Paris to Mulhouse by train

The majority of the trains from Paris to Mulhouse whizz down the high speed route as they are TGVs heading to the city, or Lyria services calling in Mulhouse on route to Switzerland.
When the 'Prems' tickets are still available, they can also be the cheapest option.

There are also much less frequent TER trains which still take the older, conventional route.
They can be cheaper, particularly when buying tickets last minute at the station, but users of InterRail and Eurail passes who want to avoid the rail pass reservation fees, can target these trains.

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Routes

Option 1: by high speed trains

Journey Summary

Travel Time
2hr 44min - 3hr 6min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Note that these trains depart from the Gare De Lyon in Paris, but the alternative TER trains depart from the Gare de l'Est.

Final Destination:
Zurich or Basel - the Lyria trains;
Mulhouse - the TGV trains

Some trains also call at: Besancon TGV and Belfort-Montbéliard TGV

Daily =6 x Lyria Trains per day
PLUS
Mon-Fri = 5 x TGV trains per day
Saturday = 4 x TGV trains
Sunday=5 x TGV trains

Tickets

The direct high speed train service between Paris and Mulhouse is split between TGV-Lyria and TGV InOui trains.
If you will be booking point-2-point tickets it doesn't particularly matter which type of train you take, tickets can be cheaper on the Lyria trains compared to the InOui trains and vice versa.

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:

  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, but rail pass users will need to be pay a reservation fee prior to boarding these 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.

Rail Pass Users:

Also if you have a rail pass there is no specific difference in the reservation fees for this journey* between the Lyria and InOui trains, the price and availability will depend on the departure time and date, and not by which train you will be travelling by.

*Those typically more expensive rail pass reservation fees for the Lyria trains only apply to Paris to Switzerland/Switzerland to Paris journeys.

Though you can avoid paying any rail pass reservation fees if you take the alternative service of TER trains.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trainline from €45

Trainline Guide

SNCF Connect from €45

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

Download the SNCF Connect App from €45
Save A Train from €45

Save A Train Guide

Happy rail from €45

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.

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial journey)

This is a journey of three distinct parts.

1: Around seven minutes after departure, the train will move on to the high speed line south from Paris and it will then travel at more than 270 km/h for around 1hr 10mins.
The video was taken from a train travelling in the opposite direction, but it gives an idea of the journey experience on this part of the trip.

  1. The train switches to conventional tracks north of Dijon, and this is the the most scenic part of the journey
  2. Between Dijon and Mulhouse there is another high speed line.

Option 2: Eurail and InterRail pass users can save money

Journey Summary

Travel Time
4hr 29min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Note that these trains depart from the Gare de l'Est, but the alternative service of TGV trains depart from the Gare De Lyon.

Final Destination: Mulhouse

All trains also call at: Belfort

If you'll be travelling on to Switzerland, you'll need to take the morning departure, which usually* leaves at 06:42 on Mon-Fri and at 08:42 on Sat/Sun.

*The schedule on this route seems to be particularly susceptible to alterations, so if you will be travelling with a rail pass, it's definitely worth looking up the schedule on Oui.SNCF, even though you won't be purchasing a ticket for this journey.

3 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: No

Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date, usually (the booking window can be shorter in Oct-Nov).

These TER trains are much slower than the alternative TGV trains from Paris to Mulhouse, but despite that they may not be cheaper.

We're primarily listing them because if you will be travelling with a valid Eurail or InterRail pass, you don't have to pay a reservation fee to travel on these TER trains.

More information is available on our guide to using rail passes in France.

So if you have a rail pass you can avoid the reservation fees on the TGV trains between Paris and Mulhouse.

If you'll be travelling from Paris to Switzerland, you can avoid the comparatively expensive fees on the Lyria trains, by taking these trains which are usually scheduled to depart at 06:42 on Mon-Fri and at 08:42 on Sat/Sun; connecting in Mulhouse for TER trains on to Basel.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
SNCF Connect *

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

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