Paris to Biarritz by train

How to take a train journey from Paris to Biarritz

Taking the train from Paris to Biarritz is straightforward, and thanks to a recently extended high speed line, it's also likely to be faster than you may have presumed.

Though the lengthy distance from the French capital means that the trains are not particularly frequent.

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Routes

From Paris Montparnasse to Biarritz

Journey Summary

Travel Time
4hr 8 min - 4hr 12min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Note that these trains to Biarritz depart from the Gare-Montparnasse in Paris.

Final Destination: Hendaye or Irun

All Trains Also Call At: Bordeaux and Bayonne

This journey is an opportunity to experience the best of French high speed rail travel; you'll be travelling on the latest version of the TGV train on the newest high speed line in France.

These trains comprise the fastest ever Paris - Biarritz service because they use the full length of the new LGV Sud Europe Atlantique high speed line so are non-stop between Paris and Bordeaux.

Mon-Thurs = 5 x trains
Friday = 7 x trains
Saturday = 4 x trains
Sunday = 6 x trains

Tickets

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:

  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.

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.

Expect to pay more for this journey between the beginning of June and mid-September, particularly if you will be travelling on a Friday or Saturday, as the most heavily discounted tickets inevitably sell out faster at times of particularly high demand.

Rail Pass Users:

If you will be travelling with an InterRail or Eurail pass, you will have to pay a reservation fee prior to boarding -more info is available on our guide to using rail passes in France.

The €10 rail pass reservations tend to sell out particularly quickly for this journey on Fridays-Sundays in the summer months.
However, there are no viable alternatives for avoiding these TGV trains on this route.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
SNCF Connect from €40

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

Trainline from €40

Trainline Guide

Download the SNCF Connect App from €40
Save A Train from €40

Save A Train Guide

Happy rail from €40

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.

Rail Europe from €40

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

Two TGV  trains will usually be joined together for the part of the journey between Paris and Bordeaux, the coach number on your ticket will for a coach in the part of the train heading to Biarritz.

So don't be surprised to see a train, heading to a destination other than Hendaye/Irun and calling at Biarritz, departing at the same time AND from the same voie/platform/track as your train.

This will be the destination of the other TGV train that will be attached to the train heading to Hendaye/Irun, for the journey between Paris and Bordeaux.

This is a journey of two distinct parts.
Between Paris and Bordeaux the train will spend around 2hr 15mins travelling at more than 280 km/h on the extended high speed line
There isn't a high speed line between Bordeaux and Biarritz so the train will be on conventional tracks for the remainder of the journey.

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