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See larger map Red = high-speed line |
For Southwest France & Brittany
The Gare Montparnasse handles trains using the TGV Atlantique high-speed line to Brittany, Bordeaux, Biarritz, Lourdes, Tarbes and the Spanish border at Hendaye for onward trains to San Sebastian & Spain.
The Gare Montparnasse is my least favourite Paris terminal station, a modern concrete station underneath a 1969 office block which was extended to handle the TGV Atlantique trains in 1990. However, it's improved a bit after a recent facelift. Nothing now remains of the historic 1840 station best known for the famous train accident in 1895 when a train crashed through the buffers then the station facade ending up nose-down in the street below.
Tips for using the Gare
Montparnasse
Overview: Station plan Location map
Level -1, metro. If you arrive by metro you emerge onto the level -1. Coming from the Gare du Nord or Gare de l'Est on metro line 4, the metro station is called Montparnasse-Bienvenue, it's a few minutes walk along pedestrian tunnels and a long travelator from the metro platforms to Montparnasse SNCF TGV station.
Level 0 = main entrance, street level. You enter the station through the main doors in the glass facade into a foyer called Hall 4. The French for level is niveau.
Level 1 = mezzanine level with shops & toilets. If you take the smaller escalators from ground level up to level 1 you'll find shops and toilets. Further escalators then take you up to level 2 for the trains.
Level 2 = concourse, platforms, trains, ticket office & luggage lockers. If you take the large escalators just inside the glass facade on level 0 they'll take you directly up to level 2 two storeys above street level, where you'll find the main station concourse (Hall 1), platforms & trains. The main ticket office is on this level next to platform 1. Luggage lockers are in a passageway near platform 24. There's another station exit/entrance at the platform 1 end of the concourse, with a long flight of steps down to the street.
Platforms 1-28. The station is a terminus, so when you stand on the concourse on level 2 you'll see the platforms lined up in front of you, numbered 1 to 24 from left to right. Platforms 1-9 are used by TGVs, platforms 10-17 by suburban & local trains, and platforms 18-24 by more TGVs. Platforms 25-28 are in a separate extension a few minutes walk from the main concourse, but these are only used by local trains.
Level 3 = taxi rank, Salon Grand Voyageur. Level 3 is directly above the platforms, here you'll find Hall 2. There are escalators from the main concourse up to level 3 at the platform 1 end of the concourse and at the platform 24 end. Here you'll find the taxi rank and the SNCF Salon Grand Voyageur (first class lounge) which you can use if you happen to have a 1st class full-price Pro ticket (but not just any 1st class ticket) or an SNCF (or Railteam) loyalty card.
See a plan of the station here, see more about the station and its facilities at www.garesetconnexions.sncf.
Facade & main entrance at street level (Level 0) with the ugly 1969 office block sitting on top.
The different levels
Level -1, for the metro. This is what you see when you arrive at the Gare Montparnasse and walk out of the metro.
Level 0, ground level entrance. This is what you see when you walk in through the main entrance from outside. This level is largely just retail units, so head upstairs for the concourse, platforms & trains...
Level 1 & 2: Taken from level 2 with level 1 below. In the background, escalators down to level 0 (ground level) and the station exit. The glass station facade is just visible on the right. This area is retail. Concourse, platforms & station facilities are on level 2, behind the camera. There is also a level 3, on the roof, for taxis.
Concourse & platforms
Main concourse (Hall 1) on level 2. The concourse runs the full width of the station along platforms 1-24. The photo above looks southeast along the concourse with the platforms & trains on the right, retail & food outlets on the left, ticket office at the far end.
Platforms 1-24 open off the main concourse, numbered left to right. 1-9 & 18-24 for TGVs. 10-17 for local trains.
Ticket gates: TGV platforms now have ticket gates, scan your ticket barcode to access the platform. The gates are shut 2 minutes before departure so don't be late! In most cases the row of ticket gates isn't right at the entrance to the platform, but a car length or so further onto the platform.
Tickets & reservations
The ticket office is at the southeastern end of the main concourse near platform 1. Don't be surprised if there's a queue to go in!
Left luggage lockers
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There are luggage lockers if you want to leave your bags for a few hours or a day, see the luggage lockers page for prices & opening hours.
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Go to the end of the main concourse nearest platform 24. Then head into the passageway under the big sign Consignes & Objet trouvés (pictured below left) and follow the passage. The left luggage lockers are just around the corner on the right hand side. Bags must be X-rayed before you can access the locker area.
Somewhere to eat or drink before your train
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There are plenty of kiosks around the station selling drinks, snacks, baguettes.
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Paname is a busy craft beer cafe on the main concourse opposite the platforms, level 2. I've had no feedback yet, but it looks worth a try...
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Le Petit Sommelier is a brasserie-restaurant just across the road from the station which gets good reviews, though I have yet to eat there myself. Walk out of the main station entrance on level 0, turn right, walk to the road and cross it. Turn right along the road (so walking along back the side of the station but on the far side of the road) and you'll see Le Petit Sommelier. From the main concourse on level 2, descend the steps directly down to street level at the platform 1 end of the concourse, at the bottom of the steps cross the road and turn left. I have marked it on the station map above. Feedback would be appreciated if you eat there or if you find anywhere else that you'd recommend to other travellers.
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Le Plomb du Cantal Jolivet is another local restaurant that's also been recommended, 2 minutes walk away, see walking map, www.leplombducantal.fr.
Paname Tap House, selling craft beer, on the main level 2 concourse opposite the platforms.
Le Petit Sommelier, across the road from the Gare Montparnasse, for a drink or meal before your train.
Taxis & metro
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Taxis: The taxi rank is above the platforms on level 3. Even if the queue looks long, it moves fast and it won't take much more than 10 minutes to get into a taxi.
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Metro: See the Crossing Paris by metro page for metro advice. The entrance to the metro is on level -1, one floor below ground level, 3 levels below the level of the platforms & concourse
Metro line M4 links the Gare du Nord & Gare de l'Est directly with Gare Montparnasse - the metro station on line M4 at Gare Montparnasse is called Montparnasse Bienvenue. Be aware that it's a 5 minute walk through pedestrian tunnels including a long travelator between the Montparnasse Bienvenue M4 metro platforms and the mainline Gare Montparnasse.
Entrance to the metro & metro ticket hall, Gare Montparnasse level -1.
Tips for using the Gare Montparnasse
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Supermarket
There's a Monop supermarket just across the road from the station - leave through the main entrance on level 0 and walk forward and to the right. It's useful for buying provisions for your journey at regular high street (rather than station) prices - I have marked it on the station plan above with a red trolley symbol.
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First class lounges: There's an SNCF Grand Voyageur first class lounge on level 3 above the platforms, accessed up a stairway near platform 1. However, the lounge is only accessible to holders of SNCF's (or other Railteam members) frequent traveller loyalty card which you probably don't have, or a full-price 1st class Pro fare so is useless for most visitors even if you have a (non-Pro) 1st class ticket.
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Hotels: Hotels near the Gare Montparnasse with good reviews include the Mercure Paris Gare Montparnasse (150m from the Gare Montparnasse, 4-star); Best Western Sevres Montparnasse (15 minute walk to Gare Montparnasse, 3-star); La Maison Montparnasse (10 min walk from station, 2-star); Hotel du Maine (5 min walk from station, 2-star).
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Observation deck on the Tour Montparnasse: Right in front of the Gare Montparnasse is the Tour Montparnasse, a 210m high skyscraper that was the tallest building in France until 2011, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_Montparnasse. If you have time to kill between trains you can ascend to the observation deck on the 56th floor, for information see www.tourmontparnasse56.com.
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For more information on the station & its facilities see the official SNCF site www.garesetconnexions.sncf.
The famous 1895 accident
You've probably seen the famous photo below many times, without even knowing where it was taken. It shows an express train from Granville to Paris with failed Westinghouse brakes, which in October 1895 crashed through the buffer stops of the old Gare Montparnasse, ran across the concourse and smashed through the old station facade onto the street below. Fortunately there was only one fatality, a woman selling newspapers in the street. The historic 1840 station was located just to the northeast of today's Gare Montparnasse on the site now occupied by the Tour Montparnasse & shopping centre in front of it, see map showing the location of the old station & 1895 accident. The yellow square in the photo shows what that spot looks like now. For more detail about the accident see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montparnasse_derailment.
