London to Lyon by train

How to take the train from London to Lyon by connecting in Lille or Paris

There are currently two* options for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Lyon:

1: travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon, the departure station of the TGV train.

2: Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station.

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Routes

Option 1: travelling via Lille

Travel Information

Making the connection between the Eurostar from London and the TGV to Lyon at Lille Europe has the major advantage of avoiding the need to transfer between stations in Paris; which you'll encounter if you opt for the alternative route via the French capital.
This guide explains how to make the connection in Lille.

However, the cheapest tickets for connections via Lille tend to sell out faster than for the journeys via Paris, so this is usually a more expensive option.

Also if you set off from London by the 11:04 departure, the connecting time between trains will be less than 35 minutes, absolutely ideal if the Eurostar arrives on time, but if need be there will be a later departure on from Lille to Lyon.
The variations in the end to end journey times are to do with the differences in the time available to make the connection in Lille

Eurostar + TGV InOui trains:
2 x connections per day

Changing trains in: Lille

Another daily option is available when departing London at 09:01, but it has three factors which need to be kept in mind:

  • The connection is into a more basic Ouigo train service.
  • Because the connection is into a Ouigo service tickets will need to be rebooked in the event of a missed connection, even if the Eurostar is delayed.
  • The Ouigo train will depart from Lille-Flandres station and not from Lille Europe.
Tickets

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead

The very cheapest tickets tend to sell out particularly quickly on this route.
The ticket agents listed below will not charge a booking fee when buying tickets for this journey

The search results for the London to Lyon journeys on all of the agents below, combine these journeys via Lille with the alternative connections via Paris.

A plus of booking with Eurostar.com is that you can access a 'Manage Your Booking' facility which enables you to change the seat on the Eurostar, that you will have been automatically assigned when making a booking.
Click on the Eurostar 'train guides’ for more information on how to do this.

The ticketing terms:

If you book Standard or Standard Premier tickets, you can exchange them if need be, to an alternative departure on your booked route; but if you want to transfer your ticket to a new departure less than 7 days before your travel date, you will need to pay an admin fee of £30 for Standard Class tickets, £40 for Standard Premier tickets PLUS the price difference with the new ticket you will be booking.
What's new, in response to the pandemic, is that these £30/40 charges aren't applied if you want to transfer to an alternative departure more than seven days before your travel date.

Business Premier tickets are less restrictive, in response to the pandemic they can now be refunded and they can be exchanged to alternative departures without paying the admin fee, or the price difference.
Eurostar's full ticket terms and conditions are here

Using Rail Passes on Eurostar:

Rail pass users can now pay reservation fees to travel on Eurostar trains, in a similar manner to other international European high-speed trains.
The new rail pass reservation fees are similar to the cheapest single journey ticket prices, but as those cheapest tickets can sell out quickly, it's likely that the rail pass reservation fees will save money.
You can purchase these online with no booking fees via B-Europe - or they ARE now available on the Eurostar website.

Booking in advance is recommended as it's not unknown for rail pass reservations on Eurostar services to sell out days or weeks in advance, there is evidently limited availability per departure.
You can obtain a rail pass reservations without paying a booking fee at Eurostar stations.
However, if you want to do this on the day of travel be prepared to be flexible re: the train you will take.

If you are a UK resident, your rail pass + reservation is only valid if you take a train from the UK on the first day that your pass is valid for and return to the UK on the final day that you will be using a pass.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Eurostar from £62 (approx)

Eurostar Guide

In addition to direct journeys by Eurostar trains, the Eurostar website also sells

  • 'Any station in Belgium' tickets; the key feature of these tickets is that they live up to their name, so how distant your Belgian destination is and the journey time doesn't impact on the ticket price.
  • Journeys to SOME major cities in France not served directly by Eurostar– including Avignon, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nice, Nantes and Rennes.
  • Journeys to destinations in Germany that are served by direct ICE and Thalys trains from Bruxelles, including these cities; Aachen, Cologne/Koeln, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt (Main).

Eurostar also sells seat reservations to users of Eurail and InterRail passes without booking fees.

