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How to travel by train from London to Nantes, France
Travel by train from London to Nantes in just over 5 hours from London by taking the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord and change to Paris Gare Montparnasse for the train to Nantes.
Nantes is the capital of the Pays de la Loire and is a fascinating historic city - it once rivalled Rennes as capital of the old Duchy province of Brittany. It is now one of the most artistically creative cities in France and has a wonderfully joined-up public transport network, including trains, trams and a comprehensive city bike hire scheme.
Flight-free travel from London to Nantes:
Journey Time: from 5 hours 17 minutes
Sample timetable: Depart London 7.55am, arrive Nantes 2.19pm
Changes: 1
Transfer: Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare Montparnasse
Frequency of Departures: 20/day
Carbon emissions: 10.8kg (flight would be 133.4kg)*
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 Montparnasse, which can take 20-30 minutes on the Paris metro (14 stops), but we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer. See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris. At Gare Montparnasse, you board an intercity train to Nantes station. Remember, whenever you’re connecting trains in France, always remember to validate your onward train ticket ('compostez votre billet') at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow).
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 Brussels Gare du Nord.
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 close to the station see Hotels near Gare du Nord
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-friendly 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).
On arrival in Nantes
Bienvenue à Nantes! At the station, there are tram and bus connections, including the terminus of the Navibus service that goes to the University of Nantes. There are lots of hotels near to the railway station, see below.
Hotels in Nantes
More about Nantes
Nantes may often be overlooked by holidaymakers heading to the more famous cities of France, but it's a great place to go, especially for a city break by train, as it's less than six hours from London.
Nantes is on the confluence of the Loire, Erdre and Sèvre rivers, 55km from France's Atlantic coast. Here are some impressive green statistics about the city:
All its residents live within 300 metres of a green area in the city
57 squared metres of green space per person
100,000 trees in the city
15% of daily travels are made using public transport
60% of land area is either agricultural or a natural or official green area
Four Natura 2000 sites and 33 natural zones of floral, faunal or ecological interest
For information about where to eat and sleep as well as things to see and do in the city, see our Green Traveller's Guide to Nantes.
Bon Voyage!
