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Forget the stress of flying. Chill out by train & see scenery like this between Paris and Nice. What's the train like? What's the journey like? |
Paris to Nice in 5h40 from €19...
TGV Duplex high-speed trains link Paris with Nice in as little as 5h40, centre to centre from as little as €19. With flying taking 4 stressful & disjointed hours of grotty RER train to the airport, check-in, boarding, flight, airport, luggage reclaim and cramped bus, the clever money chills out on the direct train with a glass of wine and a good book, enjoying the wonderful views down the scenic Rhône Valley, past Avignon & Marseille and alongside the blue waters of the Mediterranean on the beautiful Cote d'Azur. And a time-saving overnight train with couchettes was reintroduced from April 2021, too.
Ouigo lo-cost Paris-Nice
trains
What is the Paris-Nice sleeper
train like?
Paris Gare de Lyon
station guide
Train travel in France, a beginner's guide
European train travel general information
Timetable southbound 2023
Timetable northbound 2023
Read downwards, each column is a train you can take. You may find extra trains at peak periods, for example July & August.
This is the typical timetable for Paris-Nice trains, but times vary from day to day & season to season so check times for your specific date online.
TGV = 300km/h double-deck TGV Duplex run by SNCF French Railways, branded TGV InOui. 1st & 2nd class, cafe-bar. No luggage restrictions, no check-in.
Sleeper = Intercité de Nuit with 1st class 4-berth couchettes, 2nd class 6-berth couchettes & reclining seats, see more information about Intercités de Nuit.
Ouigo = lo-cost service run by Ouigo, a subsidiary of SNCF, set up as a budget airline on rails. Separate pricing from normal trains, no first class, no catering, 30-minute check-in, luggage limits/fees, Interrail & Eurail passes not valid. Ouigo trains don't show up on all booking sites, see the Ouigo page for more information.
Most Paris-Nice TGV trains also call at St Raphael (for the bus to St Tropez) & all trains call at Antibes. Change in Nice for Monaco-Monte Carlo (one TGV a day usually runs from Paris to Monte Carlo direct). Local TER trains link St Raphael, Antibes, Juan les Pins, Nice, Monaco-Monte Carlo & Menton every 30 minutes or so all day, you can check train times using www.bahn.de/en and buy tickets for these at the station.
Paris to Nice is 975 km or 605 miles. These TGVs average over 105mph including stops.
How much does it cost?
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If you book in advance, Paris to Nice by TGV starts at €25 in 2nd class or around €45 in 1st class.
These are Prems advance-purchase fares, no refunds, no changes to travel plans with the cheapest fares. Prices rise as the cheaper tickets sell out and departure date approaches, so book early for the cheapest prices. €55-€79 is a typical price.
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If you buy on the day, Paris to Nice costs around €130 in 2nd class or €195 in 1st class with a flexible fare.
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Children under 4 go free but without their own seat. No ticket needed, just bring them along. You can give them their own reserved seat for €9 with a forfait bambin if you book at www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com & add them as a passenger with the correct age. This is well worth it!
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Children 4-11 years qualify for a child fare, which may be 50% of an expensive adult flexible fare or the same as a cheap adult prems fare.
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There is no discount for seniors, unless you buy an SNCF Carte Senior for around €50 per year. But you'd only bother buying one if you were going to make multiple trips.
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Ouigo has its own completely different cheap prices from €19, see the Ouigo page.
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The sleeper train starts at €19 in a seat, €29 with a couchette in 6-berth and €69 with a 1st class couchette in 4-berth.
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Eurail & Interrail passholders must pay a fee, for reservation fees & how to make passholder reservations, see here.
How to buy tickets
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When does booking open?
Booking for TGV & Intercités de Nuit opens up to 4 months ahead, although dates immediately after the timetable change in mid-December always open late, usually in mid-October. All TGV tickets automatically come with a reserved seat.
Ouigo bookings open up to 6 months or more ahead.
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Which website should you use to buy tickets?
You can buy Paris-Nice train tickets online at various websites, but choose carefully as some sites charge booking fees, some don't, some sites offer seating options, some allocate your seat with no choice. Here's a quick run-down. They all offer print-at-home tickets.
www.raileurope.com - you can use it wherever you live, you
can pay in €, £ or $, overseas credit cards welcomed, it gives you a
print-at-home or show-on-phone ticket and offers a choice of seating
options including upper or lower deck. a small booking fee is now charged.
Who are
Raileurope?Raileurope can sell forfait bambin if you have € selected, this is a flat fee which gives an infant a reserved seat instead of having to sit on your lap. Does not sell tickets for Ouigo trains.
www.thetrainline.com - overseas cards accepted, small
booking fee, prices in €, £ or $, overseas cards welcomed, gives you a
print-at-home or show-on-phone ticket and offers a choice of seating
options including upper or lower deck on a TGV Duplex.
Who are
Thetrainline?Trainline can also sell forfait bambin, a flat fee which gives an infant a reserved seat instead of having to sit on your lap. Also sells lo-cost Ouigo tickets, but only European & U.S. payment cards are accepted for Ouigo tickets, see explanation here.
