Flight-free from the UK to Europe
Foot passenger ferries to Europe
UK to Ireland
Map of UK Ferry Routes to Europe
Scotland to Europe
North of England to Europe
Wales to Europe
Southwest England to Europe
UK to France
UK to Spain
UK to Italy
UK to Greece
UK to Morocco
Sleeper trains
in UK
Train travel to Europe:
Eurostar Route Map
Under 5 hours
by train from London:
Amsterdam
Brussels
Cologne
Ghent
Lille
Paris
Utrecht
Arrive same day by train from London:
Antwerp
Avignon
Barcelona
Basel
Bayonne
Bordeaux
Brive
Geneva
Hamburg
Interlaken
Lausanne
Marseille
Milan
Munich
Nantes
Nice
Toulouse
Turin
Valence
Zürich
Winter Trains to French Alps
Require overnight stopover from London:
Lisbon
Naples
Rome
Sicily
Venice
Train + Ferry:
How to travel by train from London to Avignon, France
It is possible to travel by train from London to Avignon in less than 6 hours if you take the Eurostar to Lille and then a simple same-station change of trains to continue south to Avignon.
Avignon is the gateway to Provence - it's an atmospheric mediaeval city of honey-coloured buildings and winding streets, crowned by the dramatic Papal Palace. Its compact centre nestles between intact city walls, and the famous bridge still juts halfway out into the Rhône. This is the dream of France – quiet squares to relax in a café, delicious provençal cuisine, fine local wines; and many a place to buy a baguette and wander around the ancient streets – with all the joys of Provence on the doorstep.
Flight-free travel from London to Avignon:
Journey Time: fastest from 5 hours 44 mins
Sample timetable: Depart London 11.04am, arrive Avignon 6.11pm
Changes: 1
Transfer: Platform change within Lille Europe station
Frequency of Departures: 20/day
Carbon emissions: 15kg (flight would be 87kg)*
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?
There's just a quick same-station change of platform at Lille Europe station to catch the onward connection. From the Eurostar platform arrival, go up the stairs (or lift) to the main concourse from where the onward TGV trains depart.
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 Lille 🏠
If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Lille while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay conveniently near Lille Europe railway station.
Hotels near Lille Europe Railway Station 🚉
B&B Hotel Lille Centre Grand Palais (see below) and Le Chat Qui Dort are just a few minutes walk from Lille Europe Station (where Eurostar arrives). Rooms from about €100 per night. For more hotels near the station, see Hotels near Lille Europe
Green Traveller's Top Pick 💚
B&B Hotel Lille Centre Grand Palais is a comfortable budget hotel very conveniently situated in a quiet residential neighbourhood close to the Lille-Europe station. The 127 rooms are slightly small, but size is mitigated by keen pricing and useful add-ons such as free wifi. The hotel has recently earned Clef Verte accreditation for its measures in conserving energy and water.
On arrival at Avignon TGV station
Bienvenue à Avignon! The TGV direct train from London arrives at Avignon TGV, which is a few miles outside the town. Thankfully, the station is linked to the city centre by the ‘TGV Navette’ bus (right), which costs 1,80€ (free for Eurostar ticket holders). This drops you off in front of the city’s downtown station, Avignon-Centre. From here, all points central are walkable, but it is a hub for transport around the city and the sights of the surrounding area.
Hotels in Avignon
There are lots of hotels in the centre of Avignon that good reviews on booking.com, see below:
More about Avignon
The compact centre of Avignon lies within its ancient city walls, and is easily walkable, with only limited traffic. If you do need or want to take a longer journey, or to one of the outlying towns, villages, and attractions, there is a good local bus network and a new tram system opened in 2019. Transport in Avignon is operated by ORIZO, their website is in French only, however it does feature detailed information about the Avignon transport network. Tickets for a single journey cost 1,30€ (valid for one hour), with a ‘carnet’ of ten tickets for 10,50€ and a day pass at 4€.
The Avignon area boasts 110km of segregated cycle paths – impressive for the city’s small size – and there is also a self-service bike sharing scheme called Vélopop operating across Avignon. You can take a bike from one docking station and return it to another when you reach your destination – for only 1€ per day (0,50€ for each half-hour of usage); here's a useful map of vélopop stations. You can also hire bikes at Provence Bikes on Boulevard St Roch or pre-order to pick up bikes at the TGV Avignon station (3km outside of the town) from Holiday Bikes.
For more information about where to stay in Avignon, restaurants and things to do, see our:
