International trains from France

Paris has been restored to the European night train network in recent years, thanks to the restoration of the Paris ↔ Wien and the Paris ↔ Berlin - but these are the only night trains services that currently cross French borders.
So the majority of the international express services to and from France are high speed trains.

Meaning that at face value travelling to and from France can seem an expensive option if you'll be exploring Europe with an InterRail or Eurail pass; though you can often avoid the comparatively expensive rail pass reservation fees payable on the high speed trains, by hopping across the borders on local trains.

The regularly timetabled trains from France to Belgium take one of five routes, one of which is the cross-border high-speed line.

Four different train services take this route:

(1) Eurostar (formerly Thalys) trains from Paris which take these two routes:

• Paris Nord – Bruxelles-Midi – Antwerpen/Anvers Central – Rotterdam – Schiphol - Amsterdam
• Paris Nord – Bruxelles-Midi – Liege – Aachen – Koln/Cologne – Dusseldorf – Essen – Dortmund

These Eurostar (formerly Thalys) services are now once again the only option for taking a direct train from Paris to Bruxelles/Brussels.
They are also the only direct trains from Paris to both north-west Germany and The Netherlands.

(2) TGV Bruxelles/France trains which travel from Lille to Bruxelles-Midi.

These trains all also call at Aeroport CDG station, for Paris Charles De Gaulle airport, and Marne La Vallée station, for Disneyland Paris.

They travel on various routes across France, so provide direct rail links to Bruxelles from multiple cities, other than Paris, including: Avignon; Lyon; Marseille; Montpellier; Nimes; Strasbourg and Valence.
By taking these trains you can avoid having to transfer between stations across central Paris.

(3) Eurostar trains on the route from London to Bruxelles and Amsterdam call at Lille-Europe station.

(4) Seasonal Eurostar (formerly Thalys) trains which travel:

• Marne La Vallée - Aeroport CDG - Bruxelles – Antwerpen/Anvers Centraal – Rotterdam – Schiphol – Amsterdam route on Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• from ski resorts to Bruxelles and Amsterdam in the winter sports season
• the 'Thalys Du Soleil' service from Marseille to Bruxelles and Amsterdam which operates at summer weekends

Hourly Belgian IC trains travel from to Lille to Kortrijk on the route from Tourcoing to Mouscron; and most, but not all, of these trains continue beyond Kortrijk to travel on to Anvers/Antwerpen via Gent.
Connect in Kortrijk for trains to Ieper/Ypres and in Gent for trains to Brugge.

If you will be travelling from Paris to Brugge or Gent by train, taking the Thalys trains to Bruxelles and making connections there to these Belgian cities, is a faster option than making connections in Lille:

A cheaper route for rail pass users

However, rail pass users will save money when heading to Belgium and on to The Netherlands from Paris by taking trains to Lille and connecting there into these trains which head off on the route to Kortrijk.
From these trains on from Lille, rail pass users can connect at Berchem station in Antwerpen/Anvers into the InterCity trains on to The Netherlands, to Amsterdam or Den Haag.

On Mondays – Friday hourly IC trains take a Lille-Flandres – Tournai - Mons – Charleroi Sud – Namur route; connections are available in Namur for trains on to Liege and Luxembourg.
At weekends these trains only travel between Lille and Tournai; and on Mon-Fri you may also have to change trains in Tournai.

Connecting into these trains on from Lille is the most frequent route from Paris to cities in southern Belgium including Mons, Charleroi and Namur.
Though if you will be heading to Liege, the fastest route is to travel via Bruxelles.

The TER trains from Paris to Maubeuge have connections at Maubeuge into local trains which travel over the border to Charleroi Central station - these are the trains which usually depart from Paris Nord at:

• 07:17 on Mon to Fri
• 10:32 on Mon to Fri
• 13:19 on Mon to Fri
• 17:18 daily
  Then in Charleroi Central straightforward connections are available into trains on to Antwerpen, Bruxelles and Mons.

Rail pass users can therefore use this route to reach multiple destinations in Belgium by only paying a rail pass reservation fee of €1.50 to travel by the TER trains.

