There is now a choice of four travel options when making the journey by train 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.
1 - 2 x trains per hour
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:
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.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
SNCF Connect | from €45 | |
Download the SNCF Connect App | from €45 | |
Save A Train | from €45 | |
Happy rail | from €45 | |
Trainline | from €45 |
The alternative train journey options:
(1) There are now low-cost, but more basicOuigo high speed services between the main stations in Lyon and the Gare de Lyon in central Paris.
(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; and 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.
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.
~Final Destination: Paris Gare de Lyon
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.
Monday to Thursday: 3 x trains per day
Friday: 3 x trains
Saturday: 2 x trains
Sunday: 3 x trains
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:
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
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
SNCF Connect | * | |
Trainline | * |
When making a high speed train journey from central Lyon to central Paris, you now have a choice of travelling by standard TGV InOui trains or by these Ougio services.
So you can now opt to save money, but have a much more basic on board experience, and travel on a Ouigo.
Though when looking up this journey on national booking service OuiSNCF look out for the fact you will see other options of trains which depart from the out-of-city station, Lyon St. Exupery; though there are express trams which link Part-Dieu to that station.
These Ouigo services take the same route as the regular TGV trains
Final Destination: Paris Gare de Lyon
These Frecce trains are typically scheduled to depart from Lyon Part-Dieu station daily at 11:28, 17:22 and 20:30; the first and third trains of the day will have travelled from Italy, but the second train usually commences its journey in Lyon-Perrache station at 17:11.
3 x trains per day
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.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
Trenitalia | * | |
Trainline | * | |
Omio | * |
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.
~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.
5 x trains per day
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.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
SNCF Connect | * | |
Trainline | * |
These TER trains are also more than twice as slow as the alternative service of TGV trains because they still use the older pre-high speed route between Lyon and Paris.
If you will be travelling in France with a valid Eurail or InterRail pass, you can avoid the rail pass reservation fees on those TGV trains by taking these TER trains.
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.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.