Nîmes has two stations served by the high speed trains from Paris, Nîmes station, also known as Nimes (Centre), has a very convenient location near the heart of the city, but a new high speed line has built to the east and the Nimes Pont-Du-Gard station is on this new route.
The journey time from Paris to Nimes Pont-Du-Gard is around 12 mins faster, but the station is some distance from the city, the public transport connection is by regional TER trains, as they now share the new station, but they take eight minutes to travel to Nimes (Centre).
So if you'll be heading to the centre of Nîmes it can be a good idea to specifically select Nîmes station or Nîmes (Centre) when looking up the journey.
If you leave the 'direct trains only' box, or its equivalents unticked, you will see both the direct trains to Nîmes (Centre) and the options which involve making a connection between trains at Nimes Pont-Du-Gard
The journey guides below therefore focus on the most convenient option, which is the direct trains to Nîmes (Centre).
You can only take high speed trains from Paris to Nîmes (Centre) 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.
There have been two major changes to travelling by train from Paris to Nimes
The majority of the TGV InOui trains from Paris have been diverted away from station in Nimes city centre and instead call at the brand new Nimes Pont Du Gard station.
This new station is 14km from central Nimes, so of if you are heading to the city take care when looking up a journey.
The best option for making a journey by public transport from Nimes Pont Du Gard to the city centre is to take one of the local TER trains, which call at both stations - Pont Du Gard AND the station in the city centre.
However, the trains from Paris Gare De Lyon to Nimes Pont Du Gard typically have connection times of around 45 mins into those trains to Nimes city centre.
(2) The low cost, more basic Ouigo trains now provide an alternative to taking these TGV InOui trains from Paris Gare De Lyon to Nimes (Centre) station.
Final Destination: Montpellier or Beziers or Barcelone or Perpignan
Most trains also call at: Valence TGV
Note that these trains depart from the Gare De Lyon in Paris.
5 or 6 x trains per day
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:
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.
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.
On SNCF Connect, the cheapest available price per day is indicated, so if you click on it, you will be automatically be directed to the departures on which this price is available.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
SNCF Connect | from €41 | |
Download the SNCF Connect App | from €41 | |
Trainline | from €41 | |
Save A Train | from €41 | |
Happy rail | from €41 | |
Rail Europe | from €41 |
Something else to watch out for is that on departure from Paris some of the trains heading to Nîmes Centre are joined to another train which will be heading Nîmes Pont Du Gard, so take care that you're booking the journey option that's heading to Nîmes Centre.
For most of the train journey from Paris to 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.
Final Destination: Montpellier
When making a city centre to city centre train journey from central Paris to Nimes, 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 Nimes city centre by direct train between around 12: 50 and 20:00, you'll have to take a 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
**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:
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
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
SNCF Connect | from €19 | |
Ouigo | from €19 | |
Trainline | from €19 |
If you do opt to travel from Paris to Nimes 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 Nimes 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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