The trains from France to central and southern Germany (and on to Austria) now take one of three routes, and they are ordered from north to south below.
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Two train services head over the border from Forbach to Saarbrucken:

(1) Three or four DB-SNCF high speed services per day travel on the Paris-Est – Forbach* - Saarbrucken – Kaiserslautern – Mannheim – Frankfurt (Main) route
*Not all of these trains call at Forbach.
Connect in Mannheim for Heidelberg and Mainz.
Connect in Frankfurt (Main) for multiple destinations including Berlin, Hannover, Leipzig, Linz, Nurnberg, Wien/Vienna and Wurzburg.

Other trains from Paris to Frankfurt (Main) travel via Strasbourg on the route through Kehl (see below).

(2) Local trains shuttle across the border from Forbach to Saarbrucken.
In Forbach good connections are available with TER trains from Metz, while in Saarbrucken, connections are available into Regio trains to Trier and to Heidelberg via Kaiserslautern and Mannheim.

Seven groups of train services take a route east from Strasbourg passing over the German border at Kehl and on to the railway which links Karlsruhe and Basel.

1: the trains on the alternative route from Paris to Frankfurt (Main)

Two* x DB-SNCF services per days take this route Paris Est – Strasbourg – Baden Baden - Karlsruhe - Mannheim – Frankfurt (Main)
Connect in Mannheim for Heidelberg and Mainz.
*Only 1 x train per day on Sundays.
Connect in Frankfurt (Main) for multiple destinations including Berlin, Hannover, Leipzig, Linz, Nurnberg, Wien/Vienna and Wurzburg.

2: high speed trains from Paris to Stuttgart and Munich

Four or Five trains DB-SNCF per day take this route Paris Est – Strasbourg – Karlsruhe – Mannheim – Stuttgart.
One of these trains has its journey extended to Ulm – Augsburg – Munchen/Munich.

3: from the south of France to Frankfurt

One DB-SNCF train per day takes this route
Marseille – Avignon – Lyon – Mulhouse – Strasbourg -Karlsruhe - Mannheim – Frankfurt (Main).
This is the only direct train from southern France to central Germany.

4: from Paris to Berlin

The capital cities of France and Germany are now being linked by a daytime rail service!
An ICE train will be taking a Paris Est (depart 09:55) - Strasbourg - Karlsruhe - Frankfurt (Main) Süd - Berlin-Spandau - Berlin Hbf route.
The scheduled arrival time in Berlin Hbf will enable connections on to Dresden, Leipzig and Prague.
The train will in effect be operating as a 'Sprinter' service in Germany, by calling at Frankfurt (Main) Sud instead of at Frankfurt (Main) Hbf, the end-to-end journey time in both directions, is at least 20 minutes faster!

On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday a Nightjet service now departs Paris for Berlin.

5: from Paris to Austria

On Tuesday, Friday and Sunday a Nightjet service departs Paris and also calls in Strasbourg on route to Salzburg, Linz and Wien/Vienna; this the only direct train service from France to Austria.

6: to the Europa Park and Freiburg

The direct TGV train from Paris to Freiburg now travels this way on a Paris Est – Strasbourg – Offenburg – Freiburg route; it also calls in Ringsheim station where transfer are available to the Europa Park.

Primarily due to the easy access it will offer to those travelling on to the Europa Park, on Sundays the train from Bordeaux to Strasbourg now has its journey extended to Ringsheim and on to Freiburg.
In Freiburg it connects with trains on to Basel and Zurich and it also calls in Offenburg, for access to multiple stations in The Black Forest.

7: the local trains to Offenburg

In most hours local trains travel from Strasbourg to Offenburg, where connections are available to Baden-Baden and Freiburg

If you will be using a rail pass and want to avoid the comparatively expensive rail pass reservation fees, on those DB-SNCF trains, what's good to know is that there are direct trains from Offenburg to a swathe of other cities in Germany including Berlin, Koln and Frankfurt (Main).

In most hours during the day local trains depart Mulhouse for Neuenburg where connections are available into trains to Mulheim.
In some hours there are direct trains from Mulhouse to Mulheim.
In Mulheim there are connections available on to Offenburg, Freiburg and Ringsheim for the Europa Park.

