriously on the London - Paris Eurostar services where the advance promotional fares can be a fraction of the price of a ticket if you walk up on the day.
If you are touring, there are many rail passes also available.
SNCF RAIL TICKETS
SNCF tickets and timetables
• Rail maps • Rail fares • Rail passes & timetables in Europe • TGV • Eurostar • Thalys • Thello and more
London to Paris
The busiest city outside France from Paris is London where the Eurostar services are dominant in terms of passenger numbers.
On paper you have a choice of three modes of travel using public transport between London and Paris; train, coach and air.
In reality the vast majority of people travelling city centre to city centre choose the Eurostar train service.
As the fastest and most stress-free option it is with with good reason.
However the Eurostar trains are not the cheapest way to travel between the two cities, by some way. That honour goes to the low cost coach services.
While the Eurostar trains whisk you city centre to city centre in just over 2 hours, the fastest coaches that use the tunnel between England and France rather than the ferry services take 7.5 hours to do the same journey.
Eurostar fares are also highly volatile. At popular times and dates or if you buy tickets at very short notice fares can be eye watering and make air travel an option to consider in addition to the coach services.
