long-distance trains

When the train station sign says „Gare de Lyon“, you’re not in Lyon. If you were, you’d read either Lyon Perrache or Lyon Part-Dieu. But Gare de Lyon means you’re in Paris.

So, welcome to the second-biggest Paris train station after Gare du Nord. Gare de Lyon has two main halls, Hall 1 and Hall 2, with platforms named A, (no B), C, D… in Hall 1 and numbered starting with 13 in Hall 2.

The Gare de Lyon is, like all other train stations in Paris, a terminus. Its high-speed trains (TGV) serve the southeast of France, the Mediterranean coast, and the neighboring countries: Spain, Switzerland, and Italy. Regional trains (Transilien) serve the southeast of the greater Paris area, and two RER lines run below the station, RER A and RER D, as well as the metro lines 1 and 14.

Located on the upper floor, the legendary Second Empire-style restaurant Le Train Bleu is a listed historical monument.

Gare de Lyon serves Switzerland with the *TGV Lyria* trains

The Gare de Lyon is located in the 12^th arrondissement, and you can reach its nearest neighbor, the Gare d’Austerlitz (change here for trains to Orléans, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Nantes), on foot by crossing the Seine on the Charles de Gaulle bridge (approximately 10 minutes’ walk).

*Gare de Lyon* train station in the 12th *arrondissement*

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Gare du Nord is both the busiest and the most international of the six Paris train stations.

It was opened in 1846. Today, according to SNCF estimations, nearly 300 million travelers pass Gare du Nord every day, on SNCF trains, Eurostar train, and RER trains, not counting the three metro lines stopping at Gare du Nord (lines 4 and 5) and nearby La Chapelle (line 2, linked via a pedestrian tunnel).

The Gare du Nord building is on the list of historic monuments. When it was enlarged in the early 1860s (and the façade was moved to Lille), most of the columns were made in Glasgow (Scotland) whose foundry plant was the only one capable of creating pieces that size.

The long distance trains connect Paris to northern France, notably Lille. The train station Lille Flandres inherited part of the old Gare du Nord building when the latter was enlarged. However, the Eurostar train linking Paris to London via Lille, stops at the newer Lille Europe station.

Since the United Kingdom is not part of the Schengen area, passengers taking the Eurostar to London have to go through customs and passport checks in a separate area on the +1 level in the main hall.

Stairs and escalators leading up to the UK Hall

The UK Eurostar area is not accessible on ground level

The continental Eurostar, formerly known as Thalys, connects Paris to Brussels (Belgium) and from there, Amsterdam (Netherlands), or Cologne and Dortmund (Germany). Since all these countries are part of the Schengen area, no passport checks are required and the passengers can access the platforms and trains without any barriers on ground level.

The continental Eurostar (ex-Thalys) can be accessed directly from ground level

The main hall seen from the track side with Thalys trains in 2023

Suburb trains can be found in the newer glass-roofed hall on the eastern side of the historic building. This is also where numerous escalators lead to the lower levels and the RER and metro trains serving Gare du Nord.

Mayken Brünings

Writing Middle Grade fiction in Paris

Tag Archives: long-distance trains

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