Three train services cross the border from France into Luxembourg:

(1) TGV trains on a Paris Est – Metz – Luxembourg route.
(2) TGV trains on a Marseille – Avignon – Lyon –Mulhouse – Colmar – Strasbourg – Metz – Luxembourg route
(3) TER trains which take a Nancy – Metz – Luxembourg route

In Luxembourg connections are available into trains to Koblenz in Germany via Trier; two of which per day are now direct to Koln/Cologne and Dusseldorf via Bonn.

Users of Eurail and InterRail passes travelling from Paris to The Rhine Valley and Koln/Cologne can save money by taking a TGV train from Paris to Luxembourg and then connecting there into German Regio trains, in comparison to taking Thalys trains from Paris to Koln/Cologne.

Every other hour there are also direct trains from Luxembourg to Liege in Belgium, so this is the way to come if you want to travel by train from eastern France to eastern Belgium.

The Alpine mountains and their foothills straddle the Franco-Italian border, hence there only being three railway routes between the two countries.

The only train services which travel through the cross-border Mont-Cenis Tunnel Modane to Bardonecchia between are the high speed train services which connect Paris to Torino/Turin and Milano.
This route has been closed until summer 2024 due to a landslide.

Three x TGV France/Italy trains per day take this route; Paris Gare De Lyon - Chambery – Modane – Bardonecchia - Oulx –Torino Porta Susa – Novara - Milano Porta Garibaldi
The first train of the day (usually scheduled to depart Paris at 06:47) typically has a good connection in Torino/Turin with:
- a Frecce train on to Napoli/Naples via Roma
- the 'Treno Notte' overnight train to Reggio di Calabria (for Messina)

Two Frecciarossa 1000 trains operated by Trenitalia now also take a Paris Gare De Lyon - Lyon-Part Dieu - Chambery – Modane – Bardonecchia - Torino Porta Susa - Milano route, but in contrast to the TGV trains, they terminate at Milano Centrale station.

Now that the direct trains from Marseille/Nice to Milano have been withdrawn only local trains connect the French and Italian Rivieras.
One or two French TER trains per hour take this route: Grasse – Cannes – Antibes – Nice - Monte Carlo – Menton – Ventimiglia / Ventimille.
When heading to the Italian border from Lyon, Marseille, Paris or Toulon the easiest connection into these trains to Ventimiglia is available at Antibes.

Most, but not all, of those TER trains have good connections in Ventimiglia for Regionale trains on to Sanremo, Albenga and Genova.

There are also Italian express trains which are direct from Ventimiglia to Genova and Milano.
The trains on the Grasse to Ventimiglia route connect into these trains with typical departures from Nice at: 09:36; 11:36; 13:36 (Sunday only); 15:36 and 18:06,

Two trains per day take a Ventimiglia – Breil sur Roya – Tende – Limone – Cuneo route; which is very scenic
Trains from Nice make connections with these trains at Tende.
At Cuneo connections are available into trains to Torino.

Despite the long length of the Franco-Spanish border, The Pyrenees mountain range is a formidable barrier to railway construction, so the trains from France to Spain take one of only four routes.

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There are 2 to 4 trains per day on the Paris Gare de Lyon – Valence – Nimes – Montpellier-St Roch – (Beziérs) - Narbonne – Perpignan – Figueres-Vilafant – Girona – Barcelona route.
There are two daily Paris ↔ Barcelona departures per day year round, plus additional summer services.

Also, the Spanish national rail operator Renfe, has restored the Lyon ↔ Barcelona and Marseille ↔ Madrid trains.

• Marseille - Valence TGV - Nimes - Montpellier - Narbonne - Perpignan ↔ Girona - Barcelona - Zaragoza - Madrid
• Lyon - Valence TGV - Nimes - Montpellier - Narbonne - Perpignan ↔ Girona - Barcelona.

This route from La Tour De Carol to Puigcerda snakes its way through a mountain pass in the middle of The Pyrenees.

By day

Five trains per day depart typically depart from French village of La Tour De Carol and head for Barcelona via Puigcerda and Vic.

TER trains link Toulouse to La Tour De Carol via Foix.

