How to take a rail journey from Lyon to Paris

Final Destination: Paris Gare de Lyon

The TGVs to Paris commence their journeys in Lyon at Lyon-Perrache station they then go on to call at Lyon Part-Dieu station.

So if your journey will be commencing in the city centre, or has easy access to Line A of the Lyon Metro, the better option is to join these trains at Perrache station.

The TGVs to Paris will commence their journeys in Lyon at Lyon-Perrache station before calling at Lyon Part-Dieu.

Ideally you need to work out which of these stations will suit you better, before making a booking - don't assume that Lyon Part-Dieu will be the best option.

Once you have worked out whether you should depart  from either Lyon-Perrache or Lyon Part Dieu; then select that station when buying tickets online, or specify your choice of station to a ticket agent.

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.

Final Destination: Paris Gare de Lyon

Some of these city centre to city centre Ouigio train services to Paris also commence their journeys in Lyon at Lyon-Perrache station and they then go on to call at Lyon Part-Dieu station.

These trains are typically scheduled to depart from Lyon-Part Dieu at 09:32 and 15:54 daily and 21:34 on Friday and Sunday only.

Online bookings usually open: up to 9 months ahead of the travel date

Tickets for the alternative service of TGV InOui trains are usually made available 4 months ahead, so if you look up this journey more than 4 months ahead on SNCF Connect, you may only see these Ouigo services, but they are not the only option on this route.

What is particularly worth being aware of when booking tickets for journeys by Ouigo train services, is that:

• Premiere/1st class tickets are not available.
• Reservations are included when booking, as they are on the TGV InOui trains, but you can opt to pay additional fess, or book a more expensive type of ticket to select a specific seat (more info is available on the Ouigo 'Train Guide').
• The more expensive type of tickets also include an additional luggage allowance, click the Ouigo 'Train Guide' to access more info on the luggage allowances on Ouigo trains; they're more restrictive than on a TGV InOui train.
• You cannot book or collect tickets for Ouigo trains at stations.
• The two key T&Cs of booking either of the two types of ticket available for journeys by Ouigo trains are:

1. The tickets are not refundable.
2. Exchanges to alternative departures are possible until 1 hour before the beginning of the boarding procedure, but they incur a fee of €10 per passenger, with any price difference between the old and new ticket(s) also added to this fee.

Though these factors, and more, are why you can make big savings by opting to travel by these Ouigo trains and not on the standard TGV InOui trains.

Eurail and InterRail Pass Users:

Rail passes cannot be used on Ouigo trains, but if you will be travelling with a 2nd class pass, our guide to using rail passes in France, explains why taking a Ouigo train can be worth considering

Final Destination: Paris Gare de Lyon

These Frecce trains are all typically scheduled to depart from Lyon Part-Dieu station, but despite being Italian trains, three of these services don't travel from Italy, so commence their journeys at Lyon-Perrache station.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 4 months* ahead of the travel date

Frecciarossa 1000 trains on the domestic routes within Italy convey 4 classes of accommodation, but the Standard Premier service is seemingly not available on this French route.
Also 'Allegro' has been introduced as the branding for the Business Class, SMTJ isn't certain as to the reason for this, other than to make a distinction with the tickets on the domestic routes.

The price and departure times of the Frecce, InOui and Ouigo trains can be directly compared on Trainline.

Final Destination: Paris Bercy

Note that these TER trains do not arrive at Paris Gare De Lyon/Paris Lyon.

Instead they arrive at a different station in Paris, though Paris-Bercy now has a direct connection to Line 14 of the Paris Metro.

Book early and save: No

Tickets will cost the same price if purchased at the station immediately before departure.

These trains will be only be cheaper than the much faster TGV trains  when the discounted tickets for the TGVs have sold out.

So if you'll be buying tickets at the station on the day of travel, it's likely that you can save around €25 by taking these trains.

Rail pass users can avoid the reservation fees on the TGVs by taking these trains.