The route taken by these direct trains has been closed until summer 2024, due to damage caused by a landslide.
Replacement bus services have now made available for international journeys along the closed section of the route, from a train which departs Paris daily at 14:48
The alternative route involves travelling via Switzerland and Milano, with at least two connections and a journey time of more than 8 hours.
So the info below is currently not relevant!
Take the fabulous rail journey from Paris to beautiful Torino/Turin, which combines more than two hours of travelling in excess of 280 km/h and then a passage through the Alps.
However, some positive news for this route is that Italy's national rail company, Trenitalia has introduced its ultra smart Frecciarossa 1000 trains to this route.
As a result Paris and Torino are now connected by an unprecedented five trains per day.
When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.
5hr 33min - 5hr 37 min
Daily
3 x trains per day
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on SNCF Connect ticket sales. SNCF Connect doesn't charge booking fees and is the online booking service of the national rail operator in France. It also sells tickets for direct high speed trains between France and Belgium, Germany, Barcelona, London, Switzerland and The Netherlands.
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 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
The route taken by these direct trains has been closed until summer 2024, due to damage caused by a landslide.
Replacement bus services have not been made available for international journey along this closed section of the route.
The alternative route, which is currently the only option, involves travelling via Switzerland and Milano, with at least two connections and a journey time of more than 8 hours.
When the usual service resumes
Note that these trains depart from the Gare De Lyon in Paris.
They typically leave at
Final Destination: Milano P. Garibaldi
All trains also call at: Modane, Bardonecchia, Oulx-Cesana-Claviere-Sestriere
The 'Frecce' trains don't call at Bardonecchia and Oulx-Cesana-Claviere-Sestriere.
Connections in Torino:
The TGV which usually departs Paris at 12:39 offers connections at Torino Porta Susa into these departures by Frecce, Italian high-speed, trains:
The TGV heading to Torino and on to Milano will often be joined to another TGV heading to a different destination on departure from Paris.
So don't be surprised, when looking at the departure displays at Paris Gare De Lyon, if you see a train departing at the same time and from the same voie (track/platform) as the train heading to Milano.
This other train will also have a different train number.
You won't have to worry about boarding the wrong part of the train - your seat will have been assigned in the train heading to Torino.
The TGVs making the journeys to Italy also spell out where they will be heading to on the exterior of the coaches.
This is, in our humble opinion, one of the most exciting journeys you can take on European express trains.
We love the mix of high speed travel and stunning Alpine scenery
Aside from the wow factor of the speed, most high speed train journeys aren't scenically interesting, when high speed lines pass through hills and mountains, they tend to dive into tunnels.
This journey picks up in terms of scenery once the train leaves the high speed line behind - and that's what makes this journey so exceptional, the alpine views from a TGV train don't get better than this!
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please go here to say thank you.
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date, usually (the booking window can be shorter in Oct-Nov).
When looking for tickets on Oui.SNCF tick the 'direct trains' box; on Trainline tick the 'fastest journeys' box.
The price is dictated by demand per departure, so book ahead and try and be flexible re: your departure and arrival times.
There can be particularly big discrepancies per departure on this route.
If tickets aren't on sale yet for your travel date, then this is a journey for which it's worth signing up to the ticket availability notification service on Oui.SNCF.
Do that and you'll receive an email within moments of the tickets being released for sale.
It's worth making an effort as this is a journey on which the very cheapest tickets tend to sell out particularly fast.
Rail Pass Users:
If you have an InterRail or Eurail pass, these TGV France-Italy trains are at the top of the most expensive rail pass reservation fees charts.
As the rail pass reservation fees are more expensive than the discounted tickets, which will be available for this journey, you can save money by not using your rail pass on this trains and by booking tickets instead.
Definitely don't pay the reservation fee until you have checked the ticket prices; and also don't leave it until the last minute before arranging reservations on this route.
Or if you will be travelling this route at a weekend with a rail pass, money saving options are now available.
6h 2min - 6hr 11min
Daily
2 x trains per day
Trenitlalia is the national rail operator in Italy and in addition to its cheaper types of ticket; it also typically offers other discounts available to non-Italians, which include:
The route taken by these direct trains has been closed until summer 2024, due to damage caused by a landslide.
Replacement bus services have not been made available for international journey along this closed section of the route.
The alternative route, which is currently the only option, involves travelling via Switzerland and Milano, with at least two connections and a journey time of more than 8 hours.
When the usual service resumes
Two Frecciarossa 1000 trains per day in each direction have been added to the Paris ↔ Torino route via Lyon, Chambery and Modane.
Heading south they depart daily from the Gare de Lyon in Paris at:
These Frecce trains are slower than the TGV trains as they divert off the direct route in order to call at Lyon's city centre station, Part-Dieu.
This is, in our humble opinion, one of the most exciting journeys you can take on European express trains.
We love the mix of high speed travel and stunning Alpine scenery
Aside from the wow factor of the speed, most high speed train journeys aren't scenically interesting, when high speed lines pass through hills and mountains, they tend to dive into tunnels.
This journey picks up in terms of scenery once the train leaves the high speed line behind - and that's what makes this journey so exceptional, the alpine views from a TGV train don't get better than this!
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please go here to say thank you.
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months* ahead of the travel date
Frecciarossa 1000 trains on the domestic routes within Italy convey 4 classes of accommodation, but the Standard Premier service is not available on this international route.
Also 'Allegro' has been introduced as the branding for the Standard and Business Class, SMTJ isn't certain as to the reason for this, other than to make a distinction with the tickets on the domestic routes.
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
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