However, as can be too often the case when trying to take local/regional trains across the border from France to Spain, the Spanish timetable has recently been revised, but with no corresponding alterations on the French side of the border.
As a result some trains for Barcelona now depart La Tour De Carol less than 10 mins before a train from Toulouse will arrive, despite both routes having infrequent services.

Though it is still possible to take most spectacular railway route from France to Spain; and if you have a rail pass, you don't have to pay any reservation fees; but now the only good connections are those which typically involve departing from Toulouse at 09:47 and 15:47 daily.

By night

On up to four nights per week, an Intercités de Nuit train departs Paris Austerlitz station between 21:00 and 22:00 and IF it arrives in La Tour De Carol on time, it has 25min connection into a train on to Barcelona.

the yellow trains

And for those who want to maximise the area's opportunities to take scenic rail journeys the very special yellow trains sporadically head to La Tour De Carol from Villefranche-Vernet-les-Bains station, which they share with TER trains which travel from and to Perpignan.

The express trains from France to Spain on the Mediterranean end of the border, take the parallel high speed line, but local and regional trains still travel on this older and scenic route, though Cerbére on the French side of the border, to Port Bou on the Spanish side of the border.

From Port Bou, generally good connections of around 40 minutes are available into Regional Express OR Media Distancia trains to Barcelona via Figueres and Girona; users of Eurail and InterRail seats don't have reserve seats on the MD trains on this route, which is an exception to the usual rule.

Though the French TER trains to Port Bou, commence their journeys at various cities in France, depending at which time and on what day of the week you will be travelling.
There's seemingly little logic applied to this pattern of train services, for example at weekends there are multiple trains from Toulouse to Port Bou via Narbonne and Perpignan, but none on Monday - Friday.

A particularly useful service, worth targeting if you want to avoid the high speed trains is the daily TER train to Port Bou, which departs from Avignon Centre (11:34); Nimes (12:11); Montpellier St-Roch (12:49); Beziers (13:37) and Narbonne (14:07).
According to the European Rail Timetable this train has a 15 - 20min connection into a train on to Barcelona.

The night train, which provides alternative connections to Barcelona

On Fridays and Sunday nights and certain other days during the year, an Intercités De Nuit train departs Paris Austerlitz for Cerbere, it also makes morning calls at Collioure and Port-Vendres.
Until very recently it travelled over the border to terminate in Port Bou, but because the Spanish authorities have decreed that the French rail drivers need to be fluent in Spanish, it now terminates in Cerbere.
However, fairly simple connections in Cerbere and Port Bou are available when travelling on to Barcelona via Figueres and Girona, it can be an overnight alternative to the daytime high-speed trains when travelling from Paris to Barcelona.

Over on the Atlantic Coast two very different train services are typically available between Hendaye in France and the Spanish town of Irun

(1) Up to two x TGV trains per day take this route Paris-Montparnasse – Bordeaux – Bayonne – Biarritz – Hendaye – Irun.
These trains are currently being terminated in Hendaye

(2) The alternative service of local Euskotren trains on from Hendaye/Hendaia are much more frequent.

Hourly local ‘Euskotren’ trains connect Hendaye to San Sebastian/Donastia via Irun.
Connect in San Sebastian/Donastia for other ‘Euskotren’ trains to Bilbao; this is by far the easiest option for accessing this city from France by train.

Option 1: Connecting in Barcelona

The easiest, but usually more expensive, option for a train journey from Paris to Madrid involves making these connections:

(1) Taking the daily train to Barcelona, which typically departs from the Gare De Lyon at 09:38 and usually arrives in Barcelona Sants station at 16:27.

(2) There will then be a choice of connections on from Barcelona to Madrid:

• At 17:00 (except on Saturdays) a regular AVE train will depart and it will be typically scheduled to arrive in Madrid at 19:45;
• At 17:25 an Avlo train will depart, and it is typically scheduled to arrive in Madrid at 19:55, so offers the possibility of the fastest end-to-end journey, but the Avlo train is a more-basic alternative to the AVE trains and it only conveys standard class accommodation; and also has a more stringent luggage allowance per passenger than the AVE trains.

