Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Lausanne, Switzerland.
It is possible to travel by train from London to Lausanne in about 8.5 hours if you take the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord then change to Paris Gare de Lyon and catch the train to Lausanne.
Lausanne is the fourth largest city in Switzerland, famous for its location on Lake Geneva and for being the home of the International Olympic Committee's headquarters.
Train routes from London connecting with TGV Lyria rail services in Switzerland:
Flight-free travel from London to Lausanne:
Journey Time: about 8.5 hours
Sample timetable: Depart London 7.12am, arrive Lausanne 3.40pm
Changes: 1
Transfer: Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon
Frequency of Departures: 5/day
Carbon emissions: 4.51kg (flight would be 117.81kg)*
Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available.
How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation
If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries.
What's the journey like?
You have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer - you have about an hour and a quarter to get the connection). See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris. At Gare de Lyon, you board a Lyria high speed train to Lausanne station.
Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris
If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations:
Miss your connection in Paris?
Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed Lyria train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow).
For more overland routes to Switzerland, see our Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner
On arrival at Lausanne station
There are lots of hotels near to to Lausanne train station, see below:
Hotels near Lausanne station
Gute Reise!
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