Traveling by train is generally the best idea when in Europe because
they are on time, reasonably priced, and go pretty much everywhere you
want to go. Paris, being a large capital city, offers lots of options
for train travel. There are six train stations within Paris and each
serves a different region of France and elsewhere in Europe. These
stations are: Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est, Gare Saint-Lazare, Gare de Lyon,
Gare Montparnasse, and Gare d'Austerlitz.
|
Train Station
|
Region in France it services
|
Region of Europe it services
|
|
Gare du Nord
|
Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Picardy
|
Belgium, Netherlands, northern Germany, Scandinavia,
United Kingdom
|
|
Gare de l'Est
|
Champagne-Ardenne, Alsace, Lorraine
|
Southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria
|
|
Gare Saint-Lazare
|
Normandy
|
Great Britain
|
|
Gare de Lyon
|
Burgundy, Franche-Comte, Rhone-Alpes, Languedoc-Roussillon,
Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
|
Switzerland, Italy
|
|
Gare Montparnasse
|
Britanny, Loire Valley, Poitou-Charente,
Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrenees
|
Spain
|
|
Gare d'Austerlitz
|
Central France, Auvergne, Southwest
|
Spain, Portugal
|
In France there are two different types of trains
available to take, "Corail" and the TGV (high-speed). It is usually
a good idea to make reservations ahead of time, in fact, they are required
for the TGV. You can buy them at the station or by telephone at 45
82 50 50.
|
Train destination
|
Train type
|
Trip time
|
Second class fare (approx.)
|
|
Strasbourg
|
Corail
|
4 1/2 h
|
280 F
|
|
Toulouse
|
TGV
|
5 1/4 h
|
425 F
|
| |
Corail
|
7 1/4 h
|
360 F
|
|
Lyon
|
TGV
|
2 1/4 h
|
290 F
|
| |
Corail
|
5 1/2 h
|
290 F
|
|
Marseille
|
TGV
|
4 1/4 h
|
350 F
|
| |
Corail
|
8 h
|
350 F
|
|
Nice
|
TGV
|
6 1/2
|
500 F
|
| |
Corail
|
11 h
|
475 F
|
|
Bordeaux
|
TGV
|
3 h
|
340 F
|
| |
Corail
|
5 1/2 h
|
320 F
|
|
Nantes
|
TGV
|
2 1/4 h
|
260 F
|
| |
Corail
|
3 1/2 h
|
240 F
|
|
Brest
|
TGV
|
4 1/4 h
|
340 F
|
| |
Corail
|
7 1/4 h
|
320 F
|
|
Lille
|
TGV
|
1 h
|
200 F
|
| |
Corail
|
2 1/2 h
|
230 F
|
|