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Paris to Montpellier by train
How to take the train from Paris to Montpellier
Montpellier has two stations served by the high speed trains from Paris, St-Roch station has a location convenient for the city centre, but a new high speed line has built to the south of the city and the Sud-de-France station is on this new route, so the journey time to Montpellier-Sud de France is around 15 mins faster.
Montpellier-Sud-France has more convenient access by car, but taking a combination of a free-shuttle bus and tram to the heart of the city takes around 25 mins.
Therefore the journey guides below solely focus on the trains which serve Montpellier St.Roch.
You can only take high speed trains from Paris to Montpellier-St Roch station, but both the regular TGV InOui services and low-cost, but more basic, Ouigo services share the route.
It's particularly worthwhile to click on the Train Guides below so that you can compare the two train services.
However, if you need to arrive at a specific time you will often have to take one train service or the other.
The Ouigo services can plug gaps between the TGV InOui departures.
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Routes
Option 1: taking the regular InOui services
Journey Summary
3hr 25min - 3hr 35min (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
Note that these trains depart from the Gare De Lyon in Paris.
Final Destination: Montpellier or Beziers or Barcelone or Perpignan
All trains also call at: Nimes
Most trains also call at: Valence TGV
There have been changes to travelling by train from Paris to Montpellier
The majority of the TGV InOui trains from Paris have been diverted from the station in Montpellier city centre and instead arrive at Montpellier Sud De France station.
and will instead call at the brand new Montpellier Sud-de-France station.
This new station is on the edge of Montpellier and is connected to the city centre by a combination of a free shuttle bus to the Odysseum tram terminus on line/route 1.
So if you are heading to Montpellier city centre take care to specifically select Montpellier-St Roch as the arrival station when looking up this journey.
5 or 6 x trains per day
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:
- 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.
- 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.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| SNCF Connect | from €41 | |
| Download the SNCF Connect App | from €41 | |
| Save A Train | from €41 | |
| Happy rail | from €41 | |
| Trainline | from €41 | |
| Rail Europe | from €41 | |
| Omio | from €41 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Something else to watch out for is that on departure from Paris some of the the trains heading to Montpellier St Roch are joined to another train which will be heading Montpellier Sud De France, so take care that you're booking the journey option that's heading to Montpellier St Roch.
For most of the train journey from Paris to Montpellier, the part of the trip between Paris and Nimes, you should be travelling at more than 270 km/h on the high speed lines.
This is not an outstandingly scenic journey, but the views from the windows pick up to the north of Nimes, as the train travels through Provence.
Option 2: Save money by taking the more basic Ouigo services
Journey Summary
3hr 32min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Montpellier
When making a city centre to city centre train journey from central Paris to Montpellier, you now have a choice of travelling by [standard TGV InOui trains or by these Ougio trains.
So you can now opt to save money, but have a much more basic on board experience, and travel on a Ouigo.
This Ouigo train usually departs from Paris daily at 14:39.
Also if you'll need or want to arrive to arrive in Montpellier city centre by direct train between around 13:10 and 20:30, you'll have to take this Ouigo service.
That's because from 09:40 to 16:50 it now plugs a large gap between the departures of the regular TGV InOui trains from Paris Gare de Lyon to Nimes (Centre).
1 x train per day
Tickets
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:
- The tickets are not refundable.
- 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
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| SNCF Connect | from €19 | |
| Ouigo | from €19 | |
| Trainline | from €19 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
If you do opt to travel from Paris to Montpellier by these Ouigo trains, you should aim to be at the Gare De Lyon, 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, no bikes etc.
Additional Ouigo trains to Montpellier depart from Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy station, and when looking up journeys from Paris on SNCF Connect they can be listed as an option, but the station is on the very edge of Paris, and is a 40 min train ride from the city centre.
These Ouigo trains travel on the same high speed line between Paris and Provence which the alternative TGV InOui trains take.
So you should be travelling at more than 270 km/h for more than 80% of this journey.
The route becomes more scenic to the north of Nimes, when the train will be travelling across Provence.
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