Angers, the gateway city to the western reaches of The Loire Valley, is less than 300km from central Paris, but despite that there is a choice between three different train services when travelling between the two cities
When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.
1hr 25min* - 1hr 45min (approx)
Daily
Mon -Thurs = 12 x trains per day
Friday = 15 x trains
Saturday = 11 x trains
Sunday = 11 x trains
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
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 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
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.
A mix of TGV trains are used on this route, though the brand new TGV Oceane trains are now used on the overwhelming majority of departures.
You can check which type of TGV train will be used for your chosen departure by following the simple steps on this guide.
If you are happy to put up with a more basic on-board experience, you can save money by taking the Ouigo services from Paris to Angers, they are scheduled to depart daily at 08:23 and 14:24/14:33..
The fastest trains are non-stop between Paris and Angers; and they're faster than ever before, thanks to to the opening of the LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire high speed line extension.
As a result the trains move on to the high speed line around 3 minutes after departure and don't leave it until around 10 minutes before arrival in Angers
The slower trains divert off of this new direct route in order to call at Le Mans.
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date - but bookings can open sooner when SNCF is running a promotion.
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 -more info is available on our guide to using rail passes in France.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
The price is dictated by demand per departure and not speed, so book ahead and try and be flexible re: departure and arrival times.
Reservations and using rail passes
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 -more info is available on our guide to using rail passes in France.
Or rail pass users can avoid paying the rail pass reservation fee on these TGV trains by:
(1) taking an IC train from Paris to Tours or St Pierre-des-corps
(2) Taking a TER train on from either of those stations to Angers.
1hr 20min - 1hr 35min (approx)
Daily
2 x trains per day
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
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 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
Final destination Nantes
These trains are typically scheduled to depart from Paris Montparnasse at around 07:40 and 15:45.
The idea is that Ouigo services are more basic and therefore cheaper than the standard TGV InOui trains, so if you don't see a significant price difference, these trains are best avoided.
If you do opt to travel from Paris to Bordeaux by these Ouigo trains, you should aim to be at the Gare Montparnasse 30 mins before the train is due to depart.
And that's because you need to pass through 'reception' before boarding a Ouigo train; staff need to verify that all passengers are abiding by the 'rules' of travelling on a Ouigo train, no additional un-booked luggage etc.
The fastest trains are non-stop between Paris and Angers; and they're faster than ever before, thanks to to the opening of the LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire high speed line extension.
As a result the trains move on to the high speed line around 3 minutes after departure and don't leave it until around 10 minutes before arrival in Angers
The slower trains divert off of this new direct route in order to call at Le Mans.
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 6 months ahead, so if you look up this journey more than 6months 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:
The two key T&Cs of booking either of the two types of ticket available for journeys by Ouigo trains are:
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
3hr 25min approx
Daily
up to 3 x trains per day
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 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
Note that these trains depart from a different station in Paris, so if your journey will be commencing in the area in the around Austerlitz station factor this into the end-to-end journey time
Online bookings usually open: up to 6 weeks ahead of the travel date
The journey by these trains are priced from €10.
if you will be buying tickets on the day of travel, these trains tend to be half the price of the faster trains.
What is particularly worth being aware of when booking tickets for journeys by Ouigo train services, is that:
The two key T&Cs trains are:
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.
TOP