Bordeaux Saint-Jean (Bordeaux)

The following train services depart from and and arrive Bordeaux-St Jean:

• TGV InOui trains to / from Paris-Montparnasse, Aeroport CDG, Agen, Bayonne, Biarritz, Bruxelles, Hendaye, Lille, Lourdes, Marne La Vallée, Poitiers, St Pierre-des-Corps (for Tours), Strasbourg, Tarbes and Toulouse
• Ouigo Grand Vitesse trains to / from Paris-Montparnasse, Aeroport CDG, Lille, Marne La Vallée and Toulouse
• Intercités trains to / from Agen, Beziers, Carcassonne, La Rochelle, Marseille, Montpellier-St Roch, Nantes, Narbonne, Nimes and Toulouse
• TER trains to / from Agen, Arcachon, Bayonne, Bergerac, Biarritz, Hendaye, La Rochelle, Limoges and Toulouse.

Bordeaux Saint-Jean is a stunning train station and its beauty has been enhanced by comparatively recent renovations timed to coincide with the opening of the newest high speed line in France.
However, the facelift hasn’t made a difference to the rather awkward access to and from some of the trains which use Bordeaux Saint-Jean, because some of the voies (platforms/tracks) at the station do not have step-free access.

Location

Due to the need for the railway to bridge the River Garonne immediately to the south of the station, Bordeaux-Saint Jean is located on the very eastern edge of the city centre.
Though the tram now provides a welcome link between the station and the heart of the city>
Taking the tram is easier to understand than working out how to take a bus and virtually all of the city's main attractions, its cathedral and primary art museum are a least a 25 minute walk from Bordeaux-Saint Jean.

The neighborhood around Bordeaux-Saint Jean is fairly attractive; there are numerous brasseries in which to have a drink or something to eat between trains, you don't have to use the outlets in the station.

Eight Things worth knowing about using Bordeaux Saint-Jean station:

(1) The long station building on the city side of Bordeaux St Jean is divided into Halles 1 and 2.
Halle 1 - is the main hall, and is the station's main waiting area.
It also houses the ticket office (the Billetterie) and has access to the 1st class lounge (the Salon Grand Voyageur).

Halle 2 - houses the left luggage and lost property office.
The passage between them is home to food/drink outlets, as well as two waiting rooms which are equipped with re-charge points for electronic devices.

(2) There is new entrance /exit hall, the Hall 3 Belcier, which is located on the opposite, eastern side, of the station to the main station building.
It's primary function is to ease the access to / from the station by private car and it houses numerous car hire desks - though there is seemingly not a taxi rank in front of this Hall 3.

(3) If you are lucky your train will be using voie (platform/track) 1, as it is adjacent to the main halls at the station, so has exceptionally easy access.

(4) If the long distance train you're arriving or departing by isn't using voie (platform/track) 1, you will have to use the passage ways beneath the tracks make your way from and to the train.

(5) Bordeaux Saint Jean has two of these passage ways - and when arriving by train, you can use whichever of them is nearest to you when you step on to the voie/platform.
Both passage ways lead to the street and the tram stop (Bordeaux does not have a Metro).

(6) On voies (platforms/tracks) 2 – 7 there are easy to miss ramps that lead down to both passage ways, so you don’t have to use the stairs if you have luggage etc.

(7) Voies (platforms/tracks) 8 - 14 can only be accessed by stairs to and from this Nord passage way, but voies (platforms/tracks) 2 – 14 are now linked by elevator or escalator to the Sud Passage way - which also provides the access to and from the Hall 3.

(8) Voies (platforms/tracks) A - C, which are only used by TER trains between Bordeaux and destinations to the south, are on the far side of Halle 2, so are a two minute walk away from Halle 1.

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ShowMeTheJourney has anticipated what questions are most often asked about taking trains to and from Bordeaux-St Jean and answered them below.
Though note that some of this info may be temporarily subject to change, due to the ongoing building work which will transform the station.

If you can't find the information you are seeking, you can ask a question and the AI enabled service will try to write an answer, telling you what you wish to know.

Yes, all of the voies (platforms / tracks) which can't be directly accessed from the main station building, which are voies 2 - 14 are linked by elevator or escalator to the Sud passage, which is beneath the railway tracks.
It is by the front end of the trains which arrive from Paris.
There is also a step-free route by the Nord passage way, between the main station building and voies 2 - 7.

Bordeaux St Jean train station is some distance from the city centre - to walk to the cathedral in the heart of the city from the station, takes around 20-25 mins.