Option 2: Connecting in Hendaye and Irun

This routing is a cheaper option for rail pass users and is usually available if the Paris to Barcelona train has sold out; though the train from Irun to Madrid can also sell out around national holidays and on summer Sundays in particular.

• Take the daily TGV train from Paris Montparnasse to Hendaye which usually departs the French capital at 10:08 and arrives in Hendaye at 14:47; this train also typically departs Bordeaux at 12:20.
• On exiting Hendaye station, walk across to the right to the Hendaia station used by Spanish local, metro-style, trains branded Euskotren, the trains depart every 30 mins and the journey to Irun station Irun Colon station will only take 4 mins, it's a two stop journey.
• The walk to the main station in Irun will take around 7 to 12 mins. Turn right from the main Euskotren exit and follow the road which will soon curve to the right over railway bridge, on the other side of the bridge, go left towards the domed building and then go straight ahead to the left of it, the main station in Irun will then be ahead on the left.
• An Alvia train to Madrid usually departs Irun daily at 16:17 and typically arrives in the Spanish capital at 22:03.

With more than 20% of Swiss residents being French speakers it's not surprising that there are a comparatively high number of railways which connect France to Switzerland.

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These train services all cross the border to the east of Bellegarde between France and Switzerland;

1: from Paris to Geneve; and on to Lausanne

Up to eight Lyria trains per day take this route; Paris Gare De Lyon – Bellegarde – Geneve; and up to 3 x trains per day continue beyond Geneve to Lausanne; though other trains from Paris to Lausanne take a more direct route.
Connect in Geneve for trains which take the route to Brig via Montreux, Sion and Visp.

2: from Lyon to Geneve

Up to ten TER trains per day travel from Lyon to Geneve.
If you will be using an InterRail or Eurail pass, you can avoid the comparatively expensive rail pass reservation fees payable on the Lyria trains, by travelling from Paris to Lyon and making connections at Part-Dieu station into these TER trains.
There are also infrequent local trains which only travel from Bellgarde to Geneva; and other trains from Lyon connect into these trains.

3: from Grenoble and Valence to Geneve

Four TER trains per day take this route; Grenoble – Chambery – Aix-les-Bains – Culoz – Bellegarde – Geneve; two of these trains commence their journeys in Valence.

4: the south of France to Switzerland

From the first Monday in July to the final Sunday in August a high-speed Lyria train travels on a Marseille - Avignon - Lyon - Geneve route.

The route from Annemasse to Geneve has re-opened following a six year re-construction project and it links the French Alps to western Switzerland.
As a result hourly regional trains are now taking an Annemasse - Geneve - Nyon - Lausanne - Montreux - Vevey route.
Generally hourly local trains now also travel between Annecy and Geneve via Annemasse.

Connections are available in Annemasse with trains that have travelled from Evian-les-Bains; and from the comparatively infrequent trains from St Gervais (which is served by trains from Chamonix).

The only trains which take the route from Frasne to Vallorbe are the three Lyria trains per day that take a Paris gare de Lyon – Dijon – Dole – Frasne – Vallorbe – Lausanne route.
These trains connect in Frasne for trains to Neuchatel via Pontarlier.

The other Lyria trains from Paris to Lausanne now travel via Geneve.

Three TER trains per day travel on the route via La Locle from Besancon-Viotte station to La Chaux des Fonds, where connections are available into trains on to Biel and Neuchatel.
Besancon-Viotte station is served by TER trains from Dijon and Lyon

These train services all travel along this border crossing between St Louis, Haut Rhin and Basel's north-west suburbs:

1: High-speed trains from Paris to Basel and Zurich

Up to six Lyria trains per day take this route; Paris Gare de Lyon – Dijon* - Mulhouse – Basel – Zurich
*Not all of these trains call at Dijon
Connect in Basel for Bern, Biel, Delemont, Luzern, Interlaken, Olten, Spiez and Thun.
Connect in Zurich for Bellinzona, Chur, Innsbruck, Lugano, St.Anton and St. Galllen.

2: Regional trains to Basel

In most hours there are TER trains which take this route; Strasbourg – Colmar – Mulhouse – Basel

There are also local TER trains from Mulhouse to Basel.

