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Italy here we come! The afternoon TGV from Paris to Turin & Milan waits to leave the Gare de Lyon...
Italy the civilised way... A face-to-face table for two in 1st class on the TGV to Milan...
Italy the scenic way: A 186 mph dash on the high-speed line, then a slow meander through the French Alps into Italy. See the photos. Watch the video! |
Paris to Turin & Milan from €29...
Every day, three TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) high-speed trains link Paris with Turin and Milan, a leisurely journey from city centre to city centre through the scenic French Alps. They are now run entirely by French railways (SNCF) in competition with Trenitalia who runs the Thello overnight sleeper trains. With fares from just €29 one-way, these TGVs are an excellent, civilised, relaxing and scenic way to reach Italy without the pain of the plane... Watch the video!
COVID-19 update: Paris-Milan TGVs are running normally, but always check online. More COVID-19 travel info.
Timetable southbound
Timetable northbound
Always check trains for your date at Raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com. For example, the 10:43 from Paris leaves at 10:39 on certain dates, and there are a few dates when only 2 trains run.
TGV = Train à Grande Vitesse, French Railways 186mph high-speed train, see below.
Paris to Turin is 734 km (456 miles). Paris to Milan is 877 km (545 miles).
For connections to or from London, see the London to Italy page.
Onward connections to Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples: It's easiest to change in Turin. Book an onward train from Turin Porta Susa to Verona Porta Nuova, Venice Santa Lucia, Florence SMN, Rome Termini or Naples Centrale at either www.italiarail.com or www.trenitalia.com from just €19.90 or €29.90. If you choose to change in Milan, you'll find some onward trains from Milan Porta Garibaldi, others from Milan Centrale - the transfer between Porta Garibaldi & Centrale is a 10-min €6 taxi ride or 25 minute walk. Also try private operator www.italotreno.it who operate high-speed Italo trains from Turin & Milan Centrale to Bologna, Florence SMN, Rome Termini & Naples Centrale.
How much does it cost?
Return fares are twice the one-way fare.
Cheap fares = Prems or Leisure fares = Book in advance, price varies like air fares, limited or no refunds or changes.
Full-price = Refundable and flexible. There are no senior or youth reductions.
Child fare = Child 4-11 years (use an adult special fare if cheaper). Children under 4 free.
Railpass holder fare: What you pay with a railpass (Eurail, Interrail, etc). Normal tickets are often cheaper!!
Fares may vary: On certain dates, 10-20% higher fares are charged.
* See passholder reservation fees & how to make passholder reservations here.
How to buy tickets...
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Which website should you use to buy tickets?
You can buy Paris-Milan TGV tickets online at the following websites, but choose carefully as some sites charge booking fees, some don't and some sites offer seating options, some allocate your seat with no choice. Here's a quick run-down. They all issue print-at-home e-tickets or in some cases collect-at-station tickets.
(1) Raileurope.com. You can use it wherever you live, they now charge a small booking fee, you get a choice of seating including table for two in 1st class and a forward-facing seat option. Prices in €, £ or $, you print your own ticket. Raileurope.com also connects to Trenitalia's & Italo's ticketing systems so you can book from Paris to Venice, Florence or Rome (or vice versa) as one booking. Who are Raileurope.com?
(2) www.thetrainline.com. You can use it wherever you live, small booking fee, prices in € with a choice of seating options including forward-facing seats. You print your own ticket. It connects to both the French SNCF system to book the TGV and the Trenitalia system to book onward trains within Italy. Who are Thetrainline.com?
(3) en.oui.sncf. SNCF's own site, in €, a little more fiddly, but no booking fee. It only connects to SNCF, so can't book onward Italian trains.
Tip: In 1st class if there's two of you, select a table for two (dual face-to-face). Then you both get a seat that's both window & aisle. See Paris-Milan TGV seat numbering plan here.
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When do bookings open?
Bookings for this route usually open 120 days before departure (extended from 92 days in December 2014), although bookings for dates immediately after the timetable changes in mid-June & mid-December may open later than normal, perhaps as little as 60 days ahead.
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Onward trains within Italy need to be booked at a website with a connection to Trenitalia. Raileurope.com & www.thetrainline.com connect to both the French (SNCF) and Italian (Trenitalia & Italo) ticketing systems, so you can buy tickets for the Paris-Turin-Milan TGV and for onward Italian trains all in one place as one transaction, at the operator's own cheap prices, with the operator's own print-at-home tickets - and you can pay in €, £ or $.
If you want to buy Italian train tickets separately in euros, then for Trenitalia trains including Milan Centrale to Florence, Rome, Naples, Verona & Venice, use either www.italiarail.com (easy to use, recognises English place names and they will refund the small fee if you email them at seat61@italiarail.com) or www.trenitalia.com (you'll need to use Italian-language place names, see advice on using it here). To book the competing Italo trains from Milan Centrale to Florence, Rome & Naples, use www.italotreno.it.
Route map...
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Red = high-speed lines. Green = scenic routes. Black = conventional lines. Highlighted = Paris-Milan TGV route. Reproduced from the European Rail Map with kind permission of the European Rail Timetable people. I recommend buying the European Rail Map and a copy of the European Rail Timetable, they ship worldwide, www.europeanrailtimetable.eu.
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What's the train like? See the video
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SNCF has a fleet of 6 TGVs equipped with the necessary SCMT signalling system to enter Italy. They're air-conditioned and carpeted with comfortable 1st & 2nd class seating. 2nd class offers tables for 4 and 2-abreast unidirectional seating. 1st class offers wider seats with more leg-room, and some tables for two as well as tables for 4 and unidirectional seating with 2-abreast and 1-abreast 'solo' seats. 1st class TGV passengers can use the Grand Voyageurs 1st class lounge at Paris Gare de Lyon. Seat numbering plan for the Paris-Milan TGVs here.
