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Lyon to London by train
How to take a thrilling high speed rail journey from Lyon to London
There are up to three options for making the journey by train from Lyon to London.
- Year round, the most frequent option is to travel via Paris and make the cross-city transfer between terminals in French capital.
- Also available year round there is the option to travel via Lille and thereby avoid the cross Paris transfer.
- On certain dates in the summer there is a direct train, which by default becomes the optimum option.
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Routes
Option 1: taking a direct train (not currently available)
Journey Summary
5hr 47min
Not Every Day
Travel Information
Typically only available on certain days of the week from early May until mid-September, this direct train from Lyon to London was suspended due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Final Destination: London
This train also calls at: Lille-Europe and Ashford International, It does not call at Ebbsfleet International
(Remember that Lyon is an hour ahead of London)
up to 1 x train per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 190 days ahead of the travel date (usually)
The price shown above is the standard, most heavily discounted, one way Standard Class price.
The cheapest advertised price is dependent on making a return journey between Lyon and London.
When the discounted tickets are still available this direct Eurostar is usually the cheapest option when booking a Lyon to London journey by train
Eurostar's full ticket terms and conditions are here
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Eurostar | from £51 | |
| Trainline | rom €58 (approx) |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
In this direction you will pass through passport control at Lille-Europe station.
You will have to leave the train with your luggage, ascend by escalator or lift up to Eurostar check-in and then descend back down to re-join the train
This is because you won't have 'checked-in' when joining the train in Lyon - only tickets will be checked there prior to boarding.
The advantage of taking this train is that you can be sure that the train will wait for you in Lille to continue the journey.
Some journeys via Lille, which involve a connection between TGV and Eurostar trains there are faster, as they allow less time in Lille to 'check-in', but on those journeys, the connection at Lille isn't absolutely guaranteed.
It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with distinct phases and highlights:
1: There is little of note to see from the high speed lines in France, the wow factor comes from the speed.
2: 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.
3: For most of the final 8 -10 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to enter London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).
Option 2: making the connection in Lille
Journey Summary
6hr - 6hr 30min (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
Take this journey via Lille and you could avoid having to make the transfer in Paris between the Gare De Lyon and Gare Du Nord.
So it's an easier journey than travelling via Paris and usually no more expensive.
Departing from Lyon on a low-cost service:
Some booking services will also offer journey option on Mon-Sat which involves departing from Lyon at 09:00 and arriving in London at 14:05.
But this journey option is different as it invoves taking a low-cost. but more basic Ouigo train service from Lyon to Lille.
That Ouigo train will depart from Lyon Perrache station and not from Lyon Part-Dieu station and it will also arrive in Lille Flandres station and not at Lille Europe station.
Current timetable:
Mon-Fri = 2 x options per day
Saturday = 1 x option
Sunday = 2 x options
Usual timetable (pre-pandemic):
4 x connections per day
Change trains in: Lille
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 search results for the Lyon to London journeys, combine these journeys via Lille with the alternative connections via Paris.
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 | |
| SNCF Connect | from £62 | |
| Trainline | from £62 | |
| Omio | from £62 | |
| B-Europe | from £62 |
Train 1
Journey Features
Good to Know
Most of these services have a journey time of under 3hr 20mins.
Final Destination: Bruxelles or Lille
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
As a consequence of the pandemic Eurostar is operating a particularly limited timetable for the time being - further information is available on Eurostar.com
Final Destination: London St. Pancras International
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 shorter.
Some trains* also call at : Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International
These station calls have been suspended until at least December 2022
Most of the departures between Lille and London will be by the e300 trains; but the newer e320 trains are now also being used on this route.
Our guide to arriving by Eurostar in London is here.
Taking a Eurostar from Europe station:
These four things are good to know:
(1) Eurostar check-in is located in Hall 4 on the concourse.
(2) Check-in will open around 30 - 40 mins before the next Eurostar to Britain is due to depart - you can only check-in for the next departure, you cannot check-in ahead and then wait for your train in the Eurostar departure hall.
(3) Announcements will be made in English and French as to when the check-in has opened, there is little point in joining the queue for the check-in desk prior to this announcement.
(4) Around 5 -10 mins prior to departure another announcement will be made that travellers can now descend to the voie (platform/track) which the Eurostar will be departing from.
The departure screens shown above will show you in which zone/répére you can wait for easy boarding into the specific coach in which your reserved seat will be located.
ShowMeTheJourney has produced a detailed guide to connecting into a Eurostar from a TGV train.
It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with five distinct phases and highlights:
1: There is little to see from the high speed lines in France.
2: 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.