Trainline from €71(approx)

Trainline Guide

SNCF Connect from €71(approx)

SNCF Connect Guide

SNCF is the national rail operator in France and not so long ago it recently simplified both the range of tickets and the term and conditions of using them.
Therefore the cheapest tickets also become more flexible too.

Other improvements included a simple integration of travelling with bicycles and rail pass users being able to book reservations for national journeys, without paying booking fees.

And it also recently launched SNCF Connect as replacement for its Oui.SNCF booking service.
You can set up a low price alert to let you know when the cheapest price is available for a future journey.

Something else to look out for is that simplest way of travelling with tickets is to use the SNCF Connect App, as booked tickets can therefore be stored on your mobile device, which can then be shown to the train conductors as proof of purchase.

SNCF Connect on Google Play

SNCF Connect in the App (Apple) store

SNCF also operates RailEurope, which is in effect a dedicated online booking service for making bookings from outside of Europe.
If you reside outside of Europe you may discover that SNCF Connect rejects phone numbers or card numbers, but RailEurope won't do so.
Though RailEurope will add booking fees when making a purchase

Journey Features

High Speed (total journey)

Good to Know

Final Destination: Bruxelles-Mid or Amsterdam

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind - so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour longer.

At St Pancras

Eurostar REQUESTS that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets check-in a minimum of 30mins before departure, and 45mins before departure on weekends and holidays.

If you have a Business Premier ticket, Eurostar recommends that you only have to check-in 10 mins before departure.

Our guide to taking a Eurostar from London is here.

The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge seen from the right of the train The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge seen from the right of the train
Crossing The Medway Viaduct Crossing The Medway Viaduct
On the high speed line in France On the high speed line in France

It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with six distinct phases and highlights:

1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).

2:  Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.

3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.

4:  Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.

5:  The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.

6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed line in France.

Journey Features

High Speed (total journey)

Good to Know

Final Destination: Marseille or Nice or Montpellier or Lyon

All trains also call at: Marne La Vallée; Aeroport-CDG

These trains spend the entire journey on a high speed line, but it is primarily the speed that gives this journey its wow factor.
It's not a particularly scenic train ride, so having something to watch or read with you is recommended.

The general guide to French rail travel Discover what's good to know about riding the trains, using the major stations, booking tickets and travelling with Eurail and InterRail passes.

Option 2: travelling via Paris

Travel Information

The Eurostar will arrive in Paris at the Gare Du Nord, but the TGV train on to Lyon will depart from the Gare De Lyon.

This guide explains how to make the transfer between the two stations by RER train.
The London to Lyon tickets do not include the transfer across Paris.

When making a booking, check the connection time between the arrival at Gare Du Nord and the departure from Gare De Lyon.
The journeys which have an end-to-end time of 5hr 55min have a transfer time of around 1hr 25mins, so allow additional 30 mins to make the connection.

The alternative journey options:

You can avoid having to make that transfer across Paris if you take one of the two alternative options for travelling from London to Lyon by train.
(1) travel via Lille
(2) taking the direct London to Lyon train (when it resumes operating).

Though travelling via Paris does have the advantages of:

  • more departures to choose from
  • and it tends to be cheaper too.

Current timetable:
Mon - Fri = 7 x connections per day
Sat / Sun = 6 x connections per day

Change trains in: Paris

Tickets

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead

The very cheapest tickets tend to sell out particularly quickly on this route; they're more likely to be available if you can travel on a Tuesday - Thursday, or are happy to set off from London early in the morning.

The search results for the London to Lyon journeys on all of the agents below, combine these journeys via Paris with the alternative connections via Lille.

The ticketing terms:

If you book Standard or Standard Premier tickets, you can exchange them if need be, to an alternative departure on your booked route; but if you want to transfer your ticket to a new departure less than 7 days before your travel date, you will need to pay an admin fee of £30 for Standard Class tickets, £40 for Standard Premier tickets PLUS the price difference with the new ticket you will be booking.
What's new, in response to the pandemic, is that these £30/40 charges aren't applied if you want to transfer to an alternative departure more than seven days before your travel date.