Users of Eurail and InterRail passes looking to avoid the comparatively expensive rail pass reservation fees on the Lyria trains, can typically save more than €15 by taking a TGV train from Paris to Colmar, Mulhouse or Strasbourg and then connecting into TER trains on to Basel.

Every hour during the day, trains operated by TMR depart Vallorcine for Martigny.
At Vallorcine connections are available from trains which have travelled from St Gervais-les-Bains via Chamonix.
From Martigny connections are available into trains heading to Brig, Geneve, Lausanne, Montreux, Sion and Visp.

In most hours daily there are TER trains between Annemasse and St Gervais Les Bains,
Annemasse is a junction station and it has trains from:

• Annecy - there is now typically only one train on Monday to Friday which is direct from Annecy to St Gervais Les Bains Le Fayet
• Bellegarde, which is served by TGV Lyria trains on the Paris Gare De Lyon ↔ Geneve route - and there are up to three direct trains per day from Bellegarde to St Gervais Les Bains Le Fayet, which typically have 15 min connections with the trains from Paris.

Note that since the opening of the route between Geneve and Annemasse a few years ago, which in effect plugged Annemasse into the local train network of Geneve, what had been a long-established pattern of TER trains taking an Annecy ↔ St Gervais route, with connections in Annecy from Lyon, has in effect been abandoned.
A Lyon ↔ St Gervais rail journey now typically requires, what can be awkwardly timed connections in both Annecy and Annemasse.
Though on most Saturdays a direct TER train to St Gervais departs Lyon-Part-Dieu station for St Gervais at around 08:45.

In most hours daily TER trains operate on a route which starts / ends at Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station.
These trains travel to and from Biel /Bienne on a route which crosses the Swiss border after Delle and calls at Porrentruy, Delémont, Moutier and Grenchen.

Eurostar trains from France to the United Kingdom take two routes year round:

(1) Paris Gare Du Nord - (Ashford International) - Ebbsfleet International - London St Pancras International; up to 13 - 17 x trains per day

Tickets are currently not available for journeys to and from Ashford or Ebbsfleet.

(2) Lille Europe - (Ashford International) - Ebbsfleet International - London St Pancras International; up to 6 - 9 x trains per day.

Tickets are currently not available for journeys to and from Ashford or Ebbsfleet

These two seasonal routes only operate on some dates.

(1) Marseille - Avignon - Lyon - (Lille) - Ashford International - London St Pancras International
This service will not be available in 2023

(2) Bourg St Maurice - Aime la Plagne - Moutiers-Salins - Ashford International - London St Pancras International
This train is available to travellers booking ski holiday packages.

yNThe reservation fees for Eurail and InterRail users of €38-43 in 1st class/Standard Premier and €30-38 in 2nd class/Standard Class on Eurostar trains can be good value compared to ticket prices, so if they are still available and you won't mind being whizzed under the English Channel in a tunnel, paying for them is typically the best option

If the limited number of rail pass reservations made available by Eurostar are sold out on your travel dates; and this can happen weeks ahead in the summer, the optimum alternative is to travel between London and Paris on a combination of trains and cross-Channel ferries.

On the Calais ↔ Dover sea crossing P&O Ferries offers bookings as foot passengers on certain departures.
Eurail and InterRail passes are not valid on the P&O ferries so foot passenger tickets will need to be booked.
Foot passengers need to check-in at the ferry terminals 90 mins prior to departure.

Eurail and InterRail passes are valid at no additional charge on the Southeastern trains between Dover and London, including its hi-speed services to/from St Pancras International station, though it's worth verifying if other stations in London will suit you better.
Reservation fees of €1.50 need to be paid by Eurail and InterRail users on the TER trains between Paris and Calais, they can be purchased at ticket counters.

By far the most optimum connections are:

• 10:27 on Monday to Saturday from Paris Nord to Calais Ville, arrives Calais at 13:23
• OR 09:30 on Sunday from Paris Nord to Calais Ville, arrives Calais at 12:25
• Check-in for the 15:50 sailing before 14:20
• Arrive Dover at 16:25 (due to the time difference)

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