How to take the train from Paris to Bordeaux

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

Final Destination: Bordeaux or Toulouse or Irun, or Hendaye or Tarbes or Arachon

Now that the LGV Sud Europe Atlantique high speed line has opened, these TGV InOui trains are NON-STOP between Paris and Bordeaux in the fastest ever time!

Target these trains, with a journey time of around 2hr 8mins and avoid the slower TGVs, which still take the older route; those with a journey time of more than 3hrs.

However, when the most heavily discounted tickets for these faster trains have sold out, you can usually save money by taking those slower trains.

This non-stop journey is featured on Conde Nast's list of The Best European Train Trips.

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.

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.

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.

Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey.

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.

Though those €10 rail pass reservations can be harder to track down on these fastest trains between Paris and Bordeaux, they're more likely to be available on the slower, alternative trains.
However, there are no viable alternatives for avoiding these TGV trains on this route.

Note that these trains depart from Gare Montparnasse in Paris.

The extension to the Paris – Bordeaux high speed line by passes all of the towns between Tours and Bordeaux, including St Pierre de Corps.

These trains either divert off the new line to make station calls on the older route, or only use the older part of the high speed line (the very slowest trains)
However, because they are slower, they're usually cheaper, the most heavily discounted tickets inevitably sell out faster on the alternative quicker trains; though these slower trains are NOT automatically cheaper!

But take care when making a booking, as there are such big differences in journey times on these slower trains.

A mix of TGV trains are used for these slower Paris to Bordeaux services, but here's a guide to how you can confirm which type of TGV train you will be travelling by.

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.

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.

Though they tend to be more widely available on these slower trains, compared to the faster non-stop trains.
However, there are no viable alternatives for avoiding these TGV trains on this route.

Final Destination: Bordeaux

The Ouigo service which is usually scheduled to depart Paris at 09:07 is faster because it is non-stop to Bordeaux.

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