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London to Rennes by train
How to take a thrilling high speed rail journey from London to Rennes
There are two options for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Rennes:
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 Montparnasse, 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
Journey Summary
4hr 55min - 5hr 40min (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
Something to look out for end-to-end journey times of around 5hrs mins all allow less than 1hr 15mins to make the transfer in Paris from the Gare Du Nord to the Gare Montparnasse.
So targeting the journey options with an end-to-end time of longer of more than 5hrs can be a good idea.
In the rare event of the Eurostar arriving in Paris 20 - 40 minutes late, making those fastest connections into the TGV on to Rennes will become a race against time!
An option is to split the booking into London to Paris and Paris to Rennes journeys so that you can set a connecting time that suits you; doing so will be more expensive.
See the 'Ticket Information' below.
Or an option is to target the alternative journey options involve changing trains in Lille
The big tick in the box for changing trains in Lille is the avoidance of the awkward transfer across Paris.
Though there are also three ticks in the box for choosing this routing via Paris:
(1) More departures to choose from
(2) Tends to be cheaper
(3) The end-to-end journey time is quicker
Eurostar + TGV Inoui
Mon - Sat = 6 x connections per day
Sunday = 4x connections
Eurostar + Ouigo:
A additional daily morning connection is typically available which involves taking a more basic Ouigo service from Paris to Rennes; though on a Sunday it is the first option of the day.
You will also have to re-book the Ouigo train if a delay to a Eurostar results in a missed connection.
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 - 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.
If you do want to split the booking, then and Trainline will sell both the London to Paris and Paris to Rennes journeys.
Add each journey to the basket and you can pay in one transaction.
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 | |
| Trainline | from €71 | |
| SNCF Connect | from €71 |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
As a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis Eurostar will be operating a particularly limited timetable for the time being - further information is available on Eurostar.com
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.
When the usual timetable is operating;
The majority of trains have a journey time of 2hr 16mins and these trains are non-stop between London and Paris.
All departures from London after 14:30 are non-stop to Paris.
Depart from London before 14:30 some trains will call at either Ebbsfleet or Ashford International stations.
However as the trains only call at these stations to pick up passengers - these station calls are not included on the departure boards at St Pancras International or usually announced on the train.
At St Pancras:
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.
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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Train 2
Journey Features
Good to Know
Note that these trains to Rennes depart from the Gare-Montparnasse in Paris.
Final Destination: Rennes or Brest or Quimper or St Malo
Some trains also call at: Le Mens
The fastest trains are non-stop between Paris and Rennes - and they're faster than ever before, thanks to to the opening of the LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire high speed line extension
The slower trains divert off of this new direct route in order to call at Le Mans.
A mix of the new TGV Oceane and the older TGV Atlantique trains are used for these Paris to Rennes high speed services - here's a guide to how you can confirm which type of TGV train you will be travelling by.
Paris to Mont-St-Michel:
For more info on making the connection on to Mont-St-Michel when making the day trip from Paris by train, click on the Rennes station button above.
Option 2: travelling via Lille
Journey Summary
7hr 19min
Daily
Travel Information
The routing via Lille making a London to Rennes journey involves taking the Eurostar, which departs London daily at 13:01.
There is a daily TGV from Lille Europe station on to Rennes which is usually scheduled to depart at 17:39, but the Eurostar from London is due to arrive in Lille at 15:27.
As the waiting time in Lille between trains will be close to two hours, the ticket agents usually won't offer this combination of trains.
But if you would prefer to wait in in Lille than make the transfer between the Gare du Nord and the Gare Montparnasse in Paris, then an option is to book separate tickets for the London to Lille and Lille to Rennes journeys.
The transfer time of around two hours means that a missed connection due to a delay, is a very unlikely scenario.
The journey time shown below is for the journey option with the two hour connection in Lille.
1 x connection per day
Tickets
Book Early And Save: Yes
Online bookings open: 90 days ahead
Neither the Eurostar website, or any other ticket booking site, seems to offer this journey option for an end-to-end booking.
Though if this would be your preference click here for our guide to the London to Lille journey and here for the guide to the Lille to Rennes journey.
ns.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Eurostar | * |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
As a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis Eurostar will be operating a particularly limited timetable for the time being - further information is available on Eurostar.com
Final Destination: Bruxelles-Mid or Amsterdam
Some trains also call at: Ebbsfleet International (07:04 on Mon-Fri; 09:12 and 13:15 daily) or Ashford International (07:28 on Mon-Sat and 18:28 on Sunday) these station calls have been suspended until further notice
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.
Virtually all of the departures between London and Lille will be by the e320trains.
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 trains only call at Ebbsfleet or Ashford International stations to pick up passengers, so these station calls are not included on the departure boards at St Pancras International or announced on the train.
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.
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Rennes (or Lorient or Quimper)
All trains also call at: Le Mans
For the part of the journey between Lille and Le Mans, most of these trains heading to Rennes will be attached to another TGV train heading to a different destination
You won't have to be concerned about travelling in the right part of the train, as your assigned seats(s) will be in the part of the train heading to Rennes.
This is a journey of three distinct phases:
(1) The train will travel at up to 280 km/h as it races south on the high speed line to the edge of Paris
(2) It will then slow down for more than 20 mins as it weaves away through the city's southern suburbs.
(3) It will once again travel on a high speed line between Massy and Rennes.
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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