After a gap of fifteen years Paris and Wien/Vienna are once again being connected by a direct rail service, thanks to a new service of overnight Nightjet trains between the French and Austrian capitals.
Of the numerous daytime options you will likely see when looking up the train journey from Paris to Vienna/Wien on the ticket booking services, the option via Frankfurt (Main) has been singled out because:
On Mon/Weds/Thurs/Sat when the direct overnight train from Paris isn't available, the routing via Zurich has been suggested for similar reasons; an easily timed connection in a station that's simple to navigate.
The train will be departing Paris on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday evenings evenings only and will be typically be scheduled to leave from the Gare De l'Est at 19:58.
The train will also call at: Strasbourg (depart 00:36) and Salzburg (arrive at 07:26); Linz (arrive 08:44) and St Polten (arrive at 09:36)
It will be typically scheduled to arrive into Wien Hbf at 10:12.
Usual onward connections:
Departs on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
The train conveys:
The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.
Click the train details below for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:
Rail pass users must reserve before boarding these trains,
You can now book rail pass reservations without paying booking fees on the OBB website (OBB operates these trains).Though the process for doing so isn't particularly obvious, hence this step-by-step guide.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
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OBB | * |
In the opposite direction the train will depart on Monday, Thursday and Saturday evenings
This routing via Frankfurt (Main) isn't the fastest option for a daytime journey by train from Paris to Wien/Vienna.
It isn't generally the cheapest either, so here's why we recommend travelling this way:
1 x optimum connection per day
Change trains in: Frankfurt (Main)
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date (usually)
Reservations are optional on the ICE train between Frankfurt and Wien/Vienna, but reserving seats on this leg of the journey is highly recommended.
This connection via Frankfurt (Main) is the journey option which departs Paris at 07:20.
Though can save usually save money if you opt to change trains more than once and travel via Munchen or Salzburg.
Though when looking up those journeys check the connecting time between trains, those options sold by the ticket agents typically have connecting times of less than 20 mins in either Mannheim, Stuttgart station or Munchen/Munich
Making these connections between trains in Germany is not guaranteed, you won't incur a financial penalty as tickets/reservations can be transferred to a later departure in the event of a late arriving, but it's a hassle that is much more likely to be avoided if you travel on this route via Frankfurt.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
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Trainline | * |
Final Destination: Frankfurt (Main)
This train takes takes the route via Strasbourg
Via: Kaiserslautern
This is a journey of four distinct phases.
Via: Strasbourg
This is a journey of three distinct phases.
Final Destination: Wien Hbf
This train also calls at: Linz and [St Polten](https://goo.gl/maps/ffv7fnVNBbaEdyVF7 and Wien-Meidling
Arriving in Wien/Viennna:
Check the location of your final destination in Wien/Vienna.
If you're heading to the south west corner of the city, or the area on the ring road around the Opera House - then it's likely that you'll have a faster and more convenient journey if you leave the train at Wien-Meidling station.
This is a journey of nine distinct phases: (the videos were filmed from a train travelling in the opposite direction)
Between Frankfurt (Main) and Aschaffenburg the railway passes through a string of commuter towns.
Then east of Aschaffenburg, is a scenic and slow part of the trip as the railway follows a series of valleys.
As the River Main comes into view on the right, the train will speed up before bridging the river and entering a tunnel which will link it to the high speed line.
The train will spend around 10-15 mins on the high speed line as it nears Wurzburg, just before the station look out on the right for a brief panorama over the river and city.
Because the train will spend such a small percentage of the journey on the high speed line, this hasn't been classed as a high speed trip
On to Nurnberg the train will be on conventional railway tracks.
Between Nurnberg and Regensburg the train travels across a rolling landscape of hills.
Between Regensburg and Passau the railway line is beside the River Danube, which can be seen on the left.
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: Around 3 months ahead of the travel date
Look for the journey which departs Paris around 16:23 and has one change of train
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
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Trainline | * |
Note that this train departs from the Gare De Lyon in Paris.
Final Destination: Zurich,
This is a journey of four distinct parts.
1: Initially the train will travel on the high speed line south from Paris.
2. The train switches to conventional tracks north of Dijon - the most scenic part of the journey
3. Between Dijon and Mulhouse there is another high speed line.
4. The final part of the journey from Mulhouse to Zurich is on conventional tracks.
Final Destination:
Wien Hbf - the OBB Nightjet
Budapest - the EuroNight train
These trains also call at: St.Pölten, Wien-Meidling
In Zurich, the two trains are joined together, so they both depart at 21:40.
They're seperated during the journey across Austria and the EuroNight train arrives in Vienna/Wien first at 06:35.
The OBB Nightjet train is the slower of the two services and it is scheduled to arrive in Wien Hbf at 07:55
Both the OBB Nightjet train and the Nightjet train convey;
- Compartment Seats (Sitzwagen)
- Couchettes (Liegewagen); 4 berths AND 6 berths
- Standard sleeping cars (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
But the OBB Nightjet train also conveys Deluxe sleeping cars with showers in the cabin.
The first of the daytime trains doesn't arrive in Wien/Vienna until 14:30
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.