Business Premier tickets are less restrictive, in response to the pandemic they can now be refunded and they can be exchanged to alternative departures without paying the admin fee, or the price difference.
Eurostar's full ticket terms and conditions are here

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Eurostar from £62

Eurostar Guide

In addition to direct journeys by Eurostar trains, the Eurostar website also sells

  • 'Any station in Belgium' tickets; the key feature of these tickets is that they live up to their name, so how distant your Belgian destination is and the journey time doesn't impact on the ticket price.
  • Journeys to SOME major cities in France not served directly by Eurostar– including Avignon, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nice, Nantes and Rennes.
  • Journeys to destinations in Germany that are served by direct ICE and Thalys trains from Bruxelles, including these cities; Aachen, Cologne/Koeln, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt (Main).

Eurostar also sells seat reservations to users of Eurail and InterRail passes without booking fees.

Trainline from €71

Trainline Guide

SNCF Connect from €71

SNCF Connect Guide

SNCF is the national rail operator in France and not so long ago it recently simplified both the range of tickets and the term and conditions of using them.
Therefore the cheapest tickets also become more flexible too.

Other improvements included a simple integration of travelling with bicycles and rail pass users being able to book reservations for national journeys, without paying booking fees.

And it also recently launched SNCF Connect as replacement for its Oui.SNCF booking service.
You can set up a low price alert to let you know when the cheapest price is available for a future journey.

Something else to look out for is that simplest way of travelling with tickets is to use the SNCF Connect App, as booked tickets can therefore be stored on your mobile device, which can then be shown to the train conductors as proof of purchase.

SNCF Connect on Google Play

SNCF Connect in the App (Apple) store

SNCF also operates RailEurope, which is in effect a dedicated online booking service for making bookings from outside of Europe.
If you reside outside of Europe you may discover that SNCF Connect rejects phone numbers or card numbers, but RailEurope won't do so.
Though RailEurope will add booking fees when making a purchase

Journey Features

High Speed (total journey)

Good to Know

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind - so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour longer.

At St Pancras International:

Eurostar requests that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets check-in a minimum of 30mins BEFORE departure, though this increased to 45mins on weekends and holidays.
If you have a Business Premier ticket, Eurostar recommends that you only have to check-in 10 mins before departure.

Our guide to taking a Eurostar from London is here.

The crossing of the River Medway - seen from the right of the train The crossing of the River Medway - seen from the right of the train
The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge seen from the right of the train The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge seen from the right of the train
From the high speed line between the tunnel and Lille From the high speed line between the tunnel and Lille

It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with SIX distinct phases and highlights:

1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).

2: Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.

3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.

4: Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.

5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.

6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed lines in France.

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Journey Features

High Speed (total journey)Scenic - No

Good to Know

Note that these trains depart from the Gare De Lyon in Paris.

Final Destination: Lyon-Perrache and/or St. Etienne

Check the location of your final destination in Lyon.

The TGVs from Paris first call at Lyon Part-Dieu station, before going on to complete their journey at Lyon Perrache station.

Lyon-Perrache is closest to the city centre, but Part Dieu, which is to the east of the city centre, has easier public transport links to other parts of the city.

The TGVs from Paris will arrive at Perrache around 13 mins after they arrive at Part Dieu, so the quickest option to access many parts of the city, can be to make public transport connections from Part Dieu station.
Part Dieu is on line B of the Lyon Metro and Perrache is the terminus of Line A.

A typical view over the French countryside on the high speed line between Paris and Lyon A typical view over the French countryside on the high speed line between Paris and Lyon

There is little of note to see on the journey, but what gives the journey it's sense of wonder, is that you'll be spending most of the trip travelling at more than 275 km/h on Europe's first ever high speed line.

The train heads on to the high speed line as soon as it reaches the edge of Paris, around 12 mins into the journey, and doesn't come off it until around 5 mins before the train is due into Lyon.

This video was taken from a train travelling in the opposite direction, but it gives an idea of the speed and the typical views of the French countryside which can be experienced during this journey.

Please support ShowMeTheJourney

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 go here to say thank you.

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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.

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