How to take the train from Paris to Nantes

Note that these trains depart from Gare Montparnasse in Paris.

Final Destination: Nantes or Le Croisic (or Les Sables-d'Olonne)

Most trains also call at: Angers

Some trains also call at: Le Mans

The trains are faster than ever before, thanks to to the opening of the LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire high speed line extension

The slower trains divert off of this new direct route in order to call at Le Mans.

All trains come off the high speed line just before Angers and the part of the journey on from there to Nantes is the prettiest section of this train ride, the river Loire is over to the left of the railway line.

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, 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.

If you can depart Paris in the early evening and are happy to put up with a more basic on-board experience, you can also save money by taking the Ouigo services.

Final Destination: Nantes

• If the departure times suits,
• you are happy to put up with a more basic on board experience,
• happy to travel 2nd/standard class,
• willing to be at the Gare-Montparnasse 30 mins before the departure time...

you can save money by taking these Ouigo services from Paris to Nantes instead of the much more frequent, standard TGV InOui services

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.

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:

• 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 an additional €3 to select a specific seat
• You cannot book or collect tickets for Ouigo trains at stations.

The two key T&Cs 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.