Omio.com
overseas cards welcomed, prices in €, £ or $, small booking fee, gives you a
print-at-home or show-on-phone ticket.
www.sncf-connect.com: This is SNCF's own website,
a little more fiddly than some of
the others, but with no booking fee, a full range of seat options, selling
regular TGVs & Ouigo and forfait bambin (but
for Ouigo tickets, only payment cards from certain countries are accepted, see explanation here).
www.ouigo.com,
only for lo-cost Ouigo tickets,
but read the Ouigo page
before deciding to travel with Ouigo. Only European & U.S. payment
cards accepted.
Route map
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Highlighted = Paris-Nice TGV route. Red = high-speed lines. Black = conventional lines. Green = scenic sections of line. Extract from the European Rail Map with kind permission of the European Rail Timetable people. I recommend buying the European Rail Map and European Rail Timetable at www.europeanrailtimetable.eu, they ship worldwide.
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What are the TGV trains like?
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For Ouigo trains, see the Ouigo page. For the overnight sleeper train, see the Intercités de Nuit page.
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TGV InOui... The regular Paris to Nice daytime trains are branded TGV InOui, where TGV stands for Train à Grande Vitesse (high-speed train) and InOui means unheard of in the sense of exceptional. InOui is SNCF's latest brand for its front-rank TGV trains.
The TGVs used on the Paris-Nice route are impressive TGV Duplex double-deck high-speed trains, see the video guide here. They operate at up to 300 km/h (186 mph) on the high-speed line between Paris & Marseille and at much lower speeds over the classic (and very scenic) line along the coast from Marseille to Nice.
You board the train at the lower level through a wide sliding external door into a small entrance area at one end of the lower deck. Here, there's a toilet and the door into the lower deck seating area. A wide, short & easy flight of stairs leads from the entrance area to a landing at one end of the upper deck, with an upstairs toilet and a door to the upstairs seating area. You walk along the train from car to car at the upper level. There are luggage racks both upstairs and downstairs, at the coach ends and between the seats.
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Power sockets: There are power sockets for laptops and mobiles at every first class seat and (depending which generation of TGV Duplex you get) there may also be sockets at 2nd class seats. There are baby-changing facilities and designated spaces for passengers in wheelchairs.
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WiFi: These trains now have free WiFi in both classes. If you have a 3G or 4G mobile data package, that works fine along most of the route.
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Cafe-bar... There's a cafe-bar serving drinks, snacks & hot dishes similar to this sample TGV bar menu, or you're free to bring your own food & wine along for the journey. See the travel tips below for how to order food & drink on the train's intranet and collect it from the cafe-bar.
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Upper or lower deck? When booking, you can choose a seat on either upper or lower decks if you use either www.thetrainline.com, www.raileurope.com or www.sncf-connect.com but not when using some other sites. If you have problems with stairs or very heavy luggage, the lower deck might be best. But for the best views (over the top of the occasional sound barrier along the high speed lines!), definitely choose an upper deck seat. For couples in first class, an upper deck club duo face-to-face table-for-two is easily the best option.
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Seat numbering... Click here for TGV Duplex seat numbering plans. Seat numbers 11-58 = lower deck, seats 61-128 = upper deck. Car 1 (= car 11 in the second TGV unit when one is coupled up) is usually at the Paris end of the train, car 8 or 18 at the Nice end, although this can't be 100% guaranteed as the unit could enter service either way round. For that reason, it's not possible to specify a forward facing seat. In any case, those trains which call at Marseille St Charles change direction there.
Video guide to TGV Duplex
What's the TGV journey like?
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 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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Upper deck seats recommended! Whichever class you choose, I recommend an upper deck seat on the TGV Duplex for the best views of the scenery. You are given the choice if you book at www.raileurope.com, www.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com, but not at most other sites.
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Forward-facing seats? You can't select forward-facing seats, but car 1 (or in a second TGV unit, car 11) is usually at the Paris end of the train and you can work out which way seats face from the seat numbering plan. 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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Give your infant or baby their own reserved seat... Infants under 4 go free on French trains, they don't need a ticket you just bring them along. However, they won't get their own seat so will have to sit on your lap. But you can give them their own seat on TGVs and other French domestic trains with a flat-fare €9 Forfait Bambin ticket added to your booking. Well worth it! Unfortunately, Rail Europe can't sell Forfait Bambin, but you'll get a Forfait Bambin ticket automatically included if you book at either www.raileurope.com, www.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com and add your infant as a passenger with their correct date of birth entered (Obviously, don't add them as a passenger if you're happy taking them for free on your lap).
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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 (Hall 1). Opened in 1903, 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, simply use the Big Ben bar as your VIP first class lounge!
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Boarding the train in Paris: There is easy level access from street to concourse to platform in Paris. 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 phone in front of the ticket gate barcode scanner any time up to 2 minutes before the train goes and the gate will open. 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) 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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Compostez! Remember to validate French train tickets by putting them into the slot on the orange 'Compostez' machines at the entrance to each platform. You don't need to validate print-at-home tickets!