Tram line C is the only tram route in Bordeaux, which serves Saint-Jean station, it stops right outside the Hall 2 at the 'Gare Saint Jean' stop.
If you use the main street exit from the station, through Hall 1, the tram stop will be over to the left, you can't miss it.

Line C gives good access to the eastern edge of the city centre, as it runs along the west bank of The Garonne River.
The line C trams (direction Blanquefort) also stop in front of the Basilica of St. Michael at the 'St Michel' stop.
For Europe’s largest city square, the Place des Quinconces, take tram line C to the 'Quinconces' stop (6 stops from Gare St Jean).

To the heart of the old town from Bordeaux-St Jean:

Take tram line C to the 'Porte De Bourgogne' stop.
At the 'Porte De Bourgogne' stop you can transfer to Tram line A, which penetrates the historic heart of the city; the ‘Hotel De Ville’ stop is by the cathedral.

To the area around Place de la Victoire:

This part of town is a 15-20 min walk from Bordeaux St-Jean, but bus lines, 5, 16 and 45 to the Place de la Victoire depart from stops outside Gare St Jean.

Alternatively you can take the tram, though it's a roundabout route.
Take the tram line C (direction Les Aubiers) to the 'Quinconces' stop
Transfer there to Line B trams heading towards 'Pessac Centre' or 'France Alouette' as they stop at 'Victoire'.

To La Cité Du Vin from the main station in Bordeaux:

The tram is definitely the best means of accessing La Cité Du Vin** from Bordeaux St-Jean, as it’s located at the opposite end of the city to the station.
Take the tram line C (direction Les Aubiers) to the 'Quinconces' stop and transfer there to Line B (direction Berges de La Garonne).
Line B has a new tram stop at the 'Cité Du Vin'.

The public transport network in and around Bordeaux is managed by TBM and it operates a touch in and out system, using TBM cards.
The cards can be obtained at St-Jean station, from the staffed TBM outlet - its opening hours are Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The alternative is tap in and out using a smart phone to which you have downloaded the TBM payment app.

There are two restaurants in Bordeaux-St Jean, Le Grand Comptoir and Metsens - plus multiple coffee and sandwich outlets.

The left-luggage facility is on the lower level -1, in the Hall 2, by the Sud passage way.
It has elevator access.
Note that bags can only be dropped and collected during staffed hours, which are typically 08:15 - 21:00

Yes, Bordeaux-St Jean has a Grand Voyageur lounge which can be accessed by those who will be travelling with Business Premiere tickets, on the TGV InOui services.
It is located in Hall 1.

Bordeaux Saint-Jean is a large station, but it doesn’t particularly matter in which part of the station you wait for the departure details of the train you will be taking to be confirmed.
Just be sure you can see any of the departure screens, which are scattered around the station, from where you are waiting.

The specific voie (platform/track) which your train will be leaving from, will usually appear on these screens 10 – 20 mins prior to departure.
This information won’t be announced – and most announcements at stations in France are only made in the French language.

If you take a tram to the Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean, it will arrive outside Hall 2 at the station and you can wait in this part of the station for you train.
Though the main waiting rooms at the station are in a corridor which links this Hall 2 with Hall 1, which is where the main entrance to Bordeaux Saint-Jean leads into.

Voie (platform/track) 1 is beside these Halls 1 and 2, so access to the trains which depart from here is blissfully simple.

Voies (platforms/tracks) A – C are at the south end of the station, on the other side of Hall 2 and also have level access with the main station buildings; though they are only used by TER trains.

Two passage ways, the Nord passage way from Hall 1 and the Sud passage way near Hall 2, run under the railway lines and link the main station buildings to voies (platforms/tracks) 2 – 14.
There is an escalator in the Hall 1 which leads to the Nord passage way, which can be switched so that it is leading down or up, but the Sud passage way can now be accessed by escalators and an elevator in Hall 2

Both passage ways have steps and a slope which lead up to voies (platforms/tracks) 2 – 7, but the southern passage way, which can be accessed from Hall 2, now also has elevators which connect it to voies (platforms/tracks) 2 – 12 and there is an escalator to/from tracks 13 and 14.

Boarding TGV trains

Most of the TGV trains which will be departing from Bordeaux Saint-Jean comprise 16 – 20 coaches, so they occupy the full length of the voies (platforms/tracks).
And they typically depart from and arrrive at voies 2 - 7.
The voies are divided into zones (repéres), but you can only check in which of these zones the coach (voiture), in which your seat is located, will occupy, on the departure screens that are on the voie (platform/track).

So it doesn’t matter which of the two passage ways you use to access your train, there’s no way of knowing which one will provide a short-cut, to the coach in which you will be travelling.