What to know when Taking the Train to Paris
If you are taking the train from Nice to Paris, you might find that your ticket doesn’t seem to work and you can’t get through the gate to get out to your train… this could be for three reasons:
- The gates in the central part of the Nice train station are only for the local trains; the national trains to Lyon or Paris can only be accessed from specific turnstyles, usually the gates at the far end of the station, called Hall 2
- Whereas local train tickets can be used anytime during the same day, tickets with assigned seats will only let you in within 30 minutes before departure. So if you are there nice and early, even if your train is sitting right there, and even if you are at the correct gate… you still have to wait. None of this is explained in English anywhere!
- The third reason could be the slow scanners. At the gate, turn your screen on bright and hold the QR code on the scanner for up to 5 seconds, and only then will the gate will pop open.
Booking your TGV from Nice to Paris:
Only book a direct train and avoid changing trains if at all possible, especially in Marseille; that train station is a zoo. A direct train to Paris will take just under 6 hours… adding a stop will add time, stress, confusion, and doubles your chance of a train delay.
If you have big luggage, book a seat on the lower level, because schlepping your giant suitcase up the narrow staircase in the train is a bear. Also get there early so you are one of the first to stow your luggage before the most convenient storage space fills up.
Try to book your seat to Paris in a window seat on the left side of the train for stunning views of the Riviera coastline.
I recommend booking on TrainLine, which is in English and a lot quicker and easier to navigate. However if you are over if your trip is over 160€, it might be worth booking your trip to Paris on the SNCF site where you can buy a yearly Advantage discount card for 49€ which will save you 30% on all national trains for a whole year (but not local trains unfortunately). If your trip is over 160€ you will pay for the card with that first trip.
After buying your ticket online, immediately take a screenshot of the QR code so that it is in your photos. This makes it a lot easier to find on your phone than digging through emails, searching for wifi, or having to log into an app.
If you find your seat is facing backwards, just know that most trains stop pull in to Marseilles halfway through the trip and then when the train pulls back out you will be facing forward for the rest of the trip.
Americans on their first trip to Europe will appreciate this one: the train toilet flushing mechanism is the last place you would expect it: a black button on the floor that you push with your foot. Also the bathrooms are clean at the start of the trip, but not so much by the end, so bring a packet of tissues with you and maybe some hand sanitizer.
The companies doing direct trains from Nice to Paris are INOUI and OUIGO (“We Go” ha ha).
OUIGO is generally cheaper and has frequent promos, but they don’t offer first class, don’t have a bar/food car, and most of their seats don’t have electric plugs! Especially the cars with configurations of three seats on one side and single seats on the other… no plugs. Major drag on a long train ride.
Personally I prefer INOUI, and whenever possible I take first class (sometimes it’s just a tiny bit more expensive).
There is a new night train operated by InnerCities that leaves Nice nightly at 7pm and takes 12 hours. A semi-reclining seat is 39€, a shared sleeper cabin in second class is 45€ and in first class 126€, and a private cabin all to yourself is 180€. These are base prices and could be higher the later you book.
The trip to Paris takes surprisingly long because the tracks between Nice and Marseilles are old tracks, and even the fast trains have to go slow. Once past Marseille the trains are on new rails and can finally let loose, so the first 100 miles (160km) takes just as long as the next 400 miles (660km)!
Taking a TGV to Lyon?
If your train is leaving at the same time at a TGV bound for Paris, here is another area of confusion : Paris has several train stations, but most of the trains from Nice go to the station called Paris – Gare de Lyon. Not to be confused with the train station actually IN Lyon called Lyon Part Dieu.
France-wide Discount Rail Passes
It used to be just for students and seniors, but now SNCF offers Advantage discount cards for anybody for 49€ a year, that gives you 30% off on all national routes in France (but not local trains unfortunately).
European Rail Passes: Eurail and Interrail are passes for unlimited train travel in Europe within a certain time period. The two passes are identical in pricing and and structure and the only difference is that Eurail is only available for non-European residents, and must be purchased before you arrive, and Interrail is only for European residents.
I generally don’t suggest these, because to get your money’s worth, you often need to be constantly on the move, and end up only really seeing the scenery whiz by from the inside of a train.
If you want the security of locking in your European train tickets before you leave home, either buy them from TrainLine, or at least compare prices with Trainline before you buy from another site. Trainline gives you the same price even if you buy them online outside of Europe, whereas many sites see that you are using an American ISP for instance, and boom, you are redirected to a much more expensive site for tourists. As a rule-of-thumb, anytime you are buying tickets outside the country, just do a quick price check on Trainline first before you commit, to make sure you are not getting charged a higher out-0f-Europe fare.
- Back up to main Taking the Train in Nice – Tickets and Passes page