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Luggage: Luggage works on these Paris-Nice TGV trains just as it does on other European trains. For all practical purposes you can take what you want, nobody weighs it or measures it. 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. There are racks both upstairs & downstairs, and the stairs to the upper deck are shallow and wide enough to make taking bags upper deck pretty easy. It's as simple as that... No luggage worries! Luggage storage at Paris & Nice stations.
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Order food & drink online, then collect it from the cafe-bar... You can log onto the train's WiFi, then order items from the cafe-bar on your laptop or phone on the train's intranet. They'll give you a 15-minute time slot for picking it up from the cafe-bar counter, but you'll skip right to the front of the queue to pick up your food & drink, potentially saving a lot of time waiting in line to be served!
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Taking bikes: Bikes are carried on Paris-Nice trains free of charge as ordinary luggage if they are semi-dismantled and placed in a zip-up bike bag not exceeding 120cm x 90cm. Bikes are carried un-dismantled on the overnight train in a bike area. See the Taking bikes on trains page.
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Recommended hotels in Nice. The Hotel Negresco is Nice's most famous & historic hotel, on the Promenade des Anglais itself facing the Med. Named after its founder, Henri Negresco, it has been an institution in Nice since 1912. More about the hotel at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Negresco.
The Hotel La Villa Nice Promenade is in a similar location, one road back from the seafront's Promenade des Anglais, but much cheaper! Consider staying between the Promenade des Anglais and Nice's pleasant old town, such as at the Hotel de la Mer. More hotels in Nice.
Ouigo - the budget airline on rails, Paris-Nice from €19
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In 2013, SNCF created a subsidiary company called Ouigo to operate as a budget airline on rails using specially refitted TGV Duplex trains. For more information, tickets, tips & photos, see the Ouigo page.
What is the Paris to Nice sleeper train like?
The Paris-Nice overnight sleeper train was discontinued in December 2017, but restored from 19 April 2021. It's once more a convenient, time-effective way to travel between Paris and Nice, with great views along the coast in morning southbound, or, in summer, in the evening northbound.
The train has 1st class 4-berth couchettes, 2nd class 6-berth couchettes, and ordinary seats. Couchettes are simple flat padded bunks each provided with a fresh clean pillow, individual reading light and a lightweight sleeping-bag. Each passenger gets a bottle of mineral water, earplugs (if you really need them), tissues & (in first class) sleep socks. French couchette cars have been modernised with quiet carpeted interiors & soft fabric bunks. Only bona fide passengers with tickets & reservations are allowed onto the platform, and there are minimal stops between 00:00 & 06:00 for a smooth, safe & secure journey through the night.
See the Intercité de Nuit page for more information about these French night trains, including how to book sole occupancy of a couchette compartment.
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An intercité de nuit sleeper train boarding at Paris Gare d'Austerlitz. Photo courtesy of Philip Dyer-Perry. |
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1st class 4-berth couchettes, as recently refurbished. Courtesy of @Bristol_Phil. Photo in 2nd class courtesy Dan Chester. |
2nd class 6-berth couchettes |
Couchette car corridor. Courtesy Dan Chester. |
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Upper berths, 2nd class, showing compartment lighting & temperature controls. You can see the normal lock & security deadlock on the door. Courtesy of Dan Chester. |
Each couchette comes with a pillow, lightweight sleeping bag, bottled water, amenity kit with ear plugs & eye mask, reading light & power outlet. |
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The Paris to Nice Intercité de Nuit running along the Côte d'Azur in the morning sun. Photo courtesy of Noam auf Gleis 13. |
Hotels in Paris
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Hotels near the Gare de Lyon with good reviews: Hotel Terminus Lyon (right in front of the station, 3-star, doubles €139); Mercure Paris Gare de Lyon (on the station itself, 4-star, doubles €120); Novotel Paris Gare de Lyon (opposite the station, 4-star, doubles €139); Mistral Hotel (800m from Gare de Lyon, 1-star, doubles €68); Hotel 26 Faubourg (5 min walk from Gare de Lyon, 2-star, doubles €86);
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For something special... There's the famous & flashy Paris Ritz in the Place Vendôme of course (over €900 a night) or the similarly-priced Le Meurice, but if you want a really special hotel for a luxury break or romantic weekend and can afford to splurge around €290 a night, I'd recommend the small, sumptuous and intimate L'Hotel. It's on the bohemian left bank, walking distance from the Seine, the Ile de la Cité & Notre Dame. Oscar Wilde spent the last days of his life here in room 16, and the hotel has been used by many famous people from Sinatra to Mick Jagger. Rooms are on the cosy side, but they are beautifully decorated and have character that other hotels lack.
Hotels in Nice...
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For something special, arguably Nice's most famous hotel is the 5-star Hotel Negresco, right on the Promenade des Anglais.
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For something cheaper, also right on the Promenade des Anglais and not far from the old town, try the Mercure Nice Promenade des Anglais.
