You don't have to make a cross Paris transfer when travelling from Brussels/Bruxelles to Lyon by train.
Direct TGV trains make use of the high speed route that was constructed to the east of the French capital so that they can travel at more than 250 km/h for virtually the entire journey between the cities.
Connections are available in Lyon for a swathe of destinations which aren't served by direct trains from Bruxelles including Annecy, Aix-les-Bains, Chambery, Grenoble and Geneva.
The train which usually departs Bruxelles at 10:17 typically has a good connection into a high speed train which travels on to Barcelona
You can avoid having to make the transfer across Paris from the Gare Du Nord to the Gare De Lyon by taking these direct trains from Bruxelles to Lyon.
Final Destination: Marseille; Montpellier or Lyon
All trains also call at: Aeroport CDG and Marne La Valléé (for Disneyland Paris)
Aim to be at Bruxelles Midi/Zuid station a minimum of 15 - 20 mins before your train is due to depart.
You will have to pass through security checks before boarding these trains and queues can build up at busy times.
The first departure of the day is faster as it doesn't divert off the direct route in order to call at Lille.
Mon-Friday = 6 x trains per day
Saturday = 5 x trains
Sunday = 6 x trains
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date
When making an online booking, check that you’re looking at booking info for the direct trains.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fare
Use the ‘earlier trains’ and ‘later trains’ buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.
Using rail passes:
If you're planning to use a valid Eurail or InterRail pass to make this journey, more information is available on the guide to using rail passes on trains from Belgium.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
B-Europe | from €49 | |
SNCF Connect | from €49 | |
Save A Train | from €49 | |
Happy rail | from €49 |
The trains which call at Lille will reverse direction on departure from Lille Europe station.
You will be travelling at high speed for virtually the entire train trip, but travelling at more than 270 km/h for hour after hour is the only aspect of this journey with a wow factor.
The landscape that can be seen from train mainly comprises flat farm land, though rolling hills can be seen to the north of Lyon.
This video showcases the journey experienc.
The trains which call at Lille will reverse direction on departure from Lille Europe station.
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.