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How to travel by train from London to Lyon, France
Travel from London by train to Lyon in less than 5 hours by taking the Eurostar from St Pancras to Paris where you change stations Gare de Lyon to catch the train south to Lyon.
Lyon is one of France’s under-sung glories. Dramatically built around two rivers, it has a wonderful natural setting and is a dynamic, innovative city. As well as lots of excellent restaurants there is a wide range of cultural attractions, from absorbing museums to an impressive opera house and ballet venue.
Flight-free travel from London to Lyon:
Journey Time: from 4 hours 41 minutes
Sample timetable: Depart London St Pancras on Eurostar at 11.04am, change stations in Paris, arrive Lyon 5.00pm
Changes: 1
Transfer: Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon
Frequency of Departures: 14/day
Carbon emissions: 18.51kg (flight would be 243.9kg)*
Car hire at Lyon Station: Yes
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.
On Board Eurostar
For ticket types (Standard, Plus and Premier) and information on what it's like on board, see our Guide to Eurostar
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 TGV high speed train to 'Lyon Part-Dieu' station.
Miss your connection?
Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager.
Stopover 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 conveniently near the two railway stations (ie the station you arrive at on the Eurostar in Paris – Gare du Nord, and the station that you depart from Paris – Gare de Lyon).
Hotels close to Gare du Nord 🚉
Grand Hotel de Paris and Hôtel Kabanel are just a few minutes walk from Gare du Nord (and Gare de L'Est so also great if you're heading out east). Rooms from about €100 per night. For more hotels near the station, see Hotels near Gare du Nord
Hotels close to Gare de Lyon 🚉
citizenM Paris Gare de Lyon is one of 5 citizenM hotels in Paris that aim to provide 'affordable luxury' in central city locations. Billed as 'hybrid hotels', they're as much about places to work as they are to sleep, with the idea that you can meet local people in a smart, cozy environment. For more hotels near the station, see Hotels near Gare de Lyon
Green Traveller's Top Pick 💚
Mob Hotel is a particularly environmentally friendly and socially conscious hotel that's in the heart of St Ouen, just a few miles north of Gare du Nord and close to the Garibaldi metro station (line 13). The hotel is all about being socially engaged within its neighbourhood (the artistic creations of local craftspeople are everywhere), but it also has strong eco credentials, such as water jugs rather than plastic bottles, refillable toiletries and organic cosmetics in the rooms. The restaurant is fully organic with a seasonal menu that draws on produce from farming cooperatives or direct from local producers (they also make their own honey and beer).
Eco-certified hotels in Paris ✔️
If you're looking for other green hotels in the French Capital, then these have all been certified by an accredited ecolabel: Hotel Gavarnie (near the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides Museum) | Hotel Le Pavillion (a former convent in the Saint-Dominique area) | Amélie Hotel (2-star) | Hôtel Malar (10 minutes from the Champs Elysees) | Hôtel Du Printemps, about a mile from Gare de Lyon.
On arrival at Lyon Part Dieu station
Bienvenue à Lyon! Most international and mainline trains arrive at Lyon Part-Dieu, which is in a modern office district to the east of the city centre: it is a transport hub with trams, buses, and a station on line B of the metro. Some mainline intercity trains also arrive at Lyon Perrache, on the southern edge of the city centre, served by trams, buses, and line A of the metro – it is also within walking distance of much of the centre, including the principal Place Bellecour square. There are plenty of hotels close to the station, see below:
Hotels near Lyon Railway Station (Part Dieu) We recommend hotel this reservation service for checking availability and booking a stopover hotel because you can read hundreds of reviews from people who have recently stayed in these hotels, slept in the rooms and eaten in the nearby restaurants. We've tried it out ourselves and found it makes choosing and booking a stopover hotel a doddle. We hope you do too.
More about Lyon
The old town and central shopping district (Presqu'île) are relatively compact and walkable, however Lyon is quite a large city and you are likely to need to make use of its comprehensive transport network at some point. Operated by TCL (in English, link includes a journey planner and timetables), you can take your pick from the metro, trams, trolleybuses, buses, and - in a quirky flourish - funicular railways. The metro consists of four colour-coded lines criss-crossing the city, and is integrated with funicular services up from Vieux Lyon (old Lyon) to the Fourvière and St Just hills. Additionally, there are five modern tram lines, and a network of 135 bus and trolleybus routes. TCL provides a map of the metro, tram and principal bus routes; as well as a detailed map of transport routes in Lyon and various other Lyon transport maps (in French).
A huge range of tickets and fares exist depending on your needs, TCL offers full Lyon transport ticket information. If you plan on visiting several museums or attractions, and will be making use of the public transport network, it could be a good idea to invest in a Lyon City Card – offering unlimited travel plus free or discounted entry at numerous places and attractions across the city, for one, two, or three days
In additional to its impressive public transport network, Lyon proudly lays claim to being the first French city to introduce a bike-sharing scheme, known as Vélo’v. You can hire a bike at any of over 340 stations across the city, before returning it to another station close to your destination – Vélo’v has an interactive map of stations (double click to find the nearest to any point on the map) as well as a map of cycling routes across Lyon.
For more information about places to stay and eat in the city, plus local attractions and other things to see and do, see Green Traveller's Guide to Lyon:
