How to take a train journey from Paris to Toulouse

There are now also 2 x daily low-cost, but more basic Ouigo services from Paris to Toulouse.

On Mondays to Saturdays the Ouigo train which usually departs 08:45 plugs a gap of more than four hours between the departures of these TGV InOui services.
On Sundays that 08:45 departure is the first train of the day.

Though when looking up this journey, if you don't opt to see only direct trains, there will be more journey options to choose from, but they will involve making a connection between trains in Bordeaux.

Note that these trains and those Ouigo services depart from the Gare Montparnasse in Paris.
The alternative, slower, but occasionally cheaper, service of Intercités trains from Paris to Toulouse depart from Paris Austerlitz.

Final Destination: Toulouse

All Trains Also Call At: Bordeaux and Agen

Some Trains Also Call At: Montauban

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date - but bookings can open sooner when SNCF is running a promotion.

When booking 2nd class tickets only one type of ticket will be available per departure, discounted 'Prems' tickets or 'Seconde' tickets; though the price of Seconde tickets are also typically cheaper when they are first placed on sale.
When booking 1st class tickets there will be a choice of Premiere tickets and Business Premiere tickets.

The two key T&Cs of booking Prems, Seconde, or Premiere tickets are:

1. Up until two days prior to departure, these types of tickets can be refunded for no additional charge (big tick), but a €15 fee will be payable for making a refund in the two days prior to departure.
2. It's also possible to exchange tickets to an alternative departure on the same journey, but you will have to pay any difference in price between the cost you paid and the cost at the time of the exchange.

Though if you book Business Premiere tickets, the key T&Cs are that tickets can be exchanged and refunded free of charge up to 30 minutes after departure, so if you get to the station just too late to miss the train you were originally booked on to, you won't lose out financially.

Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey, but rail pass users will need to be pay a reservation fee prior to boarding these TGV trains.

The price is dictated by demand per departure, so book ahead and try and be flexible re: your departure and arrival times, as trains leaving earlier or later can be cheaper.

Final Destination: Toulouse

These Ouigo services are usually scheduled to depart Paris at 08:52 and 12:21.

So you can now opt to save money, but have a much more basic on board experience, and travel on a Ouigo.

Online bookings usually open: up to 9 months ahead of the travel date

Tickets for the alternative service of TGV InOui trains are usually made available 4 months ahead, so if you look up this journey more than 4 months ahead on SNCF Connect, you may only see these Ouigo services, but they are not the only option on this route.

What is particularly worth being aware of when booking tickets for journeys by Ouigo train services, is that:

• Premiere/1st class tickets are not available.
• Reservations are included when booking, as they are on the TGV InOui trains, but you can opt to pay additional fess, or book a more expensive type of ticket to select a specific seat (more info is available on the Ouigo 'Train Guide').
• The more expensive type of tickets also include an additional luggage allowance, click the Ouigo 'Train Guide' to access more info on the luggage allowances on Ouigo trains; they're more restrictive than on a TGV InOui train.
• You cannot book or collect tickets for Ouigo trains at stations.
• The two key T&Cs of booking either of the two types of ticket available for journeys by Ouigo trains are:

1. The tickets are not refundable.
2. Exchanges to alternative departures are possible until 1 hour before the beginning of the boarding procedure, but they incur a fee of €10 per passenger, with any price difference between the old and new ticket(s) also added to this fee.

Though these factors, and more, are why you can make big savings by opting to travel by these Ouigo trains and not on the standard TGV InOui trains.

Eurail and InterRail Pass Users:

Rail passes cannot be used on Ouigo trains, but if you will be travelling with a 2nd class pass, our guide to using rail passes in France, explains why taking a Ouigo train can be worth considering

These Intercités services from Paris to Toulouse are much slower than the TGV InOui and Ouigo services; particularly as those other trains now use the relatively new high speed line between Paris and Bordeaux.

Note that these trains depart from the Gare Austerlitz in Paris - the other trains from Paris to Toulouse depart from Gare Montparnasse.

Final Destination: Toulouse

All trains also call at: Limoges and Brive-la-Galliarde.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date - usually (the booking window can be shorter in Oct-Nov).

If tickets aren't on sale yet for your travel date, you can sign up to the ticket availability notification service on Oui.SNCF.

If you don't choose a specific Paris station on Oui.SNCF,  the search results will still feature both services from Austerlitz and Montparnase for easy comparison.

If you're booking far enough ahead the discounted tickets for the TGVs from Paris Montparnasse are cheaper; despite those trains being much faster.
When the discounted tickets for the alternative TGVs are sold out, these Intercités trains are cheaper - but only by around €10.

Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey.

Rail Pass Users:

If you will be travelling with a valid Euaril or InterRail pass you will need to pay a reservation fee to travel on both these Intercités trains AND the alternative faster TGV train).

The same rail pass users pricing policy is applied to both trains , but it's probable that you'll be more likely to find the €10 fee is available on these Intercités trains.