London to Montpellier by train

How to take a thrilling high speed rail journey from London to Montpellier

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

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 Paris

Travel Information

The Eurostar will arrive in Paris at the Gare Du Nord, but the TGV to Montpellier-St Roch station 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 Montpellier tickets do not include the transfer across Paris.

When looking up this journey the ticket agents tend to include the journey options which call arrive at the edge of town station, Montpellier Sud De France, even when Montpellier St Roch, with its location in the city centere, has been specifically selected as the destination station.
The journey options which arrive in Montpellier St Roch are those which involve departing London at 12:24 daily and at 14:31 on certain dates only.
Something else to watch out for is that on departure from Paris the trains heading to Montpellier St Roch are typically joined to another train which will be heading Montpellier Sud De France, so take care that you're booking the journey option that's heading to Montpellier St Roch

Changing trains in: Paris
And arriving at the city centre station/gare in Montpellier

Mon - Fri = 1 or 2 x connections per day
Sat / Sun = 4 x connections per day

Additional connections are available by taking a train from Paris to Montpellier Sud De France station.

Tickets

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: 90 days ahead

The very cheapest tickets tend to sell out particularly quickly on this route  via Paris- 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 price below is for a one way fare, if you're booking a return ticket, it's likely you will be offered a cheaper price in each direction.

The search results usually combine these journeys via Paris with the alternative connections via Lille or Marseille.
When booking on Eurostar it only gives the option to enter Montpellier as a destination, you cannot look up a journey to either of the specific stations in the city.
Look out for the fact that it' search results also won't distinguish between the stations.

Though a plus of booking on Eurostar.com is that you can access a 'Manage Your Booking' facility - which enables you to change the seat that you will have been initially assigned when making a booking.
Click on the 'train details' for more information.

The different types of ticket summarised

Also worth knowing is that when travelling by Eurostar you can choose between three classes of service, and this also impacts on the exchanges and refunds of what Eurostar refers to as 'Flexible tickets'

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 £68

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 €78

Trainline Guide

SNCF Connect from €78

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

Omio from €78

Omio Guide

Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

The three key advantages of using Omio are

  • it offers prices in multiple currencies
  • it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
  • when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.

The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.

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

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

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

Final Destination: Montpellier St Roch

All trains also call at: Nimes

Most trains also call at: Valence TGV

The majority of the TGV InOui trains from Paris have been diverted away from the station in Montpellier city centre and instead arrive at Montpellier Sud De France station.

Montpellier Sud De France is on the edge of the city and is a 10 -15 min walk from the 'Odysseum' tram stop - the final stop on the blue tram line, line 1.
A free shuttle bus has been provided between the 'Odysseum' tram stop and the Sud De France station; at Odsysseum, the buses leave from the 'Place de France' bus stop

For most of the train journey from Paris to Montpellier, the part of the trip between Paris and Nimes, you should be travelling at more than 270 km/h on the high speed lines.

This is not an outstandingly scenic journey, but the views from the windows pick up to the north of Nimes, as the train travels through Provence.

Option 2: via Lille

Travel Information

Making the connection between the Eurostar from London and the TGV to Montpellier at Lille Europe has the major advantage of avoiding the need to transfer between stations in Paris.

You'll have to make your own way across the French capital if you choose the alternative London to Montpellier train journey option via the French capital.

This guide explains how to make the connection in Lille.

This routing is now only typically available when departing London at 13:01 on Monday to Friday.

1 x connections per day

Changing trains in: Lille

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 90 days ahead - usually

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, 
The price below is for a one way fare - if you're booking a return ticket, it's likely you will be offered a cheaper price in each direction.

The ticket agents listed below will not charge a booking fee when buying tickets for this journey.

The search results for the London to Montpellier journeys on these ticket agents, combine this journey via Lille with the alternative connections via Paris.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Eurostar from £89

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.

Eurostar *

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 *

Trainline Guide

SNCF Connect *

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-Midi

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.

Good to Know

Final Destination: Montpellier or (Perpignan)

All trains also call at: Lyon, Valence TGV and Nimes

Aside from the detour to serve Lyon station, all but the first train of the day spend the entire journey between Lille and Nimes 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.

Aside from the detour to serve Lyon station, these trains spend the part of the journey between Lille and Nimes travelling 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.

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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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