Lyon to Aix - en - Provence by train

How to take the train from Lyon to Aix-en-Provence

As suggested by its name, you can only take high speed trains from Lyon to Aix-en-Provence TGV station, which is some distance from the town it serves.

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Routes

From Lyon Part-Dieu to Aix-en-Provence TGV

Journey Summary

Travel Time
1hr 33min - 1hr 43min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Final Destination: Marseille or Nice

Most trains also call at: Avignon TGV

Mon - Thurs: 11 x trains per day
Friday: 12 x trains
Saturday: 8 x trains
Sunday: 9 x trains

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date.

When booking 2nd class tickets only one type of ticket will be available per departure, discounted 'Prems' tickets or 'Seconde' tickets; though the price of Seconde tickets are also typically cheaper when they are first placed on sale.
When booking 1st class tickets there will be a choice of Premiere tickets and Business Premiere tickets.

The two key T&Cs of booking Prems, Seconde, or Premiere tickets are:

  1. Up until two days prior to departure, these types of tickets can be refunded for no additional charge (big tick), but a €15 fee will be payable for making a refund in the two days prior to departure.
  2. It's also possible to exchange tickets to an alternative departure on the same journey, but you will have to pay any difference in price between the cost you paid and the cost at the time of the exchange.

Though if you book Business Premiere tickets, the key T&Cs are that tickets can be exchanged and refunded free of charge up to 30 minutes after departure, so if you get to the station just too late to miss the train you were originally booked on to, you won't lose out financially.

Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey, but rail pass users will need to be pay a reservation fee prior to boarding these TGV trains.

The price is dictated by demand per departure, so book ahead and try and be flexible re: your departure and arrival times, as trains leaving earlier or later can be cheaper.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trainline from €26

Trainline Guide

SNCF Connect from €26

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

Download the SNCF Connect App from €26
Save A Train from €26

Save A Train Guide

Happy rail from €26

Happy rail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

On this journey

Journey Features

High Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

Aix-en-Provence TGV station is 16 km from Aix-en-Provence town centre and there are no direct trains from it to Aix-en-Provence Ville station, which lives up to its name with a central location in the town.

If you'll need to make the head to the town center from Aix-en-Provence TGV station, you'll have two options -

(1) buses link the station and the town.

That link connects to a page on the Marseille-Provence Aeroport website because Bus Line 40 runs on a route between the Aeroport and the bus station (Gare Routiére) in Aix-en-Provence town centre; and that route calls at the TGV station.

For more info you can click the 'Download Schedules' link and be taken to a PDF brochure which gives more info on the line 40 route, the info is in French, but the fares and schedule are easy to ascertain.

(2) OR book a ticket for the journey from Lyon to Marseille St Charles station online; and then on arrival in Marseille purchase a separate ticket for a TER train from Marseille St-Charles to Aix-En-Provence Ville.

Between Valence and Avignon Between Valence and Avignon
Between Avignon and Aix-en-Provence (from the right) Between Avignon and Aix-en-Provence (from the right)

The high speed line from the north to the south of France by-passes Lyon, so trains heading south have to travel for around 15 mins on conventional tracks before they reach it.

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