Trains: SNCF, TGV, and more, Paris

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These folks at the Gare d'Austerlitz are boarding a train for Orléans from track 14.

From here you could also take a Corail train to Bordeaux (Corail simply being a brand name of the SNCF for some of its trains of the more traditional sort), but it would take 6 hours and 24 minutes to get there, over twice as long as the journey by TGV from the Montparnasse station.

Second photo: If I had turned just a little bit further to the right when I was taking this photo, you could have seen the Gare d'Austerlitz, but as it is you'll just have to take my word for it that the station is just off to the right from that green patch, which is the Jardin des Plantes (Garden of Plants).

Vélib' 13151, Gare d'Austerlitz

Connection between London and Paris are superb. The Eurostar trains whisks you betwen the two cities, via the channel tunnel, in under three hours.

Offers are often very good : either through the Eurostar website, through agents, or (if you keep a good lookout) through 'voucher' type offers in National newspapers.

As the number of trains expands, it will be possible in time to get more direct connections, or even through trains from place like Peterborough or Doncaster. I can see Eurostar will have a ready market in those place for short-breaks in Paris, but the other way round ?

Can you imagine the advertising "Bored of Art , culture, fine architecture, superb food and elegant fashion ?.....then find the opposite in rainy Doncaster....once visted, never remembered."

It has to be the only way to go between these two great capitals.

It currently takes around three hours to be whisked from the Gare du Nord to St Pancreas station in central London. The highlight of the trip must be the 20 minute dive under the English Channel between the two countries. The trip is much quicker than by air when you take into account check-in times and the time taken to get out to / in from the airport.

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This is the station that was painted by Claude Monet in 1877. You can see the painting in the Musée d'Orsay, but if you don't feel like standing in line for the museum you could always come over and look at the station in person. Here's what it looks like from the back, from Place de l'Europe.

Second photo: Trains arriving at Gare Saint-Lazare.

Third photo: As at the East and North Stations, there is a major construction project underway here at Gare Saint-Lazare, designed to modernize the station, optimize access and create an attractive public square at the front.

Fourth photo: People waiting for their trains. From here you can get trains to the suburbs and to cities like Rouen, Le Havre, Cherbourg and Dieppe.

Fifth photo: These posters hanging from the ceiling are meant to suggest that all these folks have covered up their cars for the summer and have gone on vacation by train instead. This is of course rather tongue-in-cheek considering the actual vacation habits of French automobile owners, but it's a clever advertising campaign for that very reason.

Vélib' 8009

Unfortunately I had the bright idea to go to Brussels on a daytrip from Paris well after I planned the rest of the trip and by the time I booked all of the lower fares were gone. THALYS tickets are sold in a similar manner to Eurostar tickets, there are different tiers of fares and once a tier is gone seats on that train bump up to the next fare. Tickets seem to start at 22€ one way if you book well in advance, by the time I figured out I wanted to go there, there were some extremely inconvenient 29€ fares, some still too early 39€ fares and 49€ fares that were manageable and several trains that didn't have the non flexible rate anymore.

Some people report problems using US credit cards on the THALYS site, I used http://www.b-europe.com/ which is still affiliated with THALYS and had the same trains with the same prices. Rail Europe is more expensive but another option if your credit card doesn't work.

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easy trip, allow time for check in, and can carry the luggage with you on the train.
you have it well marked, Ihave done it several times and not a really train person, find it easy. It is normally call Paris Nord on train schedules.

you check in at voie 2 (platform 2) on quais 3,4,5,and 6 for the Eurostar.
come in at place Napoleon III entrance to gare du nord.

The webpage in contact is official SNCF information and in English. The gare or station is well marked, and plenty of stores and restos inside. Outside you have a wonderful Paris with more restos,shops and hotels even the Terminus nord across the street.
The station open in 1846 and it has grown ever since, today is the most busy of Paris 5 stations. The wonderful resto Le Buffet de la gare is the anchor restaurant. The beformention Hotel Terminus-Nord, with its 1925 Art-déco restaurant is grand. The old restaurant La Flèche d'or (or the golden arrrow from the old name of the service train and boat first class that did the run from London Victoria station here from 1926 to 1972,except while the wwII Occupation), is now gone,replace by the brasserie, but the reception rooms were left below for special occasions.
more from France train of ile de France webpage
http://www.transilien.com/gare/PARIS-NORD-GARE-DU-NORD-8727103

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This is one of the classic train station of Paris and those traveling East. It was my second encounter with a Paris station back in 1990. My girlfriend today wife of 22 years used to come to work to Paris thru it so we took a ride to meet her boss and office by rue d'hautevillier.

Then we came by car parking at eglise de Pantin,and then taken the metro to pass by it on our way to other areas of Paris, as well of course, as taken the train direct from Meaux to Gare de l'Est. Many memories.

well now about the station and enough about me lol!
The gare de l'Est or sometimes just call Paris Est was initially called gare de Strasbourg as you get the idea of where it was intended. It is located in the 10éme arrondissement of Paris not far from Gare du Nord. Its facade close the axe north south cut thru by the renovation of Paris under the baron Haussmann ,and now mostly done by the blvd de Strasbourg. It is the 5th Paris station in terms of passengers and its activity increase after the creation of the RER E and the TGV Est.

The Gare de l'Est was on October 4 1883,the depart for the first Orient-Express to Constantinople. Due to the two world conflicts under a defense program shortly after WWII a tunnel is dug up below lines 2 and 3 to insure the continues service in case of bombings. In the great hall of Grandes lignes, a monumental painting named " Le Départ des poilus, août 1914" or the depart of the youngs August 1914 was offered by the American painter Albert Herter,in rememberance of the death of his son in 1918 near Château-Thierry (Aisne dept 02),it was place there in 1926 in the presence of maréchal Joffre. It is 5 meters high and 12 meters long.


in contact, i have the information webpage of the station from the SNCF
it is this one, http://www.gares-en-mouvement.com/en/frpst/accueil/

it is in English with all information, no need to repeat here.If questions let me know, I know it well ::)

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this is my old entry to Paris when working in the city, and it stays with you just came back for a look because I knew it had gone thru some renovation. And what a renovation, this is a new train station modern, grand, magnificent, with plenty of stores to spend you day here and restos and wonderful ambiance outside.

the SNCF site for it is here,and on contact is their webpage ,see my other tip on it as well
http://www.gares-en-mouvement.com/en/frpsl/accueil/

you have many metro stations and the bus including the wonderful and friendly 95 that took me here from gare Montparnasse where I entered Paris nowdays.

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Well now living outside the Paris region, my business and old nostalgia takes meParis often and this is the route

from my new home in Auray, Morbihan, Brittany France, to Paris Montparnasse, passing by Vannes, Redon, Le Mans, Rennes most of the time.

its the TGV and its a nice ride, at Auray the parking for my car is free, and its just 7 minutes from our house. Then, arriving in Paris montparnasse you are in a major hub with many options of metro, bus, taxi, and walks.

These are some pictures of my new in and out of Paris

If you are taking a train from Paris it is important to know WHICH train station! In many cases the old train sheds are part of the trip:)
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The Thalys and Eurostar leave from Gare du Nord. Montparnasse has some TGVs and the train to Chartres.
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Don't forget to "compost" [validate] your ticket in the little orange machine.