Paris Gare de Lyon... Click for map of Paris showing stations
One of the most important stations in Paris and the third busiest station in France, the Gare de Lyon is the station for trains heading southeast out of the city, including trains to Dijon, Lyon, Avignon, Marseille, Nice, the French Alps, Switzerland, Italy & Barcelona. There has been a station here since 1847, although the current station building dates from 1900. The Gare de Lyon is a classic Parisian landmark and I always relish the chance for a meal, coffee or beer at the fabled Train Bleu restaurant.
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Station overview: Click for station plan...
The Gare de Lyon is a terminus with flat level access between the taxi rank, concourse & all platforms, so it's easy to navigate with wheeled luggage.
The station has two separate concourses, known as Hall 1 and Hall 2, marked on the station plan below by the two red home logos. Hall 1 is the original trainshed dating from 1900 housing platforms A to N, Hall 2 is the later extension housing platforms 5 to 23.
Trains are usually posted on the departure boards around 20 minutes before departure, but the departure boards will show whether to wait in Hall 1 or Hall 2 before a specific platform is shown. It only takes 2 minutes to walk between Hall 1 & Hall 2 along platform A or through the ticket hall, but it's best to wait in the right area.
You can find a detailed plan of the station and its facilities at www.gares-sncf.com.
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The classic facade of the Gare de Lyon of 1900. The large arched windows above the canopy are those of the Train Bleu restaurant. If you walk through the entrances in this facade, you'll find yourself in Hall 1, facing platforms A to N. |
Hall 1, platforms A to N...
This is the original trainshed, dating from 1900...
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Hall 1 & platforms A to N seen from the top of the Train Bleu restaurant steps. Platform A on the left, N on the right... |
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Looking northeast across Hall 1 concourse at 90 degrees to the previous photo, with the ornate steps up to the Train Bleu restaurant on the left. The trains & platforms A to N are just out of shot to the right... Note the main departure boards above Starbucks in the centre. Note the escalators down to the Metro & RER Express Metro. |
Hall 2, platforms 5 to 23...
A later extension, accessed from Hall 1 either by walking down platform A or by walking through the ticket hall.
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Looking northeast across Hall 2, with platforms 5 to 23 on the right. Platform A is behind the camera. |
Ticket hall...
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The ticket hall connects Hall 1 with Hall 2, parallel with platform A. The doors to the SNCF ticket office are now on the right. |
Inside the main SNCF ticket office. A numbered waiting system operates, so take a number... |
Thello sleeper train ticket office... Private operator Thello has its own ticket office for its Paris-Italy sleeper train on the main concourse (Hall 1) level with platform M, marked on the station plan here.
Tips for using the Gare de Lyon...
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Take a moment to wander onto the forecourt and see the beautiful station facade of 1900 with its famous clock tower. The clock is illuminated at night - it's now electric of course, but before 1929 this was done with oil lamps.
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Train Bleu restaurant... Plan to have a meal at the celebrated Train Bleu restaurant before strolling across the concourse to your train, see the Train Bleu restaurant page. Eating in those surroundings is an experience in itself, and the food is pretty good too...
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Big Ben bar, the ideal waiting lounge... For the price of a cup of coffee or a beer and maybe some tapas, you can use the Big Ben Bar inside the Train Bleu Restaurant as your quiet & peaceful VIP waiting lounge, away from the hubbub of the station concourse below - see the Big Ben Bar photos & info here. It has great character and is a favourite of mine, it's not the cheapest beer or coffee you'll find just consider it VIP lounge access!
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First class lounges... There's an SNCF Grand Voyageur first class lounge but this is only accessible to holders of SNCF's (or other Railteam members) frequent traveller loyalty card or a full-price 1st class Pro fare, which you probably don't have, so is useless for most visitors even if you have a (non-pro) 1st class ticket.
First class TGV-Lyria passengers bound for Switzerland may use a part of the Montreux Jazz Café, set aside and branded LyriaCorner, available on Mondays-Fridays 08:30-12:30 and 14:30-18:30.
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Stock up at the supermarket... There is a Monoprix supermarket a few metres up the Rue de Lyon opposite the station, I've marked it on the map above - just click for full screen then zoom out. the supermarket is a good place to stock up for a journey, and has a passable range of half-bottles of wine, ideal for taking with you on a train. Of course there are coffee and filled baguette outlets all over the station, and you'll also find a chemists on the station, in the ticket hall passageway towards Hall 2.
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Left luggage lockers... The station has plenty of luggage lockers if you want to leave your bags for a few hours or a day, see the luggage lockers page for details.
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Taxis... There's a well-organised taxi rank on the station forecourt in front of the station, with staff allocating people to taxis. Even if the queue looks long, it moves fast and it won't take much more than 10 minutes to get into a taxi. It's a 25-30 minute drive to the Gare du Nord or Gare de l'Est.
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Metro... See the Crossing Paris by metro page for metro advice.
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If you need a hotel at or near the Gare de Lyon, the 4-star Mercure Paris Gare de Lyon is on the station forecourt itself right next to the clock tower, the 3-star Hotel Terminus Lyon is right in front of the station, the Novotel Paris Gare de Lyon is opposite the station. Or try the Mistral Hotel 800m from Gare de Lyon, or the 2-star Hotel de Reims 5 minutes walk from Gare de Lyon.
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For more detailed information on the station & its facilities see the official SNCF site www.gares-sncf.com.
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A haven! The Big Ben Bar. More info here. |
A treat! Lunch at the Train Bleu restaurant. More info here. |