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There's a cafe-bar serving drinks, snacks & light meals, or feel free to bring your own food & wine along for the journey. In first class you can order a basic 3-course meal with wine, served at your seat. If catching the afternoon TGV from Paris, how about lunch first at the remarkable Train Bleu Restaurant at the Gare de Lyon?
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There are power sockets for laptops and mobiles at every seat and there are baby-changing facilities and designated spaces for passengers in wheelchairs. You can now buy Paris metro tickets from the bar car, too.
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There's no WiFi on these TGVs yet, although SNCF plan to equip all TGV routes with free WiFi by 2019. If you have a 3G or 4G mobile data package, that will work fine along most of the route.
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The TGV's interior is styled by designer Christian Lacroix - SNCF's experienced in-house designer still hasn't forgiven Christian Lacroix for breaking the unwritten rule and using warm colours in 2nd class, cooler colours in 1st class!
What's the journey like? See the video
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1. Paris Gare de Lyon. The trains to Italy leave from the magnificent Gare de Lyon in central Paris, a landmark in its own right. See Gare de Lyon information page. |
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The TGV accelerates through the Paris suburbs then speeds across rural France at up to 186 mph, past fields, woods and pretty villages... |
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...after calling at Lyon St Exupéry it slows right down and snakes through the Alpine foothills. |
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Dinner is served... In first class, a steward takes your order for dinner around 7pm and it's served at your seat an hour or so later. This is the cold cheese plate (left) and a lasagne (right), the set menus costing €16 to €19 including main dish, yoghurt, roll and half bottle of wine or soft drink. In 2nd class, you can go to the cafe-bar to order your food. |
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The train calls at Turin Porta Susa. Photos courtesy of Discoverbyrail.com |
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Video guide: Paris to Milan by TGV
The video shows both the train & the scenery on a journey from Paris to Turin & Milan...
Travel tips...
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Should you go 1st or 2nd class? 2nd class is perfectly comfortable so there's no need to pay for 1st class unless you really want to and can afford it. There is no food or drink included in the 1st class fare, so it's just the extra space, elbow-room and legroom that you're paying for. On the other hand, first class seats are arranged 2+1 across the car width, so there are 'solo' seats and tables-for-two in 1st class as well as the dual-side-by-side and tables-for-four which you'll also find in 2nd class where seats are arranged 2+2 across the car width. Prices vary in both classes, so sometimes 1st class is little more (and can even cost the same or less) than 2nd class, so see what prices you get for each class before you decide.
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Forward-facing seats? On this particular route the TGVs have a special dual seat numbering system where the right numbers on the seat back illuminate whichever way round the TGV enters service. That means the reservation system 'knows' which seats face forwards and if you buy tickets at www.thetrainline.com you can select 'forward facing seat' - unfortunately the other sites mentioned above won't offer this option. However, for 3 or 4 people I'd recommend 4 seats around a table (4-seater or family or carré) as far more convivial. In first class for two people I suggest a table for two (face-to-face or club duo) as by far the nicest seating option, as you each get a seat which is both aisle and window and one of the two seats will always be facing forwards.
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The best place to wait for the train in Paris: I highly recommend using the bar or having a meal at the celebrated Train Bleu restaurant inside the Gare de Lyon on the main concourse (Hall 1). Opened in 1901, it's a listed national monument and an experience in itself. You can reserve a table for lunch or dinner online at www.le-train-bleu.com. If you don't want a meal, use the Big Ben bar as your first class lounge.
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Boarding the train: There is easy level access from street to concourse to platform at Paris Gare de Lyon. There is no check-in, you can wander off the street, onto the station concourse, see which platform your train will go from on the various departure screens, then go to that platform. At Paris Gare de Lyon you'll now find automatic ticket gates at the entrance to each platform, simply place the barcode on your ticket or smartphone in front of the ticket gate barcode scanner any time up to 2 minutes before the train goes and the gate will open. In Paris, the actual platform number may not be posted until 20 minutes before departure, but the departure boards at the Gare de Lyon will tell you whether it will leave from Hall 1 (blue, platforms A to N, main concourse) or Hall 2 (yellow, platforms 5-23) so you can wait on the right concourse close to where the train will leave. The more historic concourse with platforms A to N and the famous Train Bleu Restaurant is Hall 1, the newer concourse accessed along platform A or through the ticket hall is Hall 2. See a short illustrated guide to Paris Gare de Lyon.
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Luggage: Luggage works on these Paris-Milan trains exactly as it does on other European trains. To us Europeans, it's obvious, but overseas visitors worry obsessively about luggage so I'll spell it out. For all practical purposes you can take what you want onto the train, nobody will weigh it or measure it unless it's truly unreasonable, your bags aren't checked in or anything, you simply take your bags on board the train with you and stick them on the racks above your seat, or between the seats, or at the car ends. It's as simple as that... No luggage worries!
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Taking bikes: Bikes are carried on these TGVs free of charge as ordinary luggage if they are semi-dismantled and placed in a zip-up bike bag not exceeding 120cm x 90cm. See the Taking bikes on trains page.
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Taking dogs & pets: See the Taking dogs on trains page.
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Hotels in Milan: If you are stopping overnight in Milan, the AC Milan Hotel (a Marriott Lifestyle Hotel) is 350 yards from Milan Porta Garibaldi with good reviews. In Turin I suggest the Turin Palace Hotel in the centre next to Porta Nuova station. In Paris, see hotels near the Gare de Lyon in Paris.