3: As the train nears Ebbsfleet International station, comes the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway on a high bridge.
4: After Ebbsfleet International (which can only be seen from the right) the train will enter a tunnel under the River Thames.
As the train exits this tunnel, from the left, the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge can be seen.
5: For most of the final 8 -10 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to enter London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).
Option 3: travelling via Paris
Journey Summary
from 5hr 36min
Daily
Travel Information
Travel via Paris and you will need to make the transfer between the Gare De Lyon, where the TGV will arrive, and the Gare Du Nord, from where the Eurostar will depart.
All of the journeys via Paris sold by the ticket agents will allow more than 1hr 15mins to make the transfer and to check-in for the Eurostar.
So making the connection on time shouldn't be a problem.
However, in the rare event of the TGV from Lyon being heavily delayed, you will be able to transfer tickets free of charge to a later departure* on from Paris.
You can do this at the Eurostar ticket office at the Gare Du Nord
*Unless you take the final connection of the day from Lyon.
TGV InOui + Eurostar
Mon - Sat = 8 x connections per day
Sunday = 9 x connections
Ouigo + Eurostar
Up to two additional daily connections are typically available, but on these end-to-end journey you will be taking a more basic Ouigo service from Lyon to Paris.
Change trains in: Paris
Tickets
Your ticket will not include the RER train across Paris from the Gare De Lyon to the Gare Du Nord.
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 Lyon late in the afternoon..
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 £66 | |
| Trainline | from €71 | |
| SNCF Connect | from €71 | |
| Omio | from €71 |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Paris Gare de Lyon
The TGVs to Paris will commence their journeys in Lyon at Lyon-Perrache station - they then go on to call at Lyon Part-Dieu station.
Between the suburbs of Lyon and the outskirts of Paris, these trains travel at up to 290 km/h on the high speed line - the fastest trains (most of the departures) are non-stop from Lyon to Paris.
It's not a particularly scenic journey, though there are some pleasant views of the French countryside - the primary wow factor comes from the speed of the trains.
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If you are new to travelling by train in France, our French Train Travel Guide is packed with info and useful links to help ensure you’ll have a stress-free trip.
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The alternative train journey options:
(1) There are no Ouigo services between the main stations in Lyon and the Gare de Lyon in central Paris.
Though when looking up this journey you may see Ouigo departures listed, but note that they will be departing from Lyon-Sant Exupéry TGV station - which is the station at Lyon Airport.
You can take the Rhone Express tram from Lyon Part-Dieu to Sant Exupéry.
(2) There are also direct TER trains from Lyon to Paris.
Their journey time is more than double than that of these TGV trains because they don't use the high speed line.
Unless you will be buying tickets last minute at the station, they won't be any cheaper than these TGVs.
However, if you will be travelling with a rail pass, you can save a minimum of €10 by taking those TER trains.
Journey description:
Between the suburbs of Lyon and the outskirts of Paris, these trains travel at up to 290 km/h on the high speed line, the fastest trains (most of the departures) are non-stop from Lyon to Paris.
It's not a particularly scenic journey, though there are some pleasant views of the French countryside, the primary wow factor comes from the speed of the trains.
~
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
As a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis Eurostar is operating a particularly limited timetable for the time being - further information is available on Eurostar.com
Note that these trains depart from the Gare Du Nord.
Final Destination: London St Pancras
Some trains also call at: Ashford International or Ebbfleet Intermational (these station calls have been suspended until 2023)
The majority of trains have a journey time of 2hr 16mins and these trains are non-stop between Paris and London
Our guide to arriving by Eurostar in London is here.
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 shorter.
Checking-in:
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.
It is up to you to allow time to pass through check-in and board the train.
If you have a Business Premier ticket, Eurostar recommends that you only have to check-in 10 mins before departure.
At Gare Du Nord the check in and waiting area for the Eurostar (the 'Hall Du Londres') is at an upper level, above the main concourse.
The access to this upper level is some distance from the voie/platforms/tracks that the Eurostars depart from.
The escalators leading up to Eurostar departures are located at the rear wall of the station building - on opposite side of the concourse to voies/platforms/tracks 14 - 15.
It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with distinct phases and highlights:
1: There is little to see from the high speed lines in France, particularly after Lille (the trains to Paris will rush through Lille Europe station).
2: 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.
3: As the train nears Ebbsfleet International station, comes the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway on a high bridge.
4: After Ebbsfleet International (which can only be seen from the right) the train will enter a tunnel under the River Thames.
As the train exits this tunnel, from the left, the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge can be seen.
5: For most of the final 8 -10 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to